The Demagogic Normality of Polish Neo-Traditionalism: Constructing an Illiberal Imaginary

Abstract

The process of democratization in Central and Eastern Europe has been shaken by the growth of counter-hegemonic narratives contesting the Western-type model of liberal democracy. The “illiberal turn” in Poland frequently targets progressive values, manifesting as a cultural war around the meaning of the signifier “normality.” This article focuses on an illiberal neo-traditionalist discourse coalition in Poland, analyzing the ideological discursive construction of “normality” from two angles. First, it empirically discloses the effort to replace the liberal collective imaginary with a neo-traditionalist alternative. Neo-traditionalism pictures an idyllic “normal” way of life, invoking a mythical past as a remedy to a perceived failure—the broken promise of the post-1989 transformation. Simultaneously, it creates images of monstrosity and abnormality to exclude different worldviews. Second, illiberal processes of normalization are presented as a demagogic, rather than populist, practice that frames “our normality” as the only scenario a rational individual can desire. Illiberal neo-traditionalism thus emerges as a demagogic and ideological mobilization to redefine what is to be considered normal in response to a performed crisis.