Poland was supposed to be democracy's comeback story. Now it's something more complicated.

In 2023, the populist Law and Justice (PiS) party was voted out after eight years - celebrated internationally as proof that democratic backsliding could be reversed. Then in June 2025, PiS-backed Karol Nawrocki won the presidency by the slimmest of margins, handing the opposition a powerful veto over Tusk's reform agenda. The story isn't over.

EU-VALUES is proud to present a conversation with the authors of Good Change: The Rise and Fall of Poland's Illiberal Revolution - one of the most important books on European democracy published this year.

🎙 Stanley Bill (University of Cambridge)

🎙 Ben Stanley (SWPS University) joined by discussant Dr Aleksandra Sojka (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid & IE University)

Drawing on their book, the authors will explore:

→ How PiS combined economic redistribution with cultural conservatism to win, and keep, voters that mainstream parties had abandoned

→ Why an electorate that had benefited from liberal democracy chose to support a government accused of dismantling it

→ What the deep roots and lasting consequences of eight years of illiberal rule mean for Poland's institutions today

→ Whether Poland's experience offers lessons, or warnings, or liberal democracies facing similar pressures across Europe

Audience Q&A included.

🔗 Register here:

https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_sgMKfawSQuKWokHImFRYSw

#Democracy #Poland #Populism #EuropeanPolitics #LiberalDemocracy #DemocraticBacksliding #EUVALUES