How serious are the divisions in Poland?
We look at the results of scientific research and social surveys to discover the degree of polarisation among Polish women and men. We also compare Poland with other European countries.
Divisions exist in every society and are a measure of how healthy a democracy is. Not only our age sets us apart but also our education, earnings and social position - each of these already divides Poles into age groups, economic and social strata. When might such divisions become a problem? When people feel divided regardless of objective differences, they feel they have grown distant from one another. As a result, they may express dislike for one another or even deny people who represent „the other side" human qualities.
When the divisions are deep, we talk about polarisation. Polarisation describes a situation when most people in a group have grown apart and decide to join opposing camps. For instance, some support universal access to in-vitro fertilisation, others would like to ban such treatment. When there is no polarisation, most people remain in the centre and do not normally take a hard line on a given topic. Because they are in the center, they are also close to each other and it is easier for them to seek common ground.
How severe is polarisation in Poland?
There are many types of social polarisation and many ways to measure it. The international research consortium Digital Society Project collects expert opinions on the level of polarisation in dozens of countries around the world, including Poland. In 2021, Poland scored 3.83 in the ranking. In 2001, however, Poland scored 2.71, which means that over two decades polarisation in the country increased by 41 per cent. The chart below shows that the divisions in Poland have been growing steadily, with short drops in 2008 and 2010:
Data source: Digital Society Project. Question: How would you characterise the differences of opinions on major political issues in this society? The responses were rated in the following way: 0 - no polarisation, 1 - limited polarisation, 2 – medium polarisation, 3 – moderate polarisation, 4 - serious polarisation.
What exactly does a score of 3.83 indicate? Experts are asked how large the differences of opinions on major political issues in this society are and their responses are rated according to a scale of 0 to 4. A score of 3 means there are „differences on many political issues that result in moderate conflicting views." A score of 4 means that there are „serious differences in public opinions on almost all key political issues."
Compared to other European countries, Poland is affected by serious polarisation. The indicator for France is 3.17, for Germany - 2.43, for the United Kingdom - 2.83, and Sweden - 2.13. Divisions have grown in most European countries, but climbed up from a lower level than in Poland. Even
in the United States, which is strongly divided, the polarisation index is lower compared to Poland and amounts to 3.5. Only Hungary and Bosnia and Herzegovina have a higher polarisation score
of 4.
Data source: Digital Society Project. Question: How would you characterize the differences of opinions on major political issues in this society? Expert ratings on a scale of: 0 - no polarisation, 1 - limited polarisation, 2 – medium polarisation, 3 – moderate polarisation, 4 - serious polarisation.
More contempt on the liberal side
Ideological divisions are one dimension of polarisation. Researchers also look at what people with opposite views think about one another - how they see each other, what characteristics they attribute to each other and how they feel about those in the opposign camp. In 2018, psychologist Paulina Górska from the University of Warsaw interviewed 1,000 supporters of ruling and opposition parties in Poland. This is the first such comprehensive study of affective polarisation in the country. The results were surprising, particularly for the liberal circles.
Both camps harbour a dislike towards each other, but the warmth of emotions expressed by the voters of the opposition party towards the voters of the ruling party was more than twice as low (-14.93) compared to the emotions felt by the latter towards the former (-6.29). The opposition voters were more likely to deny that their opponents shared human qualities (3.72) compared to the voters of the ruling party (2.69). In other words, in the opposition camp – which considers itself to be more open to empathy and dialogue – there is more reluctance and contempt for the government camp than the other way around.
Sources: Paulina Górska, Political polarisation in Poland. How seriously divided are we? Report of the Center for Research on Prejudice, University of Warsaw.
The voters of the ruling party declare that they have more frequent contact with the opposing camp, and – as a result - have warmer feelings for their opponents and trust them more. On the other hand, those who vote to support opposition parties have a worse opinion of supporters of the ruling party compared to the groups that are most disliked in Poland - Jews, Muslims, refugees, people who are homosexual. Contrary to the above results, they also believe that they are more disliked by the voters of the ruling party and deprived of positive human qualities. Neither of that is true according to the study - but such an assumption stokes the fire that brews dehumanisation and dislike among voters of opposition parties.
This is an excerpt from an article first published in the November 2022 issue of magazine Pismo.
