The Polish Nobel laureate speaks on how to resist authoritarianism. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

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In August 1980, Lech Walesa was a young electrician with a bristling mustache, trapped in the stultifying dictatorship of Communist Poland. He climbed over a security fence at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk and led a strike that gave rise to the independent labor union, known as Solidarity. Soon the group’s goals expanded. One-third of the country joined Solidarity — teachers and lawyers and professors and priests. It became a civic and independent force.

The next year, the government declared martial law. Walesa was arrested. But in 1989, his movement toppled Communism in Poland, a peaceful revolution that swept the rest of Eastern Europe. Walesa served as his country’s president for five years and steered its transition to democracy and free markets. He won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Lech Walesa, in other words, knows something about fighting tyranny. And he knows that what matters is not only what you’re against, but what you’re for.

Despite launching a revolution more than four decades ago, Walesa is younger than Joe Biden and only a little older than Donald Trump. On Saturday, Walesa spoke at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in Manhattan. Jaunty and white-haired, he leaned against a podium and held forth.

Poland, like the United States, has seen a retrenchment, a rollback of the rule of law, and threats to democracy. The Polish center-right and center-left joined hands to oust the populists and return to office.

Echoes of our current dilemma are hard to miss. Anne Applebaum, the Atlantic writer married to the Polish foreign minister, spoke about having attended a No Kings march earlier in the day. (About half the audience applauded. Others winced.)

Walesa had pointed, and at times surprising, things to say. Only one Western leader, he declared, had the “cojones” (as it was translated from Polish) to act to secure Poland. Was it famed Cold Warrior Ronald Reagan? No. “Bill Clinton,” he said. “Without Bill Clinton, we would be Ukraine.” Clinton secured Poland’s entry into NATO and the European Union. In fact, Walesa proposed that Clinton be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

He described the broad coalitions needed to fight authoritarianism, both in the 1980s and today.

What struck me, in this American moment of what can feel like do-or-die conflict, was something he said about how to win change. It is not enough to be against authoritarianism. What is our shining vision for the future?

Walesa even urged reforms that might sound familiar.

Presidents should be limited to two terms, he said. Vladimir Putin — who runs a “gangster government” — could not have consolidated and abused power without the extra years in office. (It was unclear whether he knew that the U.S. Constitution already imposes that limit — let alone that Trump threatens routinely to run for an illegal third term.)

A reform agenda must also focus on corruption, he declared. Transparency is vital. That’s good political advice, if nothing else. A CBS/YouGov poll

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fielded in July found that Americans now believe corruption to be the greatest threat to U.S. interests, followed closely by the weakening of our democracy.

Today, with the federal government shut down, troops on the streets, and the Supreme Court seemingly poised to destroy voting rights, it can be hard to do more than respond to events. But we should heed Walesa’s words and example.

The No Kings rallies were huge and inspiring. They were patriotic to the core. It is necessary to have numbers and to break the spell of inevitability.

But the next phase cannot start soon enough. We will work to craft the next generation of reforms to make government work better. We need to think big — to overturn Citizens United, ensure that everyone has a meaningful right to vote, enact term limits for Supreme Court justices, and more. We must craft a full agenda to make government work after the wreckage. To restore the independence of the Justice Department. To curb presidential emergency powers. And at the same time, to protect the environment, provide health care, ensure economic competition, and more.

The Gdansk strike, after all, started over higher prices. When average Poles concluded the economic system truly was not working for them, they found the courage to challenge abuse of power. We don’t need to vault over any fences to start our solidarity movement.





Federal Court Greenlights Portland Deployment

Yesterday a federal appeals court ruled that President Trump can federalize Oregon National Guard troops and deploy them to Portland, even though the city has seen only small, overwhelmingly nonviolent protests in recent months. “It’s one of the most dangerous and legally flawed court decisions I’ve seen this year,” Liza Goitein writes, adding, “if the courts and Congress fail to correct this judicial error, the Ninth Circuit will have paved the way for Trump to deploy the military against the people of this country at will.” Read more

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2025 Trends in State Voting Laws

As of early October, 16 states have enacted 29 laws restricting access to the ballot — just shy of the record set in 2021, when 17 states enacted 32 such laws. Meanwhile, states have enacted significantly fewer laws expanding voting access in 2025 compared to recent years, signaling that democratic progress has slowed in many states, even as democratic backsliding has accelerated in others. The latest edition of the State Voting Laws Roundup, jointly produced by the Brennan Center and UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy, highlights additional trends in state voting legislation, including bills still moving through state legislatures. Read more

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DOJ’s Accountability Crisis

The Trump administration has systematically dismantled the internal controls that help ensure Justice Department attorneys comply with state and federal law, as well as the department’s own professional and ethical standards. Federal judges are now criticizing attorneys representing the U.S. government for failing to meet basic obligations to act honestly, lawfully, and in good faith. A new paper by two former DOJ officials outlines what those accountability systems were, how the administration has broken them, and how courts are responding. Read more

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Who’s in Charge of Elections?

The Trump administration is attempting to illegally take control of election administration — but the Constitution grants that power to the states, not the president. As the 2026 midterms approach, the federal government may make further attempts to undermine or interfere with elections. In State Court Report, Jess Brouard and Derek Tisler outline what the Constitution says about who runs American elections, including the appropriate roles of state, local, and federal governments. Read more

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PODCAST: Paying for Power

We are living in a new era of corruption, one rife with personal self-dealing and vast amounts of funds pouring into the political process. Whether it’s the crypto industry dominating Congress, the world’s wealthiest man bankrolling the winning presidential campaign, regulatory decisions used to pressure businesses, or the government quashing the bribery investigation of a top official, public power and private gain are fusing into one. Experts lay out a plan to end the culture of kleptocracy — listen to The Briefing with Michael Waldman on Spotify

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or Apple Podcasts

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, or watch on YouTube

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.





Coming Up

VIRTUAL EVENT: The Power of the Purse

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Tuesday, October 28, 2–3 p.m. ET



The Constitution gives Congress the authority to decide how much the federal government spends and for what purposes. While presidents and Congress have always engaged in a push-and-pull over funding, President Trump has taken unprecedented steps to ignore this constitutional framework and impose his own spending priorities.



Since taking office, the Trump administration has attempted to freeze financial assistance, terminate already-awarded scientific research grants, prevent states from accessing emergency disaster relief, and circumvent federal statutes through unlawful “pocket rescissions.” Join us for a live virtual event with experts who will break down the efforts to undermine Congress’s funding authority, the lawsuits challenging those efforts, and the impact of these actions on Americans’ daily lives. RSVP today

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Want to keep up with Brennan Center events? Subscribe to the events newsletter.

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News

Kareem Crayton on how Louisiana v. Callais could affect the 2026 midterms // THE NEW YORK TIMES

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Michael Li on the Supreme Court redistricting case // LOUISIANA ILLUMINATOR

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Sean Morales-Doyle on the impact of voter ID laws // WCNY

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Spencer Reynolds on guidelines on ICE agents’ use of force // OREGONLIVE

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