Multi-purpose populist policymaking in practice: the Polish academic evaluation reform

This paper theorizes populist policymaking as multi-purpose governance that can simultaneously deliver responsiveness, ideological consolidation, and institutionalized patronage. We apply this framework to the reform of Poland’s academic journal evaluation system introduced under the Law and Justice (PiS) government. By altering the number of points assigned to journals, the policy redefined academic prestige and resource distribution. Our analysis of more than 30,000 journals before and after the reform shows that Polish-published and humanities journals received a disproportionate boost – consistent with a narrative of responsiveness – but that journals affiliated with Catholic institutions, closely aligned with the ruling party, benefited most significantly. Hence, while presented as a response to concerns among humanities scholars about the side effects of research internationalization, the reform also advanced a conservative- nationalist agenda and disproportionately benefited pro-government institutions. These findings illustrate how populist reforms can be formally legal yet designed to embed ideological content and reward loyal actors.