{"id":66932,"date":"2026-11-06T11:22:05","date_gmt":"2026-11-06T10:22:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itech.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/resilient-institutions-as-the-foundation-of-national-security-key-takeaways-from-the-lukasiewicz-itech-debate\/"},"modified":"2026-11-06T12:29:30","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T11:29:30","slug":"resilient-institutions-as-the-foundation-of-national-security-key-takeaways-from-the-lukasiewicz-itech-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itech.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/resilient-institutions-as-the-foundation-of-national-security-key-takeaways-from-the-lukasiewicz-itech-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"Resilient Institutions as the Foundation of National Security: Key Takeaways from the \u0141ukasiewicz \u2013 ITECH Debate"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Cyberattacks, disinformation, hybrid threats and crises test not only a state’s defence capabilities but also the resilience and effectiveness of its democratic institutions. Parliament, government and other public authorities must ensure continuity of operations, make timely decisions and, at the same time, uphold the rule of law and maintain public trust.<\/p>

How can effective crisis response be reconciled with democratic procedures? How can institutions be strengthened so that they are capable not only of withstanding crises but also of learning from them? These were the key questions explored by participants in the second \u0141ukasiewicz \u2013 ITECH debate, held on 3 November 2026.<\/p> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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The discussion, entitled \u201cHow Can We Strengthen the Resilience of Democratic Institutions, and Why Are Resilient Institutions Essential to a Resilient State?\u201d, brought together Associate Professor Katarzyna Kubuj<\/a> from the Institute of Law Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences; Professor Jacek Zale\u015bny<\/a> from the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Warsaw; Associate Professor \u0141ukasz Perlikowski<\/a> from the Institute of Political Science, Faculty of Political Science and Security Studies, at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toru\u0144; and Jan Adamowski<\/a>, a PhD candidate at Jagiellonian University and a research associate at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Constitutional Studies within the University’s Faculty of Law and Administration. The discussion was moderated by Szymon K\u0119pka.<\/p>

The discussion drew on reports authored by Katarzyna Kubuj and Jan Adamowski, examining the resilience of the state’s constitutional system, the role of parliament, and the legal and institutional mechanisms that can strengthen democratic institutions\u2019 capacity to respond effectively to crises.<\/p>

Key Takeaways from the Debate:<\/p>

1. The resilience of democratic institutions is an ongoing process, not merely the ability to withstand a crisis.<\/strong><\/p>

Maintaining the continuity of state operations in the face of a threat does not, in itself, mean that its institutions are resilient. What matters most is the political system\u2019s ability to adapt and restore stability following disruptions. Resilience depends both on the effectiveness of institutions and on their relationship with the wider society. Equally important are appropriate legal frameworks and mechanisms for cooperation between state authorities, grounded in constitutional principles, including the separation of powers, the principle of legality and the rule of law.<\/p>

2. Effective crisis response must go hand in hand with respect for the law.<\/strong><\/p>

Crises require swift decision-making, but time pressure must not lead to established legal procedures being bypassed. The challenge lies in ensuring institutional continuity while upholding the legality of decisions and maintaining effective coordination among state authorities. The COVID-19 pandemic provided a clear example, as parliament had to adapt its procedures to accommodate remote sessions and voting. This experience highlighted the need to develop appropriate arrangements for emergency situations well in advance.<\/p>

3. Institutions must learn from crises, not merely respond to them.<\/strong><\/p>

Preparing for potential threats requires regular training, exercises, scenario analysis and evaluations of past responses. Although not all crises can be anticipated, institutions can strengthen their capacity to adapt and continuously improve their procedures. Audits conducted by Poland\u2019s Supreme Audit Office (NIK) on flood preparedness, cited during the debate, highlighted the problem of failing to implement previous recommendations. Equally important are strengthening institutional memory and developing the capacity for comprehensive threat assessment, including by drawing on the experiences of other countries.<\/p>

4. Effective parliamentary oversight and independent expert support strengthen state resilience.<\/strong><\/p>

The experts examined parliament\u2019s role in holding the government to account, including the effectiveness of parliamentary interpellations and questions, as well as the potential introduction of additional oversight mechanisms, such as dedicated question periods. Parliamentary oversight should go beyond gathering information to include issuing recommendations and monitoring their implementation. Equally important is access to professional expert and administrative support that ensures continuity of institutional knowledge regardless of political changes.<\/p>

5. Trust, political culture and civic engagement are the foundations of democratic resilience.<\/strong><\/p>

Even the most robust legal frameworks cannot ensure the effective functioning of institutions without mutual trust and a strong political culture. The experts highlighted challenges arising from political polarisation, limited dialogue between institutions and the growing role of social media in political communication, which increases the risk of disinformation.<\/p>

Civic education, public consultations and the development of local self-government also play a vital role. An important step in this direction was the 2024 amendment to the Rules of Procedure of the Sejm, which expanded opportunities for citizens to participate in consultations on draft legislation.<\/p>

Democratic Resilience Begins Before a Crisis. The debate highlighted that the resilience of democratic institutions depends on combining effective governance with respect for the rule of law. Its foundations lie in well-established procedures, effective oversight, the use of expert knowledge and public trust.<\/p>

We invite you to watch the full recording of the debate on the \u0141ukasiewicz \u2013 ITECH YouTube channel.<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Cyberattacks, disinformation, hybrid threats and crises test not only a state’s defence capabilities but also the resilience and effectiveness of its democratic institutions. Parliament, government and other public authorities must ensure continuity of operations, make timely decisions and, at the same time, uphold the rule of law and maintain public trust. How can effective crisis response be reconciled with democratic procedures? How can institutions be strengthened so that they are capable not only of withstanding crises but also of learning from them? These were the key questions explored by participants in the second \u0141ukasiewicz \u2013 ITECH debate, held on 3 November 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":364,"featured_media":66933,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,319,11,317,323],"tags":[1164,988,1000,1005,1162,397],"class_list":["post-66932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sukcesy","category-wydarzenia","category-aktualnosci","category-projekty","category-bezpieczenstwo-i-obronnosc","tag-debata","tag-obronnosc","tag-wydarzenie","tag-innowacje","tag-rp","tag-bezpieczenstwo"],"acf":{"data_rozpoczecia_wydarzenia":"","lokalizacja_wydarzenia":"","wyroznij":false,"czas_czytania":"3"},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/itech.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/itech.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/itech.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itech.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/364"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itech.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66932"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/itech.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66932\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66936,"href":"https:\/\/itech.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66932\/revisions\/66936"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itech.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/itech.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itech.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itech.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}