Democracy After Illiberalism: A Warning from Poland

Issue Date July 2025
Volume 36
Issue 3
Page Numbers 16–32
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This article examines the challenges facing governments aiming to restore liberal democratic institutions after illiberal rule. It uses the case study of Poland under Donald Tusk’s current government — which defeated populist Law and Justice (PiS) in 2023 — to construct a wider conceptual framework for understanding dilemmas of post-illiberal reform that may also confront other democracies. A key legacy of democratic backsliding is a series of institutional traps that are difficult to counteract without resorting to the same decisionist methods that made them. Proceduralist approaches risk leaving the damage unrepaired and demobilizing supporters, while more decisive action may require capitulation to the illiberal playbook.

About the Authors

Stanley Bill

Stanley Bill is professor of Polish Studies at the University of Cambridge.

View all work by Stanley Bill

Ben Stanley

Ben Stanley is associate professor at the Centre for the Study of Democracy, SWPS University, Warsaw. He is author, with Stanley Bill, of Good Change: The Rise and Fall of Poland’s Illiberal Revolution (2025).

View all work by Ben Stanley

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