Suchergebnisse

Wieloautorska monografia poddająca oglądowi XX wiek z perspektywy jego znaczenia dla procesu samoidentyfikacji jednostek i/lub społeczności oraz – w przypadku tych drugich – umiejscowienia dwudziestowiecznych wydarzeń w strukturze pojęć kluczowych dla samookreślenia się Słowian. U podstaw prezentowanych tekstów leży założenie, że przeszłość, postrzegana jako ciąg wydarzeń, jest jednym z czynników determinujących tożsamość i definiujących system narodowych wartości, znajdujących odzwierciedlenie w kulturze. Autorzy, odwołując się do narzędzi z warsztatu literaturoznawcy, semiotyka, historyka i kulturoznawcy, dążą do umiejscowienia wydarzeń XX wieku na mapie pamięci współczesnej Europy. Poddają oglądowi zarówno te wydarzenia, które napiętnowały dzieje najnowsze, stając się przyczyną narodowej (lub światowej) traumy (rewolucja lutowa, wybuch II wojny światowej i in.), jak i te, które są wartościowane pozytywnie (zakończenie II wojny światowej, upadek muru berlińskiego, pielgrzymki Jana Pawła II i in.), stając się powodem do dumy. W centrum uwagi znajdują się nie tylko wydarzenia określające obraz Europy w wymiarze polityczno-geograficznym, wyraźnie obecna jest również perspektywa mentalna, która sprzyja dotarciu do źródeł narodowych fascynacji oraz narodowych traum, a także pozwala zrozumieć mechanizmy rządzące tworzeniem mitów i wskazać narzędzia do ich odczytywania, którymi są – często pozornie ukryte – treści odwołujące się do przeszłości. ; This multi-author monograph looks at the 20th century from the perspective of its role in self-identification of individuals and/or communities as well as – in the latter case – of the place occupied by events of the 20th century in the structure of concepts that are key for the self-identification of Slavs. At the heart of each of the presented papers is the premise that the past, seen as a chain of events, is one of the factors determining identity and defining the system of national values which find their reflection in culture. Drawing on the tools of literary studies, semiotics, historiography and cultural studies, the authors undertake to put 20th century events on the map of contemporary European memory. They examine both the events that left a dreadful mark on contemporary history, causing a national (or global) trauma (like the February Revolution or outbreak of World War II) and those seen as positive (like the end of World War II, fall of the Berlin Wall or John Paul II's pilgrimages) and evoking the feeling of pride. At the centre of attention are not only events defining the image of Europe in terms of political geography. Also clearly present is the mental perspective, which fosters recognizing the sources of national fascinations and national traumas, helps understand the mechanisms of myth-making, and points to the tools for reading myths that are constituted by, often seemingly hidden, references to the past.

I present a new reading of the Maria Kuncewicz novel, entitled The Foreigner, with using postcolonial perspective and consensus as a form of moderated group process aimed at reaching agreement. The work is based on the premise that if the discussion of literary texts is to make sense, we must see in it a chance for a real change of reality. Postcolonial interpretations show the colonized identity as a process of continuous positioning, linked to the processes of trauma conversion, the internalization of prejudice, and the amplification of the pattern of
violence. On the other hand, the consensus method shifts the focus from text to interpreting community which can really influence on the surrounding reality.

The Treaty of Trianon (hereinafter Trianon), the enormous losses of territory and co-ethnics, and the shaking of Hungary's status as a dominant power in the Carpathian Basin imputed a tragic understanding of contemporary Hungarian history on the Hungarian society, invoking the idea of a trauma lasting even today. Trianon's understanding became a divisive issue for political parties after 1989, highlighting the ever-deeper divisions between right and left-liberals, since 2010. Its "overcoming" is a flagship project of the government's politics of identity, with modest success so far. Thus, the 100th anniversary was a crucial moment as a test case for a self-professed nationalist, traditionalist, conservative political force for manifesting a comprehensive politics of memory. In the light of the newly built monument at the heart of Budapest, with the Hungarian names of all localities on the territory of pre-1918 Hungary inscribed on its wall, a cautious shifting back to territorial revisionism was expected. In this article, I will argue that even with such tendencies being, obviously, present, the official commemorations were crafted with a surprising message, that attempts to turn the canonical understanding of Trianon upside down and reframe it into a common catastrophe of Central Europe. Doing so places the consequences in the context of the decolonization of history, the present decline of empires, and the emergence of nation-states while combining it with important tropes of the traditional, anti-liberal and revisionist Trianon discourse. Nevertheless, the result is a transparently political message that is not only driven by easily visible actual political goals (V4 and Central European), but one that detaches the politics of memory from historical references and legacies and creates a set of shallow symbols for utter instrumentalization, to recombine at will, in a vulgarised sense of post-modernism.

A political transformation that has started in Argentina in 1983 put an end on the reign of military junta, but at the same time it was related with a number of challenges for both first democratic governments and the argentine society as a whole. One of the most problematic issues resulting from the confrontation with the crimes from 1976 – 1983 was so called transitional justice and the problem of identity and collective memory of societies coming out of the period of trauma, which are characterized by a high polarization due to different, even contradictory at times interpretations and ideas about the past. The article attempts to analyze the difficult process of settlement of the dirty war period, including the characteristics of the preceding events, the policy of the first democratic governments and the original strategies developed by the argentine movement for human rights, which on the one hand aimed to combat with the impunity of the perpetrators, and on the other hand to counteract the social amnesia and to keep the memory about the tragic past events alive. ; Zapoczątkowany w 1983 r. proces transformacji ustrojowej w Argentynie zakończył okres rządów junty wojskowej, ale jednocześnie wiązał się z wieloma wyzwaniami zarówno dla pierwszych demokratycznych rządów, jak i całego argentyńskiego społeczeństwa. Jednymi z najbardziej problematycznych kwestii determinowanych koniecznością konfrontacji ze zbrodniami z lat 1976 – 1983 okazały się tzw. sprawiedliwość okresu transformacji oraz kwestia tożsamości i pamięci zbiorowej społeczeństwa wychodzącego z okresu traumy, charakteryzującego się wysokim stopniem polaryzacji ze względu na odmienne, często sprzeczne interpretacje i wyobrażenia na temat przeszłości. W niniejszym artykule dokonano próby analizy trudnego procesu rozliczania się z okresem tzw. brudnej wojny, z uwzględnieniem charakterystyki wydarzeń, które do niego doprowadziły, polityki pierwszych demokratycznych po dyktaturze rządów oraz oryginalnych strategii wypracowanych przez argentyński ruch praw człowieka, które z jednej strony służyły walce z bezkarnością winnych, z drugiej zaś miały na celu przeciwdziałać społecznej amnezji i podtrzymać pamięć na temat tragicznych wydarzeń z przeszłości.

The article argues that the current security model was shaped in a long period. It is shown that the system was shaped by the solutions applied after the II WW, what embraces global and regional solutions. Until the end of the Cold War the applied solutions were assigned to two opposite Blocs: Western and Eastern. After 1989, which is considered to be the symbolic turning point and end of the Cold War, part of the states from the former Eastern Bloc, after introducing market and democratic reforms have joined NATO and the EU. This also included three states created after the dissolution of the former SU. The article states also that security in Europe is challenged by attempt to reconstruct the area of Russian influence. At the same time it states that this process is not limited to voluntary access of the former republics of SU but also includes annexation of the territories of sovereign Ukraine. The article illustrates that the contemporary security system is characterized by strong asymmetry of applied solutions. NATO applies liberal, cooperative solutions, while Russia uses solutions build upon force and military potential. This asymmetry and moves undertaken by Russia undermine the solutions introduced by international laws. They resulted introduction of sanctions by the US and EU states, what was followed by some political and military steps, labelled as boost NATO military presence in the NATO states bordering with Russia. The article states that in parallel to Hard Power, NATO and the EU should apply also Soft Power. Solutions applied in Russia follow the feeling of majority people in Russia who experience the trauma of former superpower and its fall. The article describes basic conditions of security system with its global and regional solutions, which create its current determinants. This concerns the level of military spending, economic potential, as well as weight of individual states and their groupings in the world scene. Key words: international security model, theory of security, practice in current security model, Soft Power, Hard Power, deterrence, balance of forces