Partisan Journalists on Duty: Political Gnosticism as a Means of Legitimating Quasi-militant Democracy in Crisis-driven Poland

Authors:

• Joanna Rak

Abstract

Embedded in the theory of political gnosticism and drawing upon a qualitative content analysis of 246 pieces of news released by state media, this article examines a means of legitimating anti-democratic measures deployed during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in Poland. The research aims to identify and explain the nature and origins of justification frames for quasi-militant democracy. The main argument is that journalists of the most popular state television, TVP Info, used political gnosticism to legitimate quasi-militant democracy. They exploited fears of losing one’s life and health to convince citizens that the limitations of civil liberties are germane to survival and development. The research shows that the occurrence of all essential components of political gnosticism, used to justify anti-democratic actions in state media, is one of the indicators of anti-democratic changes in the political structure. It also provides insight regarding the theory of democratic erosion at a level of freedom of the press by offering evidence confirming the counter-democratic nature of quasi-militant democratic consolidation