Authors

Katarzyna Walecka¹;  ¹ University of Oxford, Wadham College, UK

Discussion

Since 2011, the extreme right-wing movements have assembled for a ‘march of independence’, organized annually on 11 November, to commemorate the independence of Poland. The marches have been accompanied by manifestations of nationalistic, anti-European and xenophobic views, slogans of which are presented on banners and chanted by the participants. Apart from the institutionalized right-wing organizations, there were also those not affiliated with any groups. The paper explores the latter category of the young participants of marches 2018 -2022 to analyse various aspects of their participation. Over 150 interviews over this period have shown that they constitute a much more diversified group regarding their views. They do not associate with the 'mainstream' of the march, and the slogans dominated there. However, they demonstrated contempt for politics and anti-elitism; they replicated the xenophobic narrative in their motivations for participating in this gathering. The preliminary analysis shows that the march can be seen as a space that allows individuals to meet their various needs, such as the need to resist the political and social situation in the country, to express their values, discontent, and opinions.