Work

Sanctifying the Border: Religious Nationalism and the Moral Politics of Exclusion in Poland

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: This Dispatch examines how religious symbolism and anti-migrant mobilization converged in Poland in mid-2025 to perform a sanctified politics of protection. Focusing on Catholic sermons, protests, and citizen border patrols, it shows how exclusion is recast as moral duty and care. Drawing on publicly circulated materials, the analysis develops the concept of affective legitimacy to capture moments when moral rightfulness is enacted through emotion, ritual, and ethical vocabularies as institutional trust wanes. The Polish case is treated as a diagnostic vignette of an emergent repertoire in which protection is felt rather than procedurally justified, highlighting how democratic authority can be reconfigured through affective publics rather than liberal-democratic accountability.

Source: Democratic Theory

DOI: 10.1017/s2332889425000004

Author: Marika Jeziorek

Institution: Wilfrid Laurier University

Language: English

Topic: Populism, Right-Wing Movements

Subfield: Political Science and International Relations

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,550