Law and Justice in Jerusalem, Babylon and Hellas

2022 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Law And Justice

The Day of Remembrance of the “Cursed Soldiers”: commemorative practices in contemporary Poland

2019 ◽  
pp. 269-288
Author(s):  
Anna Lagno
Keyword(s):  
Political Struggle ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
Additional State ◽  
The Law ◽  
Law And Justice ◽  
Rewriting History ◽  
Key Questions

Since 1 March 2011 Poland has marked the National Day of Remembrance of the „Cursed Soldiers” (Narodowy Dzień Pamięci “Żołnierzy Wyklętych”) — members of the anti-Communist underground in the 1940s and 1950s who tried to prevent Poland’s sovietisation and subordination to the USSR. The idea of establishing such a state memorial day was expressed in 2010 by Lech Kaczyński, the then President of Poland and one of the leaders of the Law and Justice Party (L&J). During the debates on the Bill of the National Day of Remembrance in the Sejm, the deputies of the two main opposing parties voted in favour almost unanimously and the Senate approved it without making any changes. After President Bronisław Komorowski signed it on 1 March 2011, Poland acquired an additional state holiday. In 2015, after the Law and Justice Party won both the presidential and parliamentary elections, the issue of the „cursed soldiers” turned into one of the key questions in historical policy. The „Civic Platform” party, forced to move over to the opposition benches in parliament, sounded the alarm, accusing the L&J party of rewriting history and primitivising the image of the anti-Communist underground. Thus, the memory of the “cursed soldiers” transformed from an issue that united political opponents to a topic for arguments and political struggle. The article attempts to show how the L&J party used the preservation of the memory of the “cursed soldiers” for its own political purposes, including its fight against the opposition.

Evolution of Germany’s Stance Regarding the Three Seas Initiative

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 65-77
Author(s):  
Martin Dahl
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Great Powers ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Global Game ◽  
New Instrument ◽  
Law And Justice ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Polish Foreign

When the political camp centred on the Law and Justice party (PiS) came to power in 2015, it led to a change in priorities in Polish foreign policy. The Three Seas Initiative (TSI), understood as closer cooperation between eastern states of the European Union in the area between the Baltic, Adriatic, and Black seas, has become a new instrument of foreign policy. The initiative demonstrates the growing importance of Central and Eastern Europe in the global game of great powers. The region has become a subject of rivalry, not only between the United States and Russia but also China. Therefore, the main objective of this article is to try to describe the importance of the region to Germany and how Germany’s stance on the TSI has evolved. The article consists of three parts, an introduction to the issues, the genesis of the TSI, and the definition of goals set by the states participating in this initiative, as well as analysis of the German stance towards the initiative since its development in 2015. The theories of geopolitics and neorealism are used as the theoretical basis for the analysis.

Tamils and the Haunting of Justice

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew C. Willford
Keyword(s):  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Race And Ethnicity ◽  
Kuala Lumpur ◽  
Labor Costs ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Land Use Patterns ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
The Law ◽  
Law And Justice

In 2006, dejected members of the Bukit Jalil Estate community faced eviction from their homes in Kuala Lumpur where they had lived for generations. City officials classified plantation residents as squatters and questioned any right they might have to stay. This story epitomizes the dilemma faced by Malaysian Tamils in recent years as they confront the collapse of the plantation system where they have lived and worked for generations. Foreign workers have been brought in to replace Tamil workers to cut labor costs. As the new migrant workers do not bring their whole families with them, the community structures need no longer be sustained, allowing more land to be converted to mechanized palm oil production or lucrative housing developments. Tamils find themselves increasingly resentful of the fact that lands that were developed and populated by their ancestors are now claimed by Malays as their own; and that the land use patterns in these new townships, are increasingly hostile to the most symbolic vestiges of the Tamil and Hindu presence, the temples. This book is about the fast-approaching end to a way of life, and addresses critical issues in the study of race and ethnicity. It demonstrates which strategies have been most “successful” in navigating the legal and political system of ethnic entitlement and compensation. It shows how, through a variety of strategies, Tamils try to access justice beyond the law-sometimes by using the law, and sometimes by turning to religious symbols and rituals in the murky space between law and justice.

scholarly journals Polish Catholic Bishops, Nationalism and Liberal Democracy

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 94
Author(s):  
Madalena Meyer Resende ◽  
Anja Hennig
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Church Leadership ◽  
Political Crisis ◽  
Pope Francis ◽  
National Catholicism ◽  
Law And Justice ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Church

The alliance of the Polish Catholic Church with the Law and Justice (PiS) government has been widely reported and resulted in significant benefits for the Church. However, beginning in mid-2016, the top church leadership, including the Episcopal Conference, has distanced itself from the government and condemned its use of National Catholicism as legitimation rhetoric for the government’s malpractices in the fields of human rights and democracy. How to account for this behavior? The article proposes two explanations. The first is that the alliance of the PiS with the nationalist wing of the Church, while legitimating its illiberal refugee policy and attacks on democratic institutions of the government, further radicalized the National Catholic faction of the Polish Church and motivated a reaction of the liberal and mainstream conservative prelates. The leaders of the Episcopate, facing an empowered and radical National Catholic faction, pushed back with a doctrinal clarification of Catholic orthodoxy. The second explanatory path considers the transnational influence of Catholicism, in particular of Pope Francis’ intervention in favor of refugee rights as prompting the mainstream bishops to reestablish the Catholic orthodoxy. The article starts by tracing the opposition of the Bishops Conference and liberal prelates to the government’s refugee and autocratizing policies. Second, it describes the dynamics of the Church’s internal polarization during the PiS government. Third, it traces and contextualizes the intervention of Pope Francis during the asylum political crisis (2015–2016). Fourth, it portrays their respective impact: while the Pope’s intervention triggered the bishops’ response, the deepening rifts between liberal and nationalist factions of Polish Catholicism are the ground cause for the reaction.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document