The influence of populism on liberal democracy: for example, the right wing (Law and Justice and Kukiz’15) in the parliamentary elections in Poland in 2015

Abstract

The main research hypothesis put in the article is: Populist parties have a negative impact on the functioning of liberal democracy in Poland. The article attempts to characterize and define the main criterion distinguishing populist parties and anti-system movements against the background of standard political parties. The article also attempts to characterize the process of functioning of liberal democracy in Poland. The text has an interdisciplinary character, the research problem has been analyzed from a political, sociological and philosophical perspective. While verifying the hypothesis put in the work, it was noticed that there is a high probability that the election success of populist parties and movements had a negative impact on the process of functioning of liberal democracy in Poland after the parliamentary elections. An attempt to verify the research hypothesis can make a significant contribution to further studying the functioning of the party and anti-system movements in the process of electoral rivalry in Poland.