What the study found
The study found that Polish political party manifestos between 2001 and 2023 criticized both elites and enemies, and that these patterns could vary over time within the same party. The article also examined whether anti-elitism and enemy discreditation were related to a party’s place in the political system or its ideological orientation.
Why the authors say this matters
The authors suggest that anti-elitism and enemy construction should not be treated only as binary features of populist parties. They conclude that these dimensions can change over time and can appear in parties not usually labeled populist.
What the researchers tested
The researchers analyzed 42 political party manifestos from parties that passed the 3% threshold in Polish parliamentary elections between 2001 and 2023. They classified elites as actors in a vertical relationship with "the people" and enemies as actors in a horizontal opposition, then identified five types of each: political, international, state, symbolic, and economic elites; geographical, legal, political, economic, and cultural enemies.
What worked and what didn't
The abstract reports that the analysis was based on this classification of manifestos and that anti-elitism and enemy construction were treated as gradable dimensions rather than yes-or-no categories. It does not provide specific quantitative results about which parties or manifesto types showed more or less criticism.
What to keep in mind
The available summary does not state the detailed findings for the relationship between manifesto criticism and party position or ideology. It also does not describe limitations beyond the study’s focus on Polish parties that crossed the 3% electoral threshold.
Key points
- The article examines criticism of elites and enemies in Polish party manifestos from 2001 to 2023.
- It treats anti-elitism and enemy construction as changing dimensions, not fixed yes-or-no traits.
- The study analyzed 42 manifestos from parties that passed the 3% threshold in parliamentary elections.
- The abstract defines five types of elites and five types of enemies.
- No detailed numerical results are given in the abstract.
Disclosure
- Research title:
- Polish party manifestos targeted elites and enemies from 2001 to 2023
- Authors:
- Jakub Krupa
- Institutions:
- Jagiellonian University
- Publication date:
- 2026-02-23
- OpenAlex record:
- View
- Image credit:
- Photo by Brian Wertheim on Unsplash · Unsplash License
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