Biopolitics, ideology, and citizenship

Political Street Stickers in Resistance to Biopower in Poland: The Case of Krakow During the 2020 Polish Presidential Election Campaign

“…142 Thus, in the broader socio-political context of Poland in 2020, outlined in detail above, the appearance of this rather simple combination of common colors becomes a visual manifestation of resistance to the hegemonic "bioconservative" ideology promoted by Law and Justice. 143 That common colors can come to connote a form of antagonistic political expression simply through their appearance in public space elicits parallels with examples from Palestine, 144 and more recently Belarus, in which even everyday items such as shopping bags and cakes symbolize resistance to the hegemonic discourse. 145 A second means of distinguishing between the stickers in the corpus relates to the inclusion of text and images.…”

“…86 The rhetorical foregrounding during the campaign of the supposed threat posed to the "very biological and cultural existence of the nation" by the LGBT+ community 87 suggests a considered biopolitical feature of Law and Justice's agenda, an aspect that is beginning to receive greater attention in the literature. 88 Accordingly, the next section examines biopolitical theory to provide a suitable basis from which to explore the specific case of Poland during the 2020 presidential election campaign.…”

“…92 Biopolitics has played a divisive role in Polish political debate since the fall of communism, most notably in relation to abortion rights, but also on issues surrounding organ donation and in vitro fertilization. 93 For Płotka, biopolitical contention in Poland centers around the hegemonic "bioconservative" ideology promoted by ruling party Law and Justice, on one side, and the "bioliberal" views of opposition and non-hegemonic political actors, on the other. 94 The 2020 judicial reforms in Poland, which further restricted women's access to abortions, provide a tangible recent example of the manifestation of Law and Justice's biopolitical agenda.…”

“…96 The polarization Płotka highlights is not specific to biopolitical issues, but rather consistent with broader socio-political divisions in Polish society. 97 Yet the continued prevalence of biopolitical issues in Polish politics since the end of communism 98 suggests both an ideological facet to Law and Justice's conceptualizations of Polish national identity 99 and a considered strategic use of "biopolitical thinking" 100 to create and foreground narratives that resonate with their rural support base. 101 To this end, Yatsyk proposes an understanding of Law and Justice's use of biopolitics as being, rather than purely ideological, a series of calculated approaches used to exert power over the population under the guise of ensuring national security.…”

Biopolitical conservatism in Europe and beyond: the cases of identity-making projects in Poland and Russia

“…According to Płotka, the Polish government's discourse is not consistent and includes also a bio-liberal wing. However, the arguments of this faction are more general than those of bio-conservatives since they demand major changes of Polish economy, politics and education, while the bio-conservatives propose more coherent narrative of fighting against the moral dangers (Płotka 2018).…”