Discussions of political metaphors provide fertile grounds for understanding issues in political theory and political practice. The article departs from the established theoretical and methodological approaches to political metaphor (e.g., classical, conceptual, hermeneutical, cognitive) to introduce (post)structuralist and (post)Marxist methodological and theoretical bases. It maintains that the established approaches to the study of functionalities and ontologies of political metaphors are possible, primarily by researching their functioning in political discourses and as events in the power/truth dispositive. Metaphors can be researched as specific political technologies (strategies of power) that influence/create regimes of truth. Keywords: political metaphors, political theory, linguistic theory, political discourse, power, knowledge
Abstract. The aim of the article is to examine the relationship between the state, democracy and the Carl Schimitt's concept of the political. That is going to be done by reconstructing the concepts of Schmitt's political theory and finding out whether they can be used to explain the ideology of the new right-wing populism and illiberal democracy. As it turns out, the Schmitt's reduction of the political to the friend/enemy antagonism makes the core of the illiberal democracies' ruling narrative. The Schimtt's understanding of the political doesn't defend the state as a political space but by cancelling of the liberal elements of democracy ruins the state institutions. The analysis shows that Schmitt's notion of the political cannot be used to build effective democratic state institutions. Namely, in his definition of the political, politics actually exists only on the outwards, towards some other nation, some other political unity, but not within the state itself. Keywords: state, the political, Carl Schmitt, illiberal democracy
Termin samoodločbe je zapisan v ustanovitvenih dokumentih večine državnih ustav ter mednarodnega prava, prav tako pa predstavlja sredstvo za legitimizacijo države ter nadnacionalnega reda. Točna definicija in njeni parametri pa so v resnici stvar debate, ne glede na to ali izhajajo iz logike notranjosti državniškega sistema ali iz logike njegove zunanjosti. Magistrsko delo najprej sledi "klasičnemu" pojmu samoodločbe v njegovi zgodovinski partikularnosti znotraj mednarodnega sistema, pri čemer poudari veliko napetost med samoodločbo in državno suverenostjo. Nakar se obrne h kritični politični teoriji, da bi izkopalo definicijo samoodločbe, pri kateri popusti poseben odnos samoodločbe z državnim sistemom in pojmom suverenosti. Takšno pojmovanje samoodločbe je za potrebe naloge poimenovano "rizomatično" in se nato uporabi pri analizi štirih primerov z namenom, da se pokaže, kako lahko tak pojem samoodločbe uporabimo za razumevanje možnosti, ki jih vzpostavljajo najnovejša politična gibanja. Temeljni argument magistrskega dela je, da ko jih razumemo v okvirju državnega sistema kot sedanjo ali prihodnjo "aktivno" pravico, se dejanja samoodločbe zreducirajo na normativni determinizem zgodovinsko kontingentnih odnosov sil, saj se bodisi ujamejo v pogoje obstoječih dejavnikov znotraj konstituiranega sistema bodisi njihovo uresničitev pogojuje učinkovitost sile, ki jo lahko izvršujejo, da bi izničili funkcije sistema, ki slonijo na obstoječih pravilih. Ko pa jo razumemo onkraj zaprte logike državnega sistema, lahko samoodločba pomeni izražanje neomejene konstituirajoče oblasti in kolektivne imaginacije, ki sprosti nove vektorje možnosti človeških političnih odnosov. ; The notion of 'self-determination' is enshrined in the founding documents of international law and most state constitutions as a means of legitimating the current state and supranational order. However, its precise definition and parameters are the subject of debate—both when understood from within the logic of the state system and from outside it. This thesis situates the "classic" notion of self-determination within its particular historical position inside the international system, highlighting its deep tension with the norm of state sovereignty, before turning to critical political theory to unearth a definition of self-determination wherein its particular relationship to the state system and the total notion of sovereignty is relaxed. This conception of self-determination is, for the purposes of this thesis, termed 'rhizomatic,' and applied to four case studies to demonstrate how it might be used to understand the possibilities created by recent political movements. The primary argument of this thesis is that, when understood inside the state system as a present or future 'active' right, acts of determination reduce to the normative determinism of historically contingent relations of force because they are either resolved on the terms of existing actors within the constituted system or by the effectiveness of force they can exert to deny the system's function based on its previous rules. However, when understood beyond the closed logic of the state system, self-determination can be taken to mean manifestations of boundless constitutive power and collective imagination that unleash new vectors of possibility for human political relations.
We find ourselves in a time that has brought significant changes to the way we communicate. The technological progress and rise of social media have shaped both the news media and the contemporary political landscape, impacting and altering political discourse. As a result, the role of social media in political communication has become pervasive, and politicians now tend to communicate more directly with the public without the intermediary of traditional media. The position of the mainstream media as a neutral actor in reporting the news has also been tainted as the media has become increasingly dependent on advertising and thus more vulnerable to the pressures of corporate or state sponsors. Combined, we find ourselves situated in an era where more people are turning to social media for their news, while terms such as disinformation, fake news, post-truth, hate speech and conspiracy theory have become commonplace. In this new public square of communication, it often happens that one person's conspiracy theory is another person's truth, one person's facts are another's fake news, and one person's hate speech is someone else's freedom of speech. ; We find ourselves in a time that has brought significant changes to the way we communicate. The technological progress and rise of social media have shaped both the news media and the contemporary political landscape, impacting and altering political discourse. As a result, the role of social media in political communication has become pervasive, and politicians now tend to communicate more directly with the public without the intermediary of traditional media. The position of the mainstream media as a neutral actor in reporting the news has also been tainted as the media has become increasingly dependent on advertising and thus more vulnerable to the pressures of corporate or state sponsors. Combined, we find ourselves situated in an era where more people are turning to social media for their news, while terms such as disinformation, fake news, post-truth, hate speech and conspiracy theory have become commonplace. In this new public square of communication, it often happens that one person's conspiracy theory is another person's truth, one person's facts are another's fake news, and one person's hate speech is someone else's freedom of speech. ; We find ourselves in a time that has brought significant changes to the way we communicate. The technological progress and rise of social media have shaped both the news media and the contemporary political landscape, impacting and altering political discourse. As a result, the role of social media in political communication has become pervasive, and politicians now tend to communicate more directly with the public without the intermediary of traditional media. The position of the mainstream media as a neutral actor in reporting the news has also been tainted as the media has become increasingly dependent on advertising and thus more vulnerable to the pressures of corporate or state sponsors. Combined, we find ourselves situated in an era where more people are turning to social media for their news, while terms such as disinformation, fake news, post-truth, hate speech and conspiracy theory have become commonplace. In this new public square of communication, it often happens that one person's conspiracy theory is another person's truth, one person's facts are another's fake news, and one person's hate speech is someone else's freedom of speech. ; We find ourselves in a time that has brought significant changes to the way we communicate. The technological progress and rise of social media have shaped both the news media and the contemporary political landscape, impacting and altering political discourse. As a result, the role of social media in political communication has become pervasive, and politicians now tend to communicate more directly with the public without the intermediary of traditional media. The position of the mainstream media as a neutral actor in reporting the news has also been tainted as the media has become increasingly dependent on advertising and thus more vulnerable to the pressures of corporate or state sponsors. Combined, we find ourselves situated in an era where more people are turning to social media for their news, while terms such as disinformation, fake news, post-truth, hate speech and conspiracy theory have become commonplace. In this new public square of communication, it often happens that one person's conspiracy theory is another person's truth, one person's facts are another's fake news, and one person's hate speech is someone else's freedom of speech. ; We find ourselves in a time that has brought significant changes to the way we communicate. The technological progress and rise of social media have shaped both the news media and the contemporary political landscape, impacting and altering political discourse. As a result, the role of social media in political communication has become pervasive, and politicians now tend to communicate more directly with the public without the intermediary of traditional media. The position of the mainstream media as a neutral actor in reporting the news has also been tainted as the media has become increasingly dependent on advertising and thus more vulnerable to the pressures of corporate or state sponsors. Combined, we find ourselves situated in an era where more people are turning to social media for their news, while terms such as disinformation, fake news, post-truth, hate speech and conspiracy theory have become commonplace. In this new public square of communication, it often happens that one person's conspiracy theory is another person's truth, one person's facts are another's fake news, and one person's hate speech is someone else's freedom of speech. ; Današnji čas je prinesel pomembne spremembe v načinu, kako komuniciramo drug z drugim. Tehnološki napredek in razmah družbenih medijev sta vplivala tako na informativne medije kot na sodobni politični prostor, kar ima pomembne posledice za politični govor. Vloga družbenih medijev v politični komunikaciji se je povečala, saj politiki čedalje bolj neposredno komunicirajo z javnostjo brez posredništva tradicionalnih medijev. Poleg tega je čedalje bolj pod vprašajem nevtralnost osrednjih medijev pri poročanju, saj so vedno bolj odvisni od oglaševanja in tako pod posrednim ali neposrednim vplivom različnih korporativnih ali državnih sponzorjev. Tako smo se znašli v času, ko vse več ljudi informacije pridobi v družbenih medijih, medtem ko so izrazi dezinformacija, lažne novice, postresničnost, sovražni govor in teorije zarote postali vsakdanji del govora. V novem javnem prostoru komunikacije se pogosto zgodi, da je to, kar kdo dojema kot teorijo zarote, za koga drugega resničnost, da so to, kar kdo dojema kot dejstva, za koga drugega lažne novice, in da je to, kar kdo dojema kot sovražni govor, za koga drugega svoboda govora.
Abstract. The article explores the significance held by political myths for legitimacy and politics. To that end, we examine political myth in line with the contemporary theory of political myth, which understands political myths as an integral part of all political communities that is not inherent to just authoritarian and totalitarian regimes. Every political community has their own stories/narratives that are accepted by most of the population and form the base of the legitimacy of the political order, whether it be a democratic or a non-democratic political order. In the final part of the article, we examine which narratives had such a legitimising power by analysing the political speeches of Franjo Tuđman while he was in office. Keywords: legitimacy, politics, political myth, political speech analysis, Tuđman.
Abstract. The article analyses the innovative Marxist conceptualisation of politics proposed by the Slovenian political scientist Adolf Bibič. The latter built on the contributions of Heglo-Marxists and Gramsci to political theory. At the core of his theory, he placed the question of the political power–class exploitation relationship. He distinguished political politics from self-managing politics, and problematised the dominant Western understandings of politics as well as the theories of elitism and pluralism. Moving away from such theories and dogmatic Marxist notions about the withering away of politics, he formulated his project of humanising politics beyond class exploitation and capitalist relations of production. This project assumed a necessary transformation of political practice in terms of the dialectical process of the socialisation of politics and the politicisation of society. Keywords: Adolf Bibič, politics, political science, class relations, economic exploitation.
V pričujoči raziskavi smo preučili strukturo, dejavnike in posledice politične kulture in državljanske participacije v postjugoslovanskih družbah. Uporabljenih je bilo več virov kvantitativnih podatkov, med drugim raziskava 2.178 študentov družboslovja v osmih postjugoslovanskih entitetah (M starost = 19,8 leta, SD = 1,89) ; reprezentativni vzorci Evropske raziskave vrednot (2008) ; pretekli valovi Svetovne raziskave vrednot (1995/8) in podatki raziskave jugoslovanske mladine (Jupio, 1986). Analiza na agregatni ravni je pokazala, da so v socioekonomsko manj razvitih okoljih (Kosovo, BiH in NJR Makedonija) v večji meri prisotni elementi podložniške politične kulture (Almond in Verba, 1963), v okviru katere so se kot ključni elementi na individualni ravni izkazali avtoritarnost, splošni tradicionalizem, tradicionalni pogled na spolne vloge in nacionalizem. Medentitetne razlike na merah ekonomske kulture (ekonomski egalitarizem in državni paternalizem) so povečini majhne in statistično neznačilne, saj vse entitete na obeh indikatorjih dosegajo visoke povprečne vrednosti. V skladu s predvidevanji dopolnjene modernizacijske teorije je demokratična politična kultura bolj koherentna v socioekonomsko bolj razvitih postjugoslovanskih državah, v nasprotju s teorijo pa manj razvite države dosegajo višje povprečne ravni državljanske participacije. Starost in socioekonomski status sta se izkazala za najmočnejša sociodemografska dejavnika politične kulture in državljanske participacije. Višje stopnje učinkovite demokracije (Inglehart in Welzel, 2007) dosegajo socioekonomsko bolj razvite države, ki izkazujejo tudi najvišje stopnje demokratične politične kulture. Longitudinalna analiza ni pokazala enotne smeri političnokulturnih sprememb ; slednje so v zadnjih dveh desetletjih bile v smeri večanja tako demokratičnih kot tudi nekaterih podložniških orientacij (npr. avtoritarnosti). Avtorji sklenejo, da proces demokratične konsolidacije, tako političnokulturne kot tudi institucionalne, v večini postjugoslovanskih družb še ni končan. Na koncu so predstavljene implikacije raziskave. ; The present study examined structures, determinants and consequences of political culture and citizen participation in post-Yugoslav societies. Several empirical data sources were employed, among others a survey of 2,178 social science students in eight post-Yugoslav entities (M age = 19.8 years, SD = 1.89) ; representative samples from European Values Study (2008), earlier waves of World Values Survey (1995/8) and a study of Yugoslav youth Jupio carried out in 1985. The aggregate level results indicated that socio-economically less developed entities (Kosovo, BiH, and FYR Macedonia) scored higher on subject political culture (Almond and Verba, 1963), which was at the individual level found to be characterized by its four core components: authoritarianism, general traditionalism, traditional gender roles attitudes, and nationalism. Between-country differences on measures of economic cultural orientations (economic egalitarianism and state paternalism) were largely minor or insignificant, since all entities scored high on both measures. As predicted by revised modernization theory democratic political culture was found to be more coherent in socioeconomically more developed post-Yugoslav countries. Inconsistent with modernization approach results demonstrated higher levels of citizen participation in less well-off countries. Age and socioeconomic status proved to be the most potent sociodemographic predictors of political culture and citizen participation. Finally, democracy was found to be more effective (Inglehart and Welzel, 2007) in socioeconomically more developed countries, which also scored highest on measures of democratic political culture. Longitudinal analysis did not uniformly confirm substantive political culture changes with changes in the last two decades taking place in both democratic as well as authoritarian direction. Authors conclude that the process of democratic consolidation, both political-cultural as well as institutional, is far from over in the majority of post-Yugoslav entities. Implications of the results are discussed.
Abstract. In which ways can we theorise the recent illegalised migrations in Europe? This article considers theoretical novelties in the field of migration studies that have emerged since the mass migration into the European Union seen in 2015. Methodologically, the authors combine critical (discursive) analysis with the testing of certain still relevant theoretical concepts that have yet to be applied in migration studies, based on fieldwork along the Balkan Route over the last 5 years. The analysis has shown that the defining and decisive feature of the recent illegalised migrations, insufficiently considered by migrations scholarship, is the political subjectivity and agency of the migrants. Recognition of such agency makes migration the site of the critique of global inequalities and the site of inclusive social transformation. Keywords: Migrations; Europe; Political Theory; State; Balkan Migrant Route
The author starts with the relationship between Badiou's otherwise severe critique of democracy & Lefort's theory of democracy. Though accused of not being democratic, Badiou's theory in a certain sense presupposes democracy & even deepens it, yet not the democracy of today, the democracy of consensus, but a democracy that is not based on exclusion. Through the comparison of Badious's & Deleuze's critiques of representation, the author shows some consequences of Badiou's starting-point that "people think" for the conceptualization of the community, equality, & universality. Adapted from the source document.
The article reconsiders the problematics of the "Deleuzian heritage" & especially the role played by the Deleuzian concept of deterritorialization in the conceptual framework of the Empire by Hardt & Negri. The concept of deterritorialization has a very special place in Deleuze's theory for it simultaneously makes possible & impossible his analysis of capitalism as well as his theory of the political & democracy. Finally, some consequences following from the ambiguities of this concept in Deleuze are shown for the theoretical edifice of the Empire. Adapted from the source document.
The paper discusses the characteristics of modern American presidential political rhetoric with special reference to Barack Obama's speeches in which he addressed the highly publicized killings of black Americans. Three of the analysed speeches contain Obama's rhetorical reaction to the judicial decisions not to indict the police officers responsible for the killings, while one speech gives his immediate reaction to the mass murder of black parishioners by a white supremacist. The study is based on the discourse-linguistic analysis of attitudinal meanings and their functions, which are conceptualized as evaluative frames. Evaluative frames are used to highlight different kinds of discourse participants through judgments of behaviour, attributions of emotions and evaluations of semiotic phenomena and objects. The theoretical framework for the different categories of evaluative frames is based on the theory of news framing and theory of evaluative language within systemic-functional linguistics. The findings of the analysis show that Obama uses an interplay of positive and negative evaluations of different kinds to transcend racial categorizations and avoid a direct attribution of blame. When he acknowledges the continuing relevance of the racial divide in US society, he often applies evaluative frames in such a way that they unify rather than divide the discourse participants on both sides of the divide. ; The paper discusses the characteristics of modern American presidential political rhetoric with special reference to Barack Obama's speeches in which he addressed the highly publicized killings of black Americans. Three of the analysed speeches contain Obama's rhetorical reaction to the judicial decisions not to indict the police officers responsible for the killings, while one speech gives his immediate reaction to the mass murder of black parishioners by a white supremacist. The study is based on the discourse-linguistic analysis of attitudinal meanings and their functions, which are conceptualized as evaluative frames. Evaluative frames are used to highlight different kinds of discourse participants through judgments of behaviour, attributions of emotions and evaluations of semiotic phenomena and objects. The theoretical framework for the different categories of evaluative frames is based on the theory of news framing and theory of evaluative language within systemic-functional linguistics. The findings of the analysis show that Obama uses an interplay of positive and negative evaluations of different kinds to transcend racial categorizations and avoid a direct attribution of blame. When he acknowledges the continuing relevance of the racial divide in US society, he often applies evaluative frames in such a way that they unify rather than divide the discourse participants on both sides of the divide. ; The paper discusses the characteristics of modern American presidential political rhetoric with special reference to Barack Obama's speeches in which he addressed the highly publicized killings of black Americans. Three of the analysed speeches contain Obama's rhetorical reaction to the judicial decisions not to indict the police officers responsible for the killings, while one speech gives his immediate reaction to the mass murder of black parishioners by a white supremacist. The study is based on the discourse-linguistic analysis of attitudinal meanings and their functions, which are conceptualized as evaluative frames. Evaluative frames are used to highlight different kinds of discourse participants through judgments of behaviour, attributions of emotions and evaluations of semiotic phenomena and objects. The theoretical framework for the different categories of evaluative frames is based on the theory of news framing and theory of evaluative language within systemic-functional linguistics. The findings of the analysis show that Obama uses an interplay of positive and negative evaluations of different kinds to transcend racial categorizations and avoid a direct attribution of blame. When he acknowledges the continuing relevance of the racial divide in US society, he often applies evaluative frames in such a way that they unify rather than divide the discourse participants on both sides of the divide. ; The paper discusses the characteristics of modern American presidential political rhetoric with special reference to Barack Obama's speeches in which he addressed the highly publicized killings of black Americans. Three of the analysed speeches contain Obama's rhetorical reaction to the judicial decisions not to indict the police officers responsible for the killings, while one speech gives his immediate reaction to the mass murder of black parishioners by a white supremacist. The study is based on the discourse-linguistic analysis of attitudinal meanings and their functions, which are conceptualized as evaluative frames. Evaluative frames are used to highlight different kinds of discourse participants through judgments of behaviour, attributions of emotions and evaluations of semiotic phenomena and objects. The theoretical framework for the different categories of evaluative frames is based on the theory of news framing and theory of evaluative language within systemic-functional linguistics. The findings of the analysis show that Obama uses an interplay of positive and negative evaluations of different kinds to transcend racial categorizations and avoid a direct attribution of blame. When he acknowledges the continuing relevance of the racial divide in US society, he often applies evaluative frames in such a way that they unify rather than divide the discourse participants on both sides of the divide. ; The paper discusses the characteristics of modern American presidential political rhetoric with special reference to Barack Obama's speeches in which he addressed the highly publicized killings of black Americans. Three of the analysed speeches contain Obama's rhetorical reaction to the judicial decisions not to indict the police officers responsible for the killings, while one speech gives his immediate reaction to the mass murder of black parishioners by a white supremacist. The study is based on the discourse-linguistic analysis of attitudinal meanings and their functions, which are conceptualized as evaluative frames. Evaluative frames are used to highlight different kinds of discourse participants through judgments of behaviour, attributions of emotions and evaluations of semiotic phenomena and objects. The theoretical framework for the different categories of evaluative frames is based on the theory of news framing and theory of evaluative language within systemic-functional linguistics. The findings of the analysis show that Obama uses an interplay of positive and negative evaluations of different kinds to transcend racial categorizations and avoid a direct attribution of blame. When he acknowledges the continuing relevance of the racial divide in US society, he often applies evaluative frames in such a way that they unify rather than divide the discourse participants on both sides of the divide. ; V prispevku so obravnavane značilnosti sodobne ameriške predsedniške politične retorike s posebnim poudarkom na govorih Baracka Obame, s katerimi se je odzval na uboje temnopoltih Američanov. Trije od analiziranih govorov vsebujejo Obamov odziv na sodne odločitve, ki so zavrnile obtožbo policistov, odgovornih za uboj, v enem od govorov pa se je odzval na množični umor temnopoltih faranov s strani belega skrajneža. Študija temelji na analizi jezikovnih kategorij vrednotenja, ki so pojmovane kot okviri vrednotenja. Okviri vrednotenja udeležence v diskurzu osvetlijo s presojami vedenja in pripisovanja čustev ter z vrednotenjem predmetov in pojavov. Koncept okvirov vrednotenja temelji na spoznanjih teorije medijske komunikacije in teorije jezika vrednotenja v sistemsko-funkcijskem jezikoslovju. Ugotovitve analize kažejo, da Obama uporablja preplet pozitivnih in negativnih vrednotenj različnih vrst, da bi presegel rasno kategorizacijo in se izognil neposrednemu pripisovanju krivde. Raziskava pokaže tudi, da Obama rasne razdelitve pogosto uokvirja tako, da udeležence na nasprotnih straneh poenoti z istim okvirom.
Agamben's paradoxical treatments of potentiality seem to leave little room for any robust theory of the subject, political or otherwise. His Aristotelian conception of potentiality entails, in the highest instance, "that potentiality constitutively is the potentiality not to (do or be)," which suggests that even if potential is realized, it is realized only by its lack of activity. Agamben's Aristotelianism is a thread that runs throughout his work, and by looking back to The Man Without Content, particularly his discussion of Marx, it is clear that the framework of potentiality means that it is impossible for him to see in Marx anything other than an odd combination of a "metaphysics of will", and man simply as a kind of natural, living being. This in turn shapes his later discussion in Homo Sacer of the entry of zoe into the polis, which founds Agamben's entire claim vis-a-vis bare life. His wager, namely that the question "In what way does the living being have language?" corresponds exactly to the question "In what way does bare life dwell in the polis?", equates the living being with its political, linguistic, and natural potentialities so completely that there seems to be no room for any kind of historically anomalous or collectively unprecedented subject, one that would break with history or disrupt everyday order. Agamben's work could easily be criticized from the standpoint of a Marxism that would stress the constructed nature of human potential and the necessity to think through forms of organization from within shifts in the nature of work. However, in order to stay closer to Agamben's Aristotelianism, it is far more productive to compare him to a thinker for whom questions of linguistic capacity and politics are also central, and also stem from a certain complex relation to naturalism, namely Paolo Virno. This paper will thus, via a careful reading of Agamben's Aristotelian conception of praxis and potentiality alongside Virno's work on the relation between language and labor, demonstrate the constitutive reasons why Agamben cannot consider any kind of substantial notion of the subject, and why Virno's more nuanced conception of capacity, which draws upon both rationalist and naturalist theories of the subject might constitute a more relevant alternative. Adapted from the source document.
Dogajanje v času komunistične revolucije bistveno vpliva tako na stanje kot tudi na razumevanje sodobne slovenske družbene situacije. V disertaciji avtorica v luči idejnega nasprotja med krščanstvom in komunizmom ter na podlagi konflikta, ki se je obenem razvil v obdobju revolucije, razišče vzroke in podlage za omenjeni vpliv. Avtorica v delu pokaže na temeljno povezanost sodobnega položaja in komunistične revolucije na Slovenskem. Kot pojmovni okvir ter orodje za razumevanje izbere Girardovo mimetično teorijo in teorijo o grešnem kozlu. Girard namreč kulturo opisuje kot mimetični cikel, kjer posameznik posnema drugega (tako se začne že v samem otroštvu, ko otrok posnema starše in s tem postane družbeno bitje). Posnemanje je gonilo vsake družbe. Poleg tega pa posnemanje lahko omogoči tudi uničenje družbe, kulture. Girard vpelje grešnega kozla kot razrešitev konflikta, kjer imata dva subjekta enako željo in se skupaj obrneta proti grešnemu kozlu, ki zanju predstavlja vzrok mimetične krize, in je njegovo žrtvovanje pogoj za ponovno vzpostavitev družbenega reda in socialne varnosti. Ta teo-retični okvir omogoča tudi raziskovanje preteklih družbenih konfliktov, posebej pa tudi njihovih posledic v sodobnosti, vključno z vidiki spravnih procesov ter tranzicijske pra-vičnosti. Zato ga avtorica plodno uporabi pri omenjenem raziskovanju. Kot dve nasprotujoči idejni podlagi avtorica predstavi krščanstvo in komunizem, ki sta že v svojem idejnem temelju diametralno nasprotni, posebej pa ju prikaže preko Girar-dove teorije. Krščanstvo s krističnim pojmovanjem osebne svobode izstopi iz cikličnosti mehanizma grešnega kozla, komunizem pa prav nasprotno temelji na mimetičnosti. Žrt-vena znamenja v Girardovem pojmovanju, ki opravičijo umor grešnega kozla, temeljijo na dejstvih, ki postanejo sprejemljiva za umor, ne glede na (ne)resničnost le-teh. Implementacija Girardove teorije na slovensko situacijo zajema dva ključna vidika. Prvi vidik je žrtvovanje nasprotnikov komunistične revolucije z žrtvenimi znamenji kolabo-racije, nemirov … Omenjeno žrtvovanje omogoči vzpostavitev totalitarnega komunisti-čnega režima v kraljevini Jugoslaviji in s tem tudi na Slovenskem. Komunizem kot tota-litarni režim ne dopušča alternative, človeka uniformira in osami. Obenem vzpostavi totalni nadzor in teror. Krščanstvo po drugi strani človeka opolnomoči z bogopodobnos-tjo in s tem edinstvenostjo, nedotakljivostjo, nezamenljivostjo ter svobodo. Drugi vidik pa zadeva dejstvo, da konflikt iz časa komunistične revolucije še vedno ni razrešen ter je vladavina prava in vzpostavitev demokratične družbe še vedno nedokon-čan projekt. Kljub demokratični državni ureditvi in propadu komunizma kot dolgoroč-nega družbenopolitičnega in ekonomskega sistema avtorica poudari dva izziva sodobne družbe na Slovenskem. Prvi je prisotnost komunistične ideologije v razmišljanju in delovanju posameznikov, drugi izziv pa je nezadostna uveljavitev tranzicijske pravično-sti. Omenjeni vidiki analize temeljijo najprej že v samem idejnem nasprotju in zasnovi tako komunizma kakor tudi krščanstva. Krščanstvo in komunizem sta v svojem temelju različna. Poseben poudarek je na vidikih dojemanja človeka kot svobodnega in razumskega bitja v obeh idejnih okvirih. Komunizem s komunistično revolucijo nastopi proti človeku, proti človekovemu dostojanstvu in proti človekovi svobodi in s tem krščanstvo postavi v obrambno držo. S tem pa tudi Cerkev, ki je kot ene vidnejših institucij komunistična revolucija ni prevzela in obvladovala, postane braniteljica človekovega življenja in človekovih pravic, obenem pa je postavljena nasproti komunistični revoluciji. Krščanstvo in tudi Cerkev se posluži različnih načinov obrambe in upora, ki niso vselej povsem skladni s krščanskim naukom. Metode obrambe so bile: krščanska drža v odnosu do vojne, do sočloveka, do okupatorja in do revolucionarnih sil, fizična obramba, sodelovanje tako z okupacijskimi kakor tudi revolucionarnimi silami, kulturna, medijska in politična udejstvovanja. Kljub temu je revolucionarno nasilje eskaliralo predvsem v zadnjih letih druge svetovne vojne in prvih letih po revoluciji. Situacije, v katere so bili postavljeni posamezniki na Slovenskem, niso bile enoznačne ali enostavne. Ni šlo zgolj za izbiro med revolucionarno ali protirevolucionarno stranjo, temveč so bile okoliščine zaradi okupacijskih sil bolj zapletene. Ljudem je grozilo neodobravanje, preganjanje ali nasilje z vseh strani. Komunistična partija je monopolizirala odpor proti okupacijskim silam. Že zametki kakršnekoli druge neodvisne organizacije upora so bili lahko kaznovani. Nemalo kristjanov je z namenom domoljubnosti ali nezmožnosti izognitve mobilizaciji postalo del osvobodilnega gibanja, ne glede na ideološko podlago gibanja ali organizacije, ki je gibanje organizirala. Cerkev kljub temu ni bila preveč zaželen partner v uporu, o čemer priča tudi Kardeljevo navodilo: "Duhovne v četah vse postreljajte" (Griesser-Pečar 1996, 109). Ne zgolj navodilo, tudi načrtno degradiranje duhovnikov z zaporom, priporom, deportacijami in usmrtitvami so priča odnosu komunistične partije do cerkvenih dostojanstvenikov. Revolucionarno nasilje je pustilo neslutene posledice ne zgolj v tedanjem obdobju, temveč tudi za sedanji čas, pri čemer pri avtoričinem raziskovanju teh posledic pomembno vlogo igrajo tudi osebne zgodbe, odgovornost na osebni ter družbeni ravni in medgeneracijski prenos travm, ki onemogočajo pravo tranzicijo iz totalitarnega v demokratični sistem. Tranzicija in tranzicijska pravičnost je torej mehanizem, ki si prizadeva v polnosti izpeljati tranzicijo na osebni in družbeni ravni ter vzpostaviti zaupanje v državne institucije, delovanje državnih struktur. Situacija na Slovenskem sicer nakazuje na nekatere pozitivne učinke tranzicijske pravičnosti, kot sta denacionalizacija in odprtje arhivov. Še vedno pa umanjka uveljavitev pravičnosti na osebni ravni, pri čemer so pomemben vidik spravni procesi ter prekinitev medgeneracijskega prenosa travm. Podobno kot na osebni ravni umanjka pravičnost v javni sferi, na primer pluralizacija medijskega prostora, urejene gospodarske pobude, dialog med različnimi družbenimi skupinami, vključno z vstopanjem verskih skupnosti v javno razpravo, vzpostavljanjem zaupanja v državne institucije ipd. Pogled na komunistično revolucijo na Slovenskem skozi prizmo Girardovega grešnega kozla ponudi edinstven okvir, ki poveže razumevanje komunistične revolucije in komu-nističnega sistema s sodobnim položajem slovenske družbe. Po eni strani Girardov mehanizem grešnega kozla lahko razumemo kot dopolnjenega v komunistični revoluciji, po drugi strani pa mehanizem stremi k dopolnitvi v smislu celovite uveljavitve tran-zicijske pravičnosti. ; The events during the communist revolution significantly influence the state and understanding of the contemporary Slovenian social situation. In the dissertation, in the light of the ideological contradiction between Christianity and Communism, and on the basis of the conflict that developed during the revolution, the author explores the causes and grounds for this influence. In this work the author shows the fundamental connection between the contemporary situation and the communist revolution in Slovenia. She chooses Girard's mimetic theory and scapegoat as a conceptual framework and tool for understanding. Girard describes culture as a mimetic cycle, where the individual imitates the other (this starts from the very childhood, when the child imitates his parents and thus becomes a social being). Imitation is the driving force of every company. In addition, imitation can also become a destruction of society, culture. Girard therefore implements the scapegoat as a conflict resolution where the two entities share the same desire and together turn against the scapegoat, which causes them a mimetic crisis and its sacrifice is a condition for restoring social order and social security. This general theoretical framework also makes it possible – to explore past social conflicts, and in particular their consequences in the present, including aspects of reconciliation processes and transitional justice. Therefore, the author fruitfully uses it in the mentioned research. The author embraces Christianity and communism as two opposing ideological bases, which are already diametrically opposed in their conceptual bases, and are especially illuminated by Girard's theory. Christianity, with its cristian notion of personal freedom, stands out from the cyclical nature of the scapegoat, but communism is, on the contrary, based on mimeticism. Victims of character in Girard's conception that justify the murder of a scapegoat are based on facts that become acceptable for murder, regardless of the (un) reality of them. The implementation of Girard's theory on the Slovenian situation thus encompasses two key aspects. The first aspect is the sacrifice of the opponents of the communist revolution with the sacrificial signs of collaboration, riots, … This sacrifice makes it possible to establish a totalitarian communist regime in Yugoslavia, and thus in Slovenia. Communism, as a totalitarian regime, does not allow an alternative, it uniforms and isolates man. At the same time, it establishes total control and terror. Christianity, on the other hand, empowers man with uniqueness, inviolability, irreplaceability and freedom. Another aspect concerns the fact that the conflict from the communist revolution has still not been resolved, and that the rule of law and the establishment of a democratic society are still, in the eyes of many Slovenians, an unfinished project. Despite the democratic state system and the collapse of communism as a long-term socio-political and economic system, the author emphasizes two challenges of contemporary society in Slovenia. The first is the presence of communist ideology in the thinking and action of individuals, and the second challenge is the insufficient implementation of transitional justice. The aforementioned aspects of the analysis are based first of all on the very conceptual contradiction and conception of both communism and Christianity. Christianity and communism are fundamentally different. Particular emphasis is placed on aspects of the perception of man as a free and rational being in both conceptual frameworks. Communism, by communist revolution, stands against man, against human dignity and against human freedom, thereby placing Christianity in a defensive posture. In doing so, the Church, which as one of the most prominent institutions has not been taken over and controlled by the Communist Revolution, becomes a defender of human life and human rights, while at the same time it stands against the Communist Revolution. Christianity, as well as the Church, uses various methods of defense and rebellion that are not always completely in line with Christian teaching. The methods of defense were the Christian stance in relation to war, to fellow human beings, to the occupier and to the revolutionary forces, physical defense, cooperation with both occupation and revolutionary forces, cultural, media and political activities. Nevertheless, revolutionary violence escalated, especially in the last years of World War II and the first years after the revolution. The situations in which individuals in Slovenia were placed were not straightforward or straightforward. It was not merely a choice between a revolutionary or a counter-revolutionary party, but the circumstances were more complex rather than straightforward because of the occupying forces. People were threatened with disapproval, persecution or violence from all sides. The Communist Party monopolized resistance to the occupation forces. The rudiments of any other, independent organization of resistance could have been punished. Quite a few Christians, for the sake of patriotism or inability to evade mobilization, became part of the liberation movement, regardless of the ideological basis of the movement or the organization that organized the movement. The church was not, however, a much-desired partner in the resistance, as evidenced by Kardelj's instruction: "Shoot the priests in the troops." (Griesser-Pečar 1996, 109) Not only the instruction, but also the deliberate degradation of priests through imprisonment, detention, deportation and execution, are witnesses to the Communist Party's attitude towards Church dignitaries. Revolutionary violence has left unprecedented consequences not only in that time but also in the present, with the author's exploration of these consequences also playing a significant role in personal stories, personal and social responsibility, and the intergenerational transmission of traumas that they preclude a real transition from a totalitarian to a democratic system. Transition and transitional justice is thus a mechanism that seeks to fully complete the transition on a personal and social level, and to establish trust in state institutions, the functioning of state structures. Although the situation in Slovenia points to some of the positive effects of transitional justice, such as denationalization, the opening of archives, it still lacks the enforcement of justice on a personal level ; for example, with regard to aspects of media pluralization, orderly economic initiatives, dialogue between different social groups, including the entry of religious communities into public debate, building confidence in state institutions, etc. The view of the communist revolution in Slovenia through the prism of Girard the scapegoat offers a unique framework that connects the understanding of the communist revolution and the communist system with the contemporary position of Slovene society. On the one hand, Girard's mechanism of the scapegoat can be understood as supplemented in the communist revolution, and on the other, the mechanism seeks to supplement in the sense of the full implementation of transitional justice.