From Streets to Statutes: Progressive vs. Regressive Movements and Democratic Norms in Poland, 2015-2025

Abstract

This dissertation critically examines how progressive and regressive social movements have differentially influenced democratic norms in Poland between 2015 and 2025. It focuses on the cases of the All-Poland Women’s Strike (Ogólnopolski Strajk Kobiet, OSK) and the Independent March (Marsz Niepodległości, IM) as examples of progressive and regressive movements, respectively. The impact of these movements on substantive and procedural norms was analyzed, along with how they incorporated these norms into their agendas and strategies. This analysis employedqualitative research methodology and the process tracing method. Its findings reveal that OSK has had a significant impact on both procedural and substantive norms of democracy, heightening discourse on gender equality and increasing public support for the protection of reproductive rights. In contrast, IM managed to normalize exclusionary rhetoric and achieve the adoption of local policies inconsistent with substantive democracy, such as the establishment of LGBTQ+-free zones. Using process tracing matrices and tests, this study provides extensive evidence for the causal strategies that enabled these social movements to make a substantial contribution to influencing both procedural and substantive norms in Polish society, highlighting their uniqueness in Poland’s 2015–2022 hybrid-regime period (with post-2023 democratic recovery). Therefore, the study’s findings are valuable theoretically and practically.