Recapturing the Past: The Role of Historical Memory in Polish and Hungarian Populism

Collective memory is a driving force in populist and nationalist politics. The emotional appeals of a shared history, particularly relating to notions of victimhood and resistance, are deeply influential in national identity formation. In this essay, Hungary’s Fidesz party and Poland’s Law and Justice party (PiS) are explored in relation to their tendency to manipulate history to construct self-serving collective memories. Both Fidesz and PiS successfully employ selective interpretations of historical events to not only mobilize support but also to quell dissent, employing emotive appeals and moral justifications deeply rooted in the national psyche. In order to combat the illiberal and anti-democratic tendencies of populist manipulations of collective memory, this essay argues that strong civil societies and the promotion of alternative narratives of collective memory are necessary. Editorial Note: This final version of this piece was to be titled "The Past Reimagined: The Role of Historical Memory in Polish and Hungarian Populism". Due to an editorial error, a draft title was published in the print edition. In the spirit of continuity between the print and online edition, we have kept the title of the print edition's in the online version, but have included this note to explain the discrepancy. Our apologies to the author for the error.