Poland and PiS
How Poland's Law and Justice party captured the judiciary, media, and civil society while maintaining democratic elections and EU membership.
The PiS Playbook
Poland's Law and Justice (PiS) party, led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, governed from 2015 to 2023 and executed one of the most systematic democratic erosion campaigns in European Union history. Unlike classic coups, PiS worked through legal channels: passing laws that packed courts, restructured the media, and constrained civil society, all while maintaining free elections and claiming a democratic mandate.
The first target was the Constitutional Tribunal, Poland's equivalent of a supreme court. Within months of taking office, PiS refused to seat judges appointed by the outgoing government, installed loyalists, and changed the Tribunal's rules to prevent it from blocking legislation. With judicial review neutralized, PiS proceeded to overhaul the entire judiciary: creating a new disciplinary chamber that could punish judges for their rulings, lowering the retirement age to force out senior judges, and placing judicial appointments under political control.