Wicke van den Broek1; 1 Maastricht University, Netherlands
Discussion
This article will focus on democracy promotion and the role of Polish NGOs in it, specifically between 2015 and 2023, when a shrinking civic space meant an (attempt at) replacing well-established, liberal NGOs in Poland with a more conservative, Christian landscape. This happened against a backdrop of democratic backsliding in Poland and its domestic causes and consequences, which are widely covered in the academic literature. The effects this had on external democracy promotion by Poland and Polish NGOs are explored through the case study of the Solidarity Fund and its activities in Belarus.
