SUSTAIN ACTION at the 19th Polish National Sociological Congress: Exploring Social Movements in Times of Polycrisis

Researchers from the SUSTAIN ACTION project took part in the 19th National Sociological Congress, the largest sociological conference in Poland, held in Białystok from September 16–19, 2025. This year’s theme, “Tamed Risks? Contemporary Challenges,” provided a timely backdrop for discussions on how societies and movements respond to the growing complexity of global crises.

As part of the congress, Elżbieta Korolczuk, together with Beata Kowalska and Radosław Nawojski from Jagiellonian University, organized a thematic session titled “Social Movements in the Era of Polycrisis.” The session explored how contemporary movements are navigating a world marked by overlapping and interconnected crises — from environmental degradation and economic inequality to political instability and the erosion of democratic norms. Since the session received a large number of submissions, it consisted of two panels featuring eight presentations examining various aspects of social mobilizations in Poland and beyond.  

Among the presenters were Maciej Kowalewski and Izabela Kujawa from University of Szczecin who analyzed archival practices of social activists in Poland and Germany showing that protest archives should be understood as complex communication tools that not only document activism but also influence the self-understanding of social movements and collective memory. Another presentation, by Grzegorz Foryś from the University of the National Education Commission in Krakow, focused on the process of de-democratization in the Polish context, discussing the models of democracy formulated by the multi-organizational fields of selected social movements in Poland (feminist, urban, trade union and national-Catholic). Strategies for addressing a political crisis was also the focus of the presentation delivered by Natalia Paulovich, Academy of Special Education, which examined discursive strategies for recovering political space in the protests against Lukashenko in Belarus. 

Piotr Żuk from University of Helsinki focused his presentation on the structural, political and cultural challenges for the ecological movement in Poland. The main conclusion of the presentation was that in order to introduce ecological alternatives to the main political agenda in Poland, it is necessary to combine the demand for recognition of ecological values in environmental policy and the demand for redistribution in economic and social policy in the context of implementing green transformation. The question of what strategies are effective in the context of the polycrisis was also addressed by Aleksandra Reczuch from Södertörn University who focused on feminist discourses used by Women’s Strikes’ participants and leaders.  

The role of care in social movements was discussed by several participants. Marta Rawłuszko from the Institute of Applied Social Sciences, University of Warsaw,  proposed the concept of illegitimate care defined as activist activities aimed at maintaining the health and life of people whose well-being or existence is defined as secondary to the interests of the neoliberal nation-state or is perceived as directly contrary to them. Based on empirical data collected in 2023-2024 using individual and group interviews, the analysis covered various areas of activism (access to abortion, support for people on the Polish-Belarusian border, queer activism), highlighting the experiences of accumulating crises from the perspective of people involved in social movements. Korolczuk’s presentation, “How to Act in Times of Polycrisis? Building Emotional Infrastructure in Social Movements in Poland,” focused on the emotional dimensions of activism. Drawing on research with young activists engaged in feminist and climate movements in recent decade, she introduced the concept of emotional infrastructure — the shared emotional norms, practices, and expressions that help sustain engagement in the face of burnout, frustration, and uncertainty. Her work highlights how emotions are not just personal experiences but collective resources that shape the resilience and longevity of social movements. Anna Ratecka contributed to the session with her presentation titled “Infrastructures of Care and Justice: Responding to Structural Exclusion and Polycrisis.” She proposed a novel analytical approach to studying social movements through the lens of infrastructures - the often invisible, behind-the-scenes practices that enable movements to function and endure. Focusing on mobilisations for sex workers’ rights in Poland, Ratecka examined how activists build care and justice infrastructures to support their communities in the face of state neglect, criminalisation, and social stigma. Her analysis draws on feminist theories of care and justice, offering a fresh perspective on how movements respond to crises not only through protest and visibility, but also through sustained, everyday practices of support and resistance. 

Together, these presentations offered valuable insights into how social movements in Poland and beyond are addressing the challenges of the polycrisis era. The session emphasized the importance of integrated, intersectional approaches to activism — ones that recognize the deep interconnections between environmental, social, and political struggles. By foregrounding care, emotion, and infrastructure, SUSTAIN ACTION project offers a novel perspective on analysing the ways in which activism can be mobilized and sustained in the contemporary world.