Civil disobedience vs illiberal democracy: The case of the Citizens of the Republic of Poland

Abstract

The procedure for establishing a commissary board over the Citizens of the Republic of Poland Foundation has become a place of conflict between two ideas: an illiberal version of democracy forced by the authorities, and the rule of law defended by the members of the Citizens of the Republic of Poland movement, referring to the idea of civil disobedience. Its importance has been particularly visible during such events as the ongoing constitutional crisis in Poland, since 2015. This crisis is closely related to the direction of policy chosen by the governments of the Law and Justice party. The analysis of the proposal of the Ministry of the Interior and Administration to suspend the foundation board gives a reason to believe that the true motivation behind it was to repress ideological opponents, which has been confirmed by the court’s dismissal judgement, which found the claim to be groundless.