Larry Wolff, Venice and the Slavs. The Discovery of Dalmatia in the Age of Enlightenment. Stanford, Stanford University Press, 2001, 408 pp.

2003 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 236-238
Author(s):  
Martina Winkler

When it comes to identity, nationalism and the various perceptions of “the Other,” postcolonial theory has inspired historians of Central and Eastern Europe for years. This inspiration, however, has not overcome a certain superficial level of slogans and catchphrases: identity is a cultural construction, yes, so it is somehow connected to the problem of power; knowledge too, since we have read Said and Foucault, is to be considered as both a result and an instrument of power. Now it seems that this superficiality will not be accepted any more. Recently, scholars of Central Europe organized a conference focusing on the questions of whether and how postcolonial theory can be applied on the study of Austria-Hungary. Was the Habsburg Empire really an Empire, can perspectives developed in Delhi be transferred to Prague and Bratislava?

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valeriy Heyets

Nearly 30 years of transformation of the sociopolitical and legal, socioeconomical and financial, sociocultural and welfare, and socioenvironmental dimensions in both Central and Eastern Europe, including Ukraine, has led to a change of the social quality of daily circumstances. On the one hand, the interconnection and reciprocity of these four relevant dimensions of societal life is the underlying cause of such changes, and on the other, the state as main actor of the sociopolitical and legal dimension is the initiator of those changes. Applying the social quality approach, I will reflect in this article on the consequences of these changes, especially in Ukraine. In comparison, the dominant Western interpretation of the “welfare state” will also be discussed.


1918 ◽  
Vol 64 (266) ◽  
pp. 267-272
Author(s):  
S. B. Pal

Darwin, after a most comprehensive and searching investigation of the phenomena of life and variation, came to the conclusion that “man is the co-descendant with the other mammals of a common progenitor,” and still “bears in his bodily frame the indelible stamp of his lowly origin.” With the immense and varied ancestry man has had, and the infinitude of his connections with the rest of the animal world, “atavism,” i.e., inheritance of characteristics from remote, not from the more immediate ancestors, is a very interesting subject of study. The presence of supernumerary nipples in man may be cited as an example of atavism. This abnormality has been noticed by me in four patients during five years' observations in the hospitals in this country. In some parts of Central and Eastern Europe a very high percentage of men is said to possess this abnormality. This characteristic is absent in apes, baboons, and monkeys, who are men's immediate successors, but is found in lemurs, an order of mammals lower in order. The rare occurrence of multiple births in women is a characteristic which is reversion, or atavistic towards the condition normal in lower vertebrates.


2007 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 411-427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alina Curticapean

A personal note frames this essay. In recent years I have travelled with my Finnish colleagues from the University of Tampere to a number of international seminars and conferences organized in various European locations. While socializing with the other participants, my self-identification as Romanian has, on several occasions, prompted the question “are you Hungarian or Romanian …?“ No other options were ever offered, even though Romania has a quite sizeable Roma minority and a number of Saxons, though ever declining, still live in the country. At the same time, the ethnicity of my Finnish colleagues has never been questioned. True, Finns describe their country as a homogeneous place, yet Finland is a country with two official languages—Finnish and Swedish—ever praised for the treatment of its Swedish-speaking minority. And some other ethnicities—for instance, Roma and Sami—also live in Finland. Nobody interested? Or maybe there is more to it than simply a question of curiosity (or a lack of it). That the ethnicity of the Finnish participants was deemed irrelevant, whereas my ethnic identity seemed a topical issue for informal discussions during coffee breaks or conference lunches elicited my interest in the issue of national and ethnic identity. I have started to ask how collective identities, and especially national and ethnic identities, have been conceptualized and how those theoretical concepts have been deployed in the study of Central and Eastern European identities. Are there any differences in how Central and Eastern European identities are studied compared with Western identities?


2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
František Ochrana ◽  
Michal Plaček ◽  
Milan Křápek

AbstractThe article examines the section of officials in the central administration who belong to the ministerial staff of the Czech Republic. It examines those persons engaged in the creation of analyses, strategies, and management activities. The study is based on original research conducted by the ministries of the Czech Republic in 2013 (N = 1351). The article seeks to discover what the make-up of this group is in terms of gender, age, and education levels at the chosen ministries, as well as to report on the types of experiences the group has had. The analysis shows that ministerial officials are in fact a gender-balanced group of employees, predominately university-educated. The overall median age of employees in all ministries is 42 years. On the other hand, there are certain inter-ministerial differences, as explained in detail in this paper. Based on results of the empirical research, conclusions have been drawn that may also serve as an inspiration for similar investigations in other countries of Central and Eastern Europe that address similar issues as found in the Czech Republic.


Author(s):  
Maxim V. Vinarski

A finding of the lymnaeid species Ladislavella occulta (Jackiewicz, 1959) [Mollusca: Gastropoda: Lymnaeidae] in Hungary is reported, which is the first record of this snail in the country. The shells of L. occulta were found in 1989 in the marsh area of the Bátorliget Nature Reserve. The current distribution of this species in Eastern and Central Europe is reviewed. It is hypothesized that L. occulta represents a relic species, whose origin may be traced back to the Pleistocene


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-144
Author(s):  
Tomasz Gajownik

The non-aggression pact concluded in November 1932 between France and the Soviet Union was on the one hand the peak achievement of French diplomacy in implementing the plan of strengthening influence in Central and Eastern Europe, and on the other the growing position of Moscow in the international arena. The signed document was the first inter-state agreement concluded by France and the USSR. From the perspective of the Second Polish Republic, the Franco-Soviet rapprochement could have had certain unfavorable consequences. That is why both civilian and military factors closely watched the negotiation process between both parties and tried to determine the actual state of bilateral relations.


Equilibrium ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 49-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalena Raftowicz-Filipkiewicz

This paper presents the topic of nation branding, which is considered as a complementary factor of the traditional economic policy implemented in a given country. The concept of branding aims at creating a strong national brand for improving the brands of national products, as well as the image of the country which influences the attraction of foreign direct investments and increase the export. The example of Estonia attempts to prove that the actions for national brand changed positively the image in this country, as well as the competitiveness of the economy. For this purpose the author used the ranking of national brand and international competitiveness. The author also set as a goal to recognize if the concept of nation branding can be useful for the other countries of Central and Eastern Europe, especially Poland. The conclusion of this paper is that nation branding is an economic challenge for these countries and should be implemented as soon as possible in their strategies of country’s development.


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