Narrative(s) of Return and the Gendered Memory Politics of Post-1989 Transformation: Populist Familism, Catholic Fundamentalism, and Liberal Feminism in Poland

This article has two main objectives. First, it proposes an analytical framework on how to explore narratives of return as policy proposals and tools of memory politics. Second, it reveals coexisting versions of return advocated by three Polish political actors: the populist right-wing Law and Justice party (Return to the Nation), Catholic activists (Return to Religion), and representatives of liberal feminism (Return to Women's Rights). The case material consists of four policy proposals relating to either family or women's reproductive rights. The article shows that all analyzed political narratives of return have used some variation of the discourse on victimhood, and all of them mean to terrify and raise fear. The policy proposals draw on Polish collective memory and, specifically, on the politics of memory of the post-1989 transformation.

Automated summary

This article proposes an analytical framework to explore narratives of return as policy proposals and tools of memory politics. It reveals coexisting versions of return advocated by three Polish political actors and shows that all analyzed political narratives of return draw on Polish collective memory and the politics of memory of the post-1989 transformation.