The Politicization of Social Divisions in Post-War Poland

The monograph examines the sources of Polish social divisions. It explains their emergence and discusses the mechanisms behind their evolution from 1945-2022. The findings corroborate the idea that divisions were formed irrespective of the current state of social hierarchy, or the accepted interpretation of justice, and that they existed both in totalitarian and democratic systems alike. The book distinguishes the category of divisions from the practices of repartition, and demonstrates that the repartitions discussed in a political discourse do not generate divisions, but constitute the politicization of the latter. Repartitions are understood as discursive, dichotomic juxtapositions that result from the existence of divisions and can be used as political tools. It has been demonstrated that they can also function as analytical categories used with a view to determining the state of social inequalities. The notions of divisions and repartitions discussed in this volume confirm the existence of the continuity of changes and describe the evolution of Polish society has a consequence.

Piotr Borowiec is Head of the Department of Theory and Methodology of Politics at the Institute of Political Science and International Relations, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland. He is the editor-in-chief of the international journal Teoria Polityki and author and co-author of over 70 articles on the sociology of politics, political theory, and methodology, as well as seven monographs.