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Gavin Rae


Gavin Rae is a sociologist in Warsaw. He has written extensively on the political and social changes in Poland and central and eastern Europe, including Poland’s Return to Capitalism: From the Socialist Bloc to the European Union and Public Capital: The Commodification of Poland’s Welfare State.

Gavin Rae

The neoliberal far right in Poland

Gavin Rae 11th December 2019

Confederation, the new force on the far right in Poland which broke through in the parliamentary elections, is the party of (male) privilege, not precarity.

PiS attacks LGBT+ rights in Poland, as elections loom

Gavin Rae 2nd April 2019

Amid simmering social discontent and with the Catholic Church wracked by sex-abuse scandals, Poland’s clerical-nationalist party is exploiting homophobia to drive a wedge into the opposition. In the run-up to this year’s European and national parliamentary elections, LGBT+ rights are dividing Polish politics. Speaking recently against their extension, the leader of the ruling, right-wing Law […]

If Biedroń is to help rebuild the Polish left, he has to be the opposite of Macron

Gavin Rae 13th December 2018

In any article published in the international press about Robert Biedroń, it seems almost obligatory to describe him as the new ‘Polish Macron’. Biedroń recently stood down as mayor of Słupsk to build a new national political party that will stand in next year’s European and parliamentary elections. He is a long-standing left-wing political activist, […]

Eastern Europe’s Right-Wing Shift Is Not Unique

Gavin Rae 12th March 2018

The Italian elections have confirmed the rightward shift in European politics and the further marginalisation of the left. Following events such as the Brexit referendum, the entry of a far-right party into the Austrian government and the rise of the extreme right in Germany Italy has shown how the growth of the conservative and nationalist […]

Poland’s Conservative Nationalism And A Multi-speed Europe

Gavin Rae 22nd March 2017

The European Union has just had a taste of Polish politics. The country’s internal political divisions burst onto the European scene, when the ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS) attempted to block the re-election of its compatriot Donald Tusk as President of the European Council. The Polish government not only failed in this endeavour, but […]

The Attacks On Poles In Britain Is Part Of A Rise Of Nationalism And Racism In Europe. Including Poland

Gavin Rae 8th September 2016

Arkadiusz Jóżwik had been standing outside a pizza take-away in Harlow, Essex, chatting to his friends in Polish, when a group of up to 12 teenagers attacked him. Arkadiusz, who had lived in Britain for over four years, died from the head injuries sustained in this suspected hate attack. The next weekend the Polish community […]

The Polish Church and Government Open New Attack on Women’s Reproductive Rights

Gavin Rae 6th April 2016

As the crisis around changes implemented to Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal continues, the ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS) has opened up a new conflict through an attack on the reproductive rights of women. This is significant as it would not only mean making abortion completely illegal in Poland, but also shows how the country is […]

Understanding The Liberal Roots Of Polish Conservatism

Gavin Rae 5th January 2016

Almost every article in the Western media, covering the recent developments in Poland, have followed the same script. How is it possible, they ask, that the supposed success story of the post-Communist transition has diverted from the political and economic road that has served them so well? There is a sense of exasperation, a feeling […]

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