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The purpose of this article is to capture one of the key features of the political thought that developed in the United States of America. Assuming that the USA's political culture is indeed exceptional, the author attempts to find the common denominator that would reflect the singularity of the American political mind. The author states that such a feature is the radical anti-historicality of the American mode of thinking about politics. It is a phenomenon that is deeply-rooted in the political and spiritual past of the United States and seems to be crucial because it never developed to such an extent in other traditions. Furthermore, even today to a large extent it defines both the American left and right. It is also very much present in academic discussion as well as in ordinary political activities. By anti-historicality the author means the rejection of the thesis that politics within a given society depends on that society's past experience. The phenomenon defies simple normative assessments. On the one hand, it protects American politics from the perils of radical historicism; on the other hand, it hinders the USA's contacts with other political bodies. However, the author concludes that understanding American anti-historicality is crucial when entering into any relations with the USA.

Abstrakt

Il saggio presenta una ricognizione dei problemi e delle prospettive per la diffusione della lingua italiana nel mondo: lo fa con una logica da saggio di pensiero e non di dati, anche se rimanda ai dati degli Stati Generali dell'Italiano nel Mondo. Gli assi costitutivi della riflessione sono due: una riflessione sul 'mercato delle lingue' in un mondo che, dopo gli entusiasmi della globalizzazione di vent'anni fa, ha una pericolosa tendenza a tornare ad occuparsi del proprio particulare, in una logica estremamente locale, molto diversa dalla glocalizzazione al cui interno la diffusione dell'italiano pare facilitata; in secondo luogo, gli elementi caratterizzanti di una 'politica di qualità' secondo le regole del marketing, applicato al 'prodotto' Italia/italiano. Il quadro che emerge è molto meno drammatico di quanto si ascolti di solito nei convegni di italianisti, e presenta punti di forza accanto a punti critici, che tuttavia appaiono superabili.

"Stan generalny" języka włoskiego dla obcokrajowców

Esej diagnozuje problemy i prezentuje perspektywy rozprzestrzeniania się języka włoskiego na świecie: choć logika wywodu jest eseistyczna, ważny punkt odniesienia stanowią także dane instytucji Stati Generali dell'Italiano nel Mondo. Obrano dwie zasadnicze osie refleksji: pierwsza z nich podejmuje tematykę "rynku języków" we współczesnym świecie, w którym, przy ostudzonym znacznie zachwycie globalizacją sprzed dwudziestu lat, daje się zauważyć niebezpieczna tendencja powrotu do partykularyzmów, według logiki skrajnego lokalizmu, odmiennego jednak od "glokalizacji", w warunkach której rozprzestrzenianie się języka włoskiego wydaje się łatwiejsze. Drugą osią refleksji są charakterystyczne elementy "polityki jakości", opracowywanej według reguł marketingowych i aplikowanej wobec "produktu" pod nazwą Italia. Obraz sytuacji wyłaniający się z takiej refleksji okazuje się dużo mniej dramatyczny od tego, który zwykło się odmalowywać na konferencjach italianistycznych; wyodrębnione zostają bowiem zarówno mocne strony, jak i punkty krytyczne, które jednak nie wydają się przeszkodami niemożliwymi do pokonania.

The film is one of few examples of political documentaries produced in Poland after 1989. It is not limited to merely outlining the political argument over General Jaruzelski's decision to impose martial law. Although it concerns events in Polish history, it is not a historical documentary, as it brings forth present-day political conflicts that have arisen around historical events. Trying to reconstruct this current political argument, Zmarz-Koczanowicz reaches for a method developed in the 1970s by the so-called "Kraków School" led by Krzysztof Kieślowski. ^e "talking heads" method was meant to help documentary filmmakers in the Polish People's Republic reach what the person in the street actually thought and avoid the distortions of propaganda. For Kieślowski, however, the overriding aim was conciliation and an attempt to understand both sides of the political barricade - the authorities and the vox popu- li. His attitude, according to the terminology suggested by Chantal Mouffe, was a post-political one striving for an agreement through a rational dialogue. Zmarz-Koczanowicz's aim, however, is different: she is intent on showing a clash of different hegemonies that do not strive for consensus. Their agonistic argument, played out in the political register, rather than a moral one, is a guarantee, according to this Belgian philosopher of politics, that democracy will continue to exist.

Today Europeanization is a notion that is frequently used; however, there is a clear shortage of, or even fragmentariness of scientific knowledge, within this scope. The research into the Europeanization processes were initiated by political scientists in the 1970s, although the notion itself only gained popularity in the 1990s alongside the realization of the commom European market. From that moment, Europeanization is a research problem that has attracted interest in numerous fields and scientific disciplines. David Floyd [2001, p. 109] emphasizes the fact that the majority of market changes which have occurred since the beginning of the twenty-first century took place as a result of Europeanization processes which are explicite, defined as the phenomenon of the regionalization processes. As Neil Fligstein [2009, p. 107] highlights, the "majority of the research concerning the European integration focuses only on political and legal processes (…) which is the reason for which researchers overlook the fact how deep the European economy has been reorganized". There are few works of the kind cited above, nor have there been many recent papers seeking to undertake broad and deep research into the Europeanization processes in both economic (including macro- and microeconomic fields) and noneconomic dimensions.