Legal Reasoning in Central and Eastern Europe from a Historical Perspective

The paper concerns the concept of Intermarium from a historical perspective, seen from the Polish point of view. The author presents the genesis of this concept, its historical premises, unsuccessful attempts to build a collective safety system in Central and Eastern Europe in the 20th century, and finally reflects on the chance of contemporary integration initiatives in the area between the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea and the Adriatic Sea. In his speech, the author focuses on the title Intermarium paradox, indicating that in the twentieth century integration attempts had no chance of success, because none of the countries in this part of the continent was a sufficient centre of power - while the unification of Central and Eastern Europe was undertaken by external centres of power, on by the coercion principles.

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The Rise of Nationalist-Authoritarian Populism and the Crisis of Liberal Democracy in Central and Eastern Europe

Constitutionalism under Stress ◽

10.1093/oso/9780198864738.003.0002 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 21-38

Author(s):

Bojan Bugarič

Keyword(s):

Eastern Europe ◽

Liberal Democracy ◽

Crucial Role ◽

Historical Perspective ◽

Central And Eastern Europe ◽

Political Power ◽

The Past ◽

Authoritarian Populism ◽

Central Argument ◽

Modern Form

The central argument of this chapter is that the rise of nationalist-populism in CCE is best explained by using a longue durée historical perspective. I argue that the past legacy of derailed attempts to institutionalize a modern form of liberal democracy in this region decisively contributed to the recent surge of nationalist-populism. Nevertheless, past legacies did not automatically translate into the populist surge. From this perspective, it is interesting to ask why the populists in CEE have been politically more successful in dismantling liberal democracy than their Western European counterparts. I argue that several factors have been at play, but that one of the key reasons contributing to the rise of populism in Hungary then Poland was the absence of credible liberal politico-economic alternatives, which turned out to play a crucial role in helping the populists to fill this political gap and successfully seize political power in Hungary and Poland.

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Nationalism and the Pan-historical Perspective in Early Middle Age Archaeology

European Review ◽

10.1017/s1062798719000553 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 28 (3) ◽

pp. 436-442

Author(s):

Csanád Bálint

Keyword(s):

Twentieth Century ◽

Eastern Europe ◽

Historical Perspective ◽

Central And Eastern Europe ◽

Middle Age ◽

Archaeological Research ◽

Methodological Issues ◽

Early Twentieth Century ◽

Long Run ◽

Worldwide Phenomenon

To the memory of Jurij Voronov archaeologist, Vice-Premier of Abkhazia murdered on 11 September 1995Nationalism is a most general and worldwide phenomenon, known at least since European antiquity. It is also present in archaeological research, more intensively indeed in Central and Eastern Europe than in its Western counterpart. It is mostly connected with national prehistory, and its basic questions concern ‘ancientness’, ‘previousness’ and a high(er) culture, which are always the issues put forth in a comparison with others. Its emergence becomes more direct when manipulating constructed histories. Yet a decrease of its overall influence may be expected in the long run. Panhistorism in archaeology partly stems from the overestimation of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century archaeological finds and was the view generally adopted by Soviet-type Marxism. Its aim is to render history useful for political manipulation. Its followers and advocates, however, are generally ill-informed about the methodological issues of research developed in the second half of twentieth century. We may, therefore, be somewhat more optimistic as to its impending disappearance.

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