These are good points, and the essay is persuasively argued. But there's also a "pushing the envelope" quality to what the Polish government is doing. In general, bad actors will keep pushing the envelope until they encounter a hard limit. Isn't it important for the EU to put a stop to the subversive tactics of countries like Poland and Hungary? As long as the leaders in these countries believe they can break the rules with impunity, they'll keep breaking the rules, and weaken the EU that way.
Fair point! There are dangers both ways and it is a delicate balancing act. And I go back and forth on this too. But I think confrontation should be the near last resort for the EU when other mechanisms of accountability fail if we think that maintaining the integrity of the EU is worth it from the standpoint of promoting liberal democratic values. And I go back and forth on that question as well. In this case, I do think EU membership has given Polish people an additional incentive to stay on the side of these values and therefore if the EU disintegrates, on balance, it will be a setback, leaving weak democracies like Poland entirely at the mercy of narrower domestic interests.
These are good points, and the essay is persuasively argued. But there's also a "pushing the envelope" quality to what the Polish government is doing. In general, bad actors will keep pushing the envelope until they encounter a hard limit. Isn't it important for the EU to put a stop to the subversive tactics of countries like Poland and Hungary? As long as the leaders in these countries believe they can break the rules with impunity, they'll keep breaking the rules, and weaken the EU that way.
Fair point! There are dangers both ways and it is a delicate balancing act. And I go back and forth on this too. But I think confrontation should be the near last resort for the EU when other mechanisms of accountability fail if we think that maintaining the integrity of the EU is worth it from the standpoint of promoting liberal democratic values. And I go back and forth on that question as well. In this case, I do think EU membership has given Polish people an additional incentive to stay on the side of these values and therefore if the EU disintegrates, on balance, it will be a setback, leaving weak democracies like Poland entirely at the mercy of narrower domestic interests.