Polish political history offers valuable lessons — and warnings — for the world, a respected scholar of the Enlightenment period recently told an audience at 鶹ý.
Visiting 鶹ý in late March, Richard Butterwick-Pawlikowski, professor of Polish-Lithuanian history at University College London, gave a talk putting America’s revolutionary political experiment in a broader context.
His lecture “How Do Republics Decline, Recover, and Fall?” described the struggles of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from the middle of the 17th century to the middle of the 18th, and its bold step forward with the constitution of May 1791.
Unlike the young American republic, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth eventually imploded — a victim of pressures exerted by neighboring monarchies.
“The prospect of this republic marching confidently towards the 19th century threatened neighboring absolute monarchies demographically, ideologically, and geopolitically,” Butterwick-Pawlikowski said. “The prospect was intolerable.”
Pressure was applied. It produced the intended effect.
“The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth did not fall of its own accord,” he said. “Precisely because of its recovery, it was felled, and it went down fighting.”
In an interview before his lecture, the historian offered views on the early American and Polish republics, Virginia’s special place in America’s story, and the state of Polish democracy today.
The following conversation has been edited for length.
How would you compare America and Poland during the 1700s?
In terms of geography, Poland has a very short coastline in the 18th century and it’s got very powerful neighbors on all its land borders. In 18th century America, you have the 13 colonies followed by the 13 states … Essentially, they’ve got an ocean to protect them, and they are spread out along the coast with an opportunity to expand forever inland. So, geographically you would not be comparing like with like …
Where you have the greatest similarity is in their attitude to the political community, what you call the commonwealth or the republic or the union. You have a similar reverence for ancient republics, a similar essence of education, ancient history, ancient literature of ancient heroes. Cincinnatus [the Roman statesman] is seen as a hero with one and the other. Julius Caesar is seen as a dangerous figure with one and the other. And the motto of the ancient Roman historian Sallust that it is better to live in perilous liberty, than tranquil servitude is popular on both sides of the Atlantic.
What are your thoughts about the appearance of America’s democracy as we approach the nation’s 250th birthday, July 4, 2026?
It’s the ultimate answer for a historian of the 18th century: What has the 18th century ever done for you? What it has done is the most astonishing case of the application of the principles of a republic. Conventional wisdom had that it could only work in some sort of ancient city state where people were more or less the same, where there were slaves to do the real work. And [in America] this is applied to a huge area of a dynamically developing society. In order to make it work, you have some of the finest enlightened minds coming together to work out the checks and balances that could keep it working.
It’s still proving its worth. Although the Constitution of the United States of America may seem a real encumbrance and hindrance when things are all right, when there is a crisis — a threat — it proves its worth and prevents things from getting worse …
Not that they were perfect, not that they got everything right. They didn't solve the problem of slavery until much, much later — with effects that are still unfortunately being felt today. But nevertheless, they were able to show that republics could work.
You said this is your first time visiting Virginia. Impressions?
Two things come to mind. One is the landscape, or perhaps the seascape. There is this incredible water world of inlets and bays and estuaries. It’s quite something to travel around this and see the ever-changing views. The other is the sense that American history is concentrated here. Whether it’s the original settlements or whether it’s the Revolutionary War or whether it’s the Civil War or whether it’s Civil Rights, it takes on an edge here. You really get a sense of it all coming together. If you were going to come to one state in America to learn the history and the way it resonates, then you would come to the Commonwealth of Virginia.
What’s the state of Polish democracy today?
Polish democracy, in terms of voter turnout, in terms of in general caring about the state of Poland, is in pretty good shape. The Polish republic … has become deeply polarized with increasing intolerance of those who have hold different opinions. They're either considered to be traitors or barbarians, depending on which side you're talking to … That is a common illness of most democracies in the world today and it certainly affects Poland … But compared to the state of French democracy, for example, Poland’s in a relatively good place.