Abstract
This article takes the conservative shift in Polish politics under PiS as an example and argues that the failure of the liberal economy could end up reversing the fast-forward wave in human rights. And because Poland is a relatively new member of the EU, the article also develops the argument that such a reversal in the new member countries could make the European Un- ion’s (EU) acquis irrelevant for further democratisation. Therefore, the article first explains how the failure of the economic liberalism of the neo-liberal mar- ket economy paves the way for the success of conservative political parties. It then raises the question of why political liberalism, promoted by the EU’s human rights acquis, is also a target for the opponents of the market economy. The article concludes with a discussion of current Polish politics in the after- math of the October 2007 elections.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 571-590 |
Number of pages | 20 |
Journal | Sociologický casopis/Czech Sociological Review |
Volume | 45 |
Issue number | 3 |
Publication status | Published - Jan 2009 |
Keywords
- economic liberalism
- politics
- human rights
- Poland