What the study found
The study found that Polish party manifestos between 2001 and 2023 criticized both elites and enemies, using several distinct categories of each. The abstract also says these patterns were examined in relation to parties' positions in the political system and their ideological orientation.
Why the authors say this matters
The authors suggest that anti-elitism and enemy construction should be understood as variable, gradable dimensions rather than as fixed labels. They also conclude that these features are not limited to parties usually described as populist.
What the researchers tested
The researcher analyzed 42 political party manifestos from Polish parties that passed the 3% threshold in parliamentary elections between 2001 and 2023. The study classified criticism into five types of elites — political, international, state, symbolic, and economic — and five types of enemies — geographical, legal, political, economic, and cultural.
What worked and what didn't
The abstract reports that the study examined whether there was a relationship between the degree of anti-elitism or enemy discreditation and a party's position in the political system or its ideological orientation. It does not provide the detailed outcomes of those tests in the text available here.
What to keep in mind
The available summary does not state the detailed results of the relationship tests, so only the study's scope and framework can be summarized here. The abstract also does not describe limitations beyond the manifesto sample and the 3% electoral threshold.
Key points
- The study analyzed Polish party manifestos from 2001 to 2023.
- It identified five types of elites and five types of enemies in the texts.
- The authors treated anti-elitism and enemy construction as gradable dimensions, not binary traits.
- The abstract says these patterns were assessed against party position and ideological orientation.
- The available summary does not report the detailed test outcomes.
Disclosure
- Research title:
- Polish party manifestos criticized elites and enemies in varied ways
- Authors:
- Jakub Krupa
- Institutions:
- Jagiellonian University
- Publication date:
- 2026-02-23
- DOI:
- 10.5817/pc2026-1-29
- OpenAlex record:
- View
- Image credit:
- Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 pl
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