Fear is present in public discourse around the world, it affects our mental state, it is the strongest emotion used by politicians to influence society, manipulate it or change social attitudes. Fear is believed to be most commonly used by populists, who are more successful at reaching their often less-educated voters and motivating them to vote thanks to the use of simple but expressive slogans. But this is not entirely true. Also democratic, mainstream parties, including the liberal ones, use fear to attract new voters.

Scary Stories or the Sum of All Fears in Political Discourse in Poland and in Hungary  develops a catalogue of the “sum of all fears” and shows which stories are the scariest. The authors of the report not focused solely on fears instilled by the ruling parties but also on those used by the opposition.

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Opening remarks
Pieter van de Stadt, Board Member, European Liberal Forum
and Mayor of Lansingerland

Moderator
Dr. Krzysztof Mączka, co-author of “Scary Stories” 

Speakers include
Prof. Daria Hejwosz-Gromkowska, Adam Mickiewicz University 
Dr. Dániel Mikecz, Republikon Institute