Krzysztof Bosak’s political views: targeting enemies in anti-democratic political thinking

Roman Bäcker

doi:10.14746/pp.2021.26.3.4

Abstract

This article aims to place the views of Krzysztof Bosak, the Confederation’s candidate in the 2020 presidential elections, in the multifaceted typological frameworks of political thought. The analyzes show that Bosak’s political views are primarily fundamentalist. However, classifying non-heteronormative people as objective enemies is indicative of totalitarian political gnosis. Bosak’s views cannot be classified as belonging to the epigonic fascism cultivating interwar patterns, regardless of the type of national variation. Nevertheless, it is possible to classify them as glamor fascism. This type of fascism is velvety on the outside, but in fact, belonging to an offensive rather than defensive fundamentalism with significant elements of totalitarian political gnosis. In addition, it most often uses the imaginary concept of the nation as a post-ethnic community unpolluted by foreign elements. The analysis of Krzysztof Bosak’s views may be useful for subsequent analyzes of the specific manifestations of quasi-militant democracy in terms of targeting enemies in anti-democratic political thinking.

Highlights

Studying the political views of active politicians is always burdened with a great deal of uncertainty as to the nature of opinions
This article aims to place the opinions of Krzysztof Bosak, the Confederation’s (Polish: Konfederacja) candidate in the 2020 presidential elections in the multifaceted typological frameworks of political thought
Nowhere do we find a rejection of the thoughts most important to broadly understood fascism, i.e., one that falls between fundamentalism and totalitarian political gnosis, with a solid rejection of the values typical of an open society, the rule of law, and democratic pluralism

Summary

Introduction

Studying the political views of active politicians is always burdened with a great deal of uncertainty as to the nature of opinions. If we are dealing with a set of relatively uniformly distributed views, we can speak of their consistency resulting from the ideas of a given politician. It is the case with Krzysztof Bosak, who throughout his adult life, regardless of the role of a politician or journalist, has been maintaining relatively unchanging views. This article aims to place the opinions of Krzysztof Bosak, the Confederation’s (Polish: Konfederacja) candidate in the 2020 presidential elections in the multifaceted typological frameworks of political thought. To address this objective, the study draws upon the method of source analysis. The research tool was a set of questions that allowed a researcher to obtain answers regarding the place of Bosak’s political views in typological frameworks of political thought

The Typologies of Political Thought

The Place of Fascism in Typologies of Political Thought

Presidential Program of Krzysztof Bosak

Conclusions