01344nam a2200133   4500008004100000100002200041245004400063260000900107300001400116520097800130650001401108650001701122773007101139190802b           ||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d  aTworzecki, Hubert  aPoland: a case of top-down polarization  c2019  ap.97-119.  aPoland represents a surprising case of democratic backsliding since the return to power of the PiS party in 2015, given that positive conditions associated with democracy are present—consistent strong per capita economic growth since 1989, moderate inequality, rising wages, strong preference for democracy, high levels of happiness, and a parliamentary system with proportional representation. The lack of strong underlying cleavages indicates the polarization was not bottom up. Instead, this article argues that polarization was driven from the top down by a segment of the political class that donned the cloak of radical populist anti-establishmentarianism to gain popular support, win an election, and rewrite the constitutional rules of the game to its own benefit. The Polish case points to the importance of elite cues, and especially the pernicious consequences of system-delegitimizing rhetoric, creating distrust in the media and institutions. - Reproduced.

  aDemocracy  aPolarization  aThe Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science