We encourage you to read the second expert commentary on our annual survey.

Dr Karolina Brylska shares her reflections on the results we’ve just published.

Although the vast majority of respondents have a clearly defined position on the issue we studied (the involvement of Polish troops in stabilizing the Russian-Ukrainian border), only half would be willing to express it publicly, for example, in a conversation with strangers. This demonstrates a significant gap between holding an opinion and the willingness to reveal it — a classic mechanism of the spiral of silence.

Even though as many as 60% of respondents believe that their stance on sending Polish troops to Ukraine is shared by the majority of society — both now and in the future — only 47% declare readiness to discuss controversial topics. Additionally, one in four respondents (27%) explicitly avoids such conversations. This discrepancy between “I know what I think” and “I can say it” likely reflects a potential fear of judgment. In a society as politically polarized as ours, talking about controversial topics in direct contact with others probably seems too risky, too exhausting, or, worse, pointless. This is a conclusion that may carry significant negative consequences for the health of civil society in Poland and the quality of public debate.

The extremely high declared voter turnout (as much as 74% saying “definitely yes”) is likely due to the sample characteristics in our study (a relatively high representation of men, people from large cities, and the educated), which is interesting in itself. Interviewers reported that during attempts to start interviews, women would decline, arguing that they did not know enough about the study topic (“opinions about the military”) — even though interviewers emphasized that it was about expressing opinions, not precise knowledge. Besides this, the unnaturally high declared turnout may result from a classic response bias, where respondents do not answer truthfully but rather express what they believe is the socially desirable opinion in this case.