The Inconsistent, Everyday Legal Consciousness
of Contemporary Poles
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Jagiellonian University
Submission date: 2023-01-10
Acceptance date: 2023-06-13
Publication date: 2023-09-27
Polish Sociological Review 2023;223(3):289-318
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
On the basis of a nationwide survey conducted in 2020, this article strives to answer questions concerning
the legal consciousness of contemporary Poles. Above all, it aims to establish whether the law is of value
in Polish society—used as a tool for the resolution of conflicts, protection of rights, and the management of
social relationships. The analysis is anchored in the Polish tradition of research on legal consciousness, but goes
beyond that tradition to emphasize a sense of agency and competency as key components of legal consciousness.
Moreover, the analysis links legal consciousness to other areas of life controlled by legal regulations. Supported by
such theoretical considerations, this article presents an empirical model of legal consciousness in order to ponder
a question about the empirical roots of the rule of law and legal alienation in the consciousness of Poles today.
FUNDING
This article is an outcome of the “Legal Consciousness of Polish Society: Diagnosis, Types, Paths of Formation” research project (No. 2017/27/B/HS5/01658) financed by the National Science Centre Poland and carried out at the Jagiellonian University Institute of Sociology.