Let's Agree on Poland

At a time when constitutional democracy is under increasing strain, Let's Agree on Poland offers a bold exploration of how divided societies can break through ideological deadlock and reform their institutions. While rooted in the case of Poland, the book offers both academic insight and practical solutions for addressing democratic challenges worldwide.

Born from an extraordinary cross-partisan initiative launched at the height of Poland's constitutional crisis, the book presents a comprehensive constitutional reform proposal by legal and political thinkers across the ideological spectrum, from progressives to staunch conservatives. Detailed political and constitutional analysis is complemented with sophisticated financial models that demonstrate the real-world budgetary impact of the proposed reforms, as well as public-management perspectives on improving the efficiency and decisiveness of the reformed state.

In addition to offering rigorous political analysis, book revives storytelling as a tool for constitutional imagination. Through collaboration with award-winning fiction writers, Let's Agree on Poland presents five short stories that illustrate how its proposed new constitutional system would work in practice, shaping the everyday lives of ordinary people.

Adapted from a 2023 Polish non-fiction bestseller, this international edition features a new introduction and conclusion that deliver an original diagnosis of today's global democratic crisis and the institutional mindset needed to overcome it. Short commentaries by leading American and European legal and political thinkers complement the other writings that comprise this unique volume.

Maciej Kisilowski, Associate Professor of Law and Strategy, Central European University,Anna Wojciuk, Associate Professor, University of Warsaw

Maciej Kisilowski is an Associate Professor of Law and Strategy at Central European University in Vienna. His research spans public law, management, and political economy. His academic work has appeared in Business and Society and Law and Social Inquiry, among others. He holds a JSD and LLM from Yale Law School, an MPA from Princeton, and an MBA from INSEAD. His commentary on populism, democracy, and the rule of law has been featured in Project Syndicate, The Financial Times, Politico,Âand leading Austrian and Polish media outlets.

Anna Wojciuk is an Associate Professor at the University of Warsaw, specializing in international relations with a focus on populist foreign policy. Her work has appeared in Review of International Studies, Chinese Journal of International Politics, and European Political Science. In 2018, she published the book Empires of Knowledge in International Relations with Routledge. She was a Fernand Braudel Fellow at the EUI (2017/18, 2024) and has held visiting positions at Harvard, Columbia, Cornell, and Sciences Po. She also contributes to leading media outlets, including Foreign Policy and Politico.

Introduction: A Polarized Country in Need of a New Social Contract, Maciej Kisilowski and Anna WojciukPART I. AGREED.1. The Republic of Our Dreams, Antoni Dudek, Maciej Kisilowski, and Anna Wojciuk2. Harmony by Choice, Agnieszka Chlon-Dominczak, Jacek Giedrojc, and Anna Wojciuk3. Poland of Equal Opportunities, Maciej Bukowski, Mikolaj Herbst, and Tomasz Kaczor4. Center Strong with Strategy, Maciej Kisilowski and Wojciech Przybylski5. Return to Democracy, Ryszard Balicki, Jaroslaw Gwizdak, and Fryderyk Zoll6. Strengthening Democracy, Miroslaw Granat, Tomasz Grzegorz Grosse, Arkadiusz Radwan, and Jacek SokolowskiComment: Reimagining the Polish Constitution by Looking to the Past, Kim Lane ScheppeleComment: Winding Road to Democracy, Wolf LinderPART II. WE ARE DIFFERENT.7. Why Imagine the New Contract?, Maciej Kisilowski and Anna Wojciuk8. The Dream Progressive Voivodship, Helena Chmielewska-Szlajfer, Pawel Dobrowolski, and Ziemowit Szczerek9. The Dream Conservative Voivodship, Jakub Drodz, Sylwia Sysko-Romanczuk, Marta Kwasnicka10. The Dream Leftist Voivodship, Alicja Pacewicz, Jan Smolenski, Michal Zabicki, and Sylwia Chutnik11. The Dream Christian Democratic Voivodship, Lukasz Rozdeiczer, Artur Wolek, and Karolina Lewestam12. The Dream Classical Liberal Voivodship, Leszek Stypulkowski, Marek Tatala, Marcin Zielinski, and Piotr SiemionComment: A European Dream about Polish Dreams, Kalypso NicolaidisComment: For a Strong Poland, United in its Diversity, Peter L. Lindseth13. Let's Do It Differently, Antoni Dudek, Maciej Kisilowski, and Anna Wojciuk