20.500.12556/RUL-179319 The anti-crisis shields as a means of consolidating power. The case of the Law and Justice government in Poland Protikrizni ščiti kot sredstvo za utrditev oblasti In Poland, the pandemic coincided with and exacerbated the existing rule of law crisis, which had been ongoing for several years. The paper explores the Polish government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic through public policy tools known as Anti-Crisis Shields (ACS). These shields, initially designed to mitigate the pandemic's negative economic impact, were also used by the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party as a strategic instrument to consolidate political power. By analysing government’s promotional content and policy implementation during the pandemic, the paper reveals how the government leveraged economic aid to strengthen its electoral base and reinforce its authority. The research addresses questions about the instrumentalisation of public policies for political gain, the manipulation of crisis narratives, a turbulent election campaign and the effects on democratic backsliding in Poland. Ultimately, the paper discusses how crisis management, when politically driven, can undermine democratic norms and accountability Na Poljskem je pandemija sovpadla z že dlje časa obstoječo krizo pravne države ter jo še zaostrila. Članek raziskuje odziv poljske vlade na pandemijo COVID-19 z orodji javne politike, znanimi kot protikrizni ščiti (ACS). Ščite, ki so bili prvotno namenjeni ublažitvi negativnega gospodarskega vpliva pandemije, je uporabila tudi desničarska stranka Zakon in pravičnost (PiS) kot strateški instrument za utrjevanje politične moči. Z analizo vladne promocijske vsebine in izvajanja politike med pandemijo prispevek razkriva, kako je vlada izkoristila gospodarsko pomoč za okrepitev svoje volilne baze in avtoritete. Raziskava obravnava vprašanja o instrumentalizaciji javnih politik za politične koristi, manipulaciji kriznih narativov, turbulentni volilni kampanji in učinkih na procese demokratičnega nazadovanja na Poljskem. Navsezadnje članek razpravlja tudi o tem, kako lahko krizno upravljanje, kadar je politično usmerjeno, spodkopava demokratične norme in odgovornost. anti-crisis shield power consolidation democratic backsliding Law and Justice party protikrizni ščit konsolidacija oblasti demokratično nazadovanje stranka Zakon in pravičnost nedemokratičnost true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Poljska; Članek v reviji 2026-02-10 16:19:15 2026-02-10 16:19:22 2026-02-18 04:21:51 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2025 0 0 Str. 81-96 no. 1 Vol. 18 Jan. 2025 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 329 (438) 1338-1385 267947267 RAZ_Jacuński_Michał_2025.pdf RAZ_Jacuński_Michał_2025.pdf 1 3C309713730B6737BFBEF5B8B25BB3B9 7d8f5b6f9ffde32a24915c16cc83df93d6bbcc0ace68b6bf55a5992524c58de9 bbe8eebd-0693-11f1-a1ba-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=227725 https://www.jofcp.org/assets/jcp/Articles-2025/2025-15-Jacunski.pdf 0 f02b5b01-0693-11f1-a1ba-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=227726 Fakulteta za družbene vede Journal of comparative politics 0 0 0