Signposts of (in)tolerance among young Poles: from attitudes towards immigrants to generational political rebellion

Abstract

An interest in tolerance and othering as well as an indirect correlation between age and tolerance has inspired this study about youth intolerance in Poland. Although most studies have investigated intolerance in relation to ideologies, this study is not ideology based. The main aim of this research study is to understand reasons behind youth intolerance and othering in Poland. It sets out to do that through conducting semi-structured interviews with fifteen participants between the ages of eighteen to twenty-four, who do not belong to a specific ideological background, based on the assumption that aspects of intolerance exist among all individuals from different ideologies globally. An inductive qualitative content analysis took place, partially aligning with evolved grounded theory in order to analyze data. Many themes occurred during the interviews such as a backlash against the church and the government in Poland, as well as a feeling of Russian threat. However, the main finding of this research that participants expressed was their support towards LGBTQ rights and abortion rights while expressing reservation towards immigrants. Details shared in the interviews indicate this is due to a negative representation in media and a lack of exposure as well as historical narratives in Poland.