Future and Challenges of LGBT in Eastern Europe: The Rise of Populism and Political Movement Analysis in Poland

Abstract

Poland becomes one of the states located in East Europe that is recognized as one of the Soviet Union's “former” alliances. Following the dissolution of the USSR, Poland began to show its openness to become part of the European Union as a supranational organization that regulates various policies at the national level for its members. However, regulations regarding guarantees for upholding human rights for every individual, including the LGBT community group have resulted in a separate shift for Poland as a country that still adheres to the religious values it adheres to. This is caused by the presence of conservative groups in society who refer to the ideology of populism as a rationale that is starting to strengthen in the country. Populism, which is represented through the presence of the political elite of the PiS party as the holder of parliamentary power, makes the response of the government of this country tend to be intolerant and antipathy towards upholding the rights of LGBT people. Therefore, in recent years, the act of upholding rights and the rejection of discrimination against LGBT people has become one of the social issues that are increasingly facing challenges and testing Poland's level of inclusivity in the future.

Using multiple lenses to see an invisible group

“…Sexual minority stress: It is not surprising that women's protests against the abortion law have been connected to the LGBT+ movement. Both groups protest the same oppressive power of conservative government and the Catholic Church (McMahon & Niparko, 2022;Azis & Azarine, 2023). To further develop the gender lens for use in the course, we discussed the situation of LGBT+ people in Poland with three people involved in studying and teaching gender issues in Poland (JK and GM) and a Board Director of Lambda Warszawa (KK).…”