Following the rise of the Law and Justice party in Poland, a journalist's encounter with security services initiated a campaign against media and civil society. Responding to this, the thinktank Kultura Liberalna consulted anti-communist dissident Aleksander Smolar. Referring to historical resistance against oppression, Smolar advised public discourse and demands for legal justification from the authorities. This strategy diminished the immediate threat, but political harassment persisted. The situation drove home the realization that, despite a democratic foundation, the political landscape in Poland remained fraught with risk and contention, akin to past authoritarian regimes.
After hearing the news about the journalist, we called Aleksander Smolar. The legendary anti-communist dissident, who ran his own NGO..."
Our eastern European political culture...has developed some antibodies against oppressive power. Over the past centuries, the state has often been wiped off the map or occupied by foreign aggressors.
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