‘Reasons for Hope’? Illiberal wave vs. democratic resilience

     

The illiberal wave in Poland and Hungary, in addition to the corruption in Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, and Slovakia can be easily used as excuses against further EU enlargement, notes Carnegie’s Judy Dempsey. This is despite the impressive spin-offs of foreign investment and free movement of labor, capital, and goods following the accession of these countries over the last fifteen years. There have been big gains all-round, which is often forgotten.

While the ruling PiS is gradually suppressing systems of public scrutiny, including the media and people who don’t fit into its “patriotic ” narrative, Poland’s civic society and its institutions have been the ones to fight for democratic rights, Maciek Piasecki writes for POLITICO.

In Reasons for Hope, the latest in the Presidential Lecture Series of Central European University (CEU), Wojciech Sadurski (above), author of Poland’s Constitutional Breakdown, reflected upon the significance of the recent parliamentary elections and their implications in the context of the broader authoritarian populist turn. Sadurski is Challis Professor in Jurisprudence at the University of Sydney Law School and Professor at the University of Warsaw, Centre for Europe. Welcome Remarks by Michael Ignatieff, President and Rector, CEU.

On November 15, 1989, Polish democracy and labor leader Lech Walesa became the second private foreign citizen ever to address a joint session of the United States Congress – preceded only by the Marquis de Lafayette.  At the time, Walesa was the victorious leader of Solidarity, the mass movement for democracy and worker rights and catalyst for the peaceful democratic revolutions throughout Central and Eastern Europe and the USSR.  Inspired by Walesa’s message of democratic solidarity, the Congress responded with a five-minute standing ovation and subsequently provided substantial support for the new democracies of the region.

The National Endowment for Democracy invites you to a reception marking The 30th Anniversary of Poland’s 1989 Democratic Breakthrough with a special tribute to
Lech Walesa, Former President of Poland, Leader of Solidarity Labor Movement.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019. 6:00 p.m.–7:30 p.m. RSVP US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee Room, 2172 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515. All guests must register online by November 11. Please bring photo ID for security purposes.

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email