The Great Idea is Dead, Long Live the Great Ideas

The “Asia Minor Catastrophe” cast its heavy shadow over Greek interwar era developments in two fundamental ways: first, there was the terror of the ideological void after the bankruptcy of the Hellenic “Great Idea” due to the military defeat in Asia Minor; and second, the physical arrival in Greece of an almost 1,500,000 refugee population after their expulsion from Turkey. This paper argues that against this background, the issues of national reconstruction and a new cultural orientation for the Greek nation were strongly connected. Moreover, it argues that various projects and discourses emerged in search of the new Great Ideas that would successfully replace the irrevocably lost one. They had as a common denominator the “modernist ethos” of a “new beginning” which was necessary for the nation’s and society’s regeneration to be achieved. Thus, in exploring these projects, it attempts to identify their convergences, their mutual exclusions, as well as their cultural, ideological and political imprints.

Proces narodne sprave in vloga politične elite v njem: Slovenija kot izjema med državami srednje in vzhodne Evrope

The fundamental purpose of national reconciliation derives from recognition of the special nature of a human being, which makes them outstanding and excellent. Transitional justice processes have the main goal of achieving national reconciliation, which is connected with ensuring the highest possible realisation of human dignity. In this regard, Slovenia finds itself in a paradoxical position. Although usually perceived a successful former communist country, its process of introducing transitional justice was unsuccessful. This means the national reconstruction was not achieved in any meaningful way. The article deals with this paradox. The authors claim that the political elite plays a key role in the (non)implementation of transitional justice and hence has a decisive impact on national reconciliation. Accordingly, the primary reason for the lack of success of the national reconciliation is due to the reproduction of the elite and the ideological hegemony of the transitional left.

Amnesia, aphasia and amnesty: the articulations of Italian colonial memory in postwar films (1946–1960)

This article aims to expose the political and cultural processes that contributed to the eradication of problematic memories of the Italian colonial period during the national reconstruction following the Second World War. It offers a systematic examination of newsreels and documentaries about the Italian former colonies that were produced between 1946 and 1960, a film corpus that has largely been neglected by previous scholarship. The article first dissects the ambiguous political scenario that characterised the production of this footage through the study of original archival findings. The footage configured a particular form of self-exculpatory memory, which obstructed a thorough critique of the colonial period while articulating a new discourse about the future presence of Italy in the former colonies. This seems to be a case of aphasia rather than amnesia, insofar as the films addressed not an absence, but an inability to comprehend and articulate a critical discourse about the past. This aphasic configuration of colonial memories will be tackled through a close reading of the voice-over and commentary. In so doing, this work suggests that the footage actively contributed to spread un-problematised narratives and memories about the colonial period, whose results still infiltrate Italian contemporary society, politics and culture.

Tun Pupils’ Magazine of Jbeil Orphanage։ an Attempt of National Reconstruction

The three-year issues of Tun [Home] pupils’ magazine of the Near East Relief’s Jbeil (Lebanon) orphanage have been researched and analyzed in this paper. The article has studied the papers written by orphans sometimes based on emotions, patriotism, and sometimes on realistic approaches. By analyzing and summarizing the papers this article aims at better understanding the nationalistic atmosphere in the orphanage, the feelings of the children and the steps undertaken to overcome the consequences and hardships of the Genocide. Summarizing the content of the papers published in 34 issues of the journal, the article concludes that Tun with its articles on literature and national feelings, pieces of evidence about homeland and the years of Genocide had a special meaning for the orphans. Through the articles the orphans of Jbeil made unique attempt of national reconstruction, which contributed to their eff orts to overcome the trauma of Genocide. Among the papers were articles about the events of April 24 and dedicated to the memory of martyrs, articles on the Armenian language, literature and folklore, and the Armenian spiritual values sharing them with the younger generation through reading and reciting.

An FSOC for Continuous Public Investment: The National Reconstruction and Development Council

The crisis our nation presently faces does not stem from COVID-19 alone. That was the match. The kindling was that we have forgotten for decades that “national development” both (a) is perpetual, and (b) requires national action to guide it, facilitate it, and keep it inclusive. Hamilton and Gallatin, Wilson and Hoover and Roosevelt all understood this and built institutions to operationalize it. Although the institutions were imperfectly operated, they were soundly conceived and designed. Abandoning these truths and institutions these past fifty years has degenerated not only our public health but also our nation’s industrial and infrastructural muscle to a critical point. The same now increasingly holds for our social fabric. Full national regeneration—Reconstruction in both the post-Civil War and the mid-20th century senses of the word—has thus become a matter of urgent, even existential, necessity. Continuous national development, in the perpetual renewal sense of the phrase, must follow that Reconstruction. This is what “Building Back Better” must mean. Key to any such national project is how it is organized and then orchestrated. This paper proposes means of both organizing and orchestrating. These means are simultaneously incrementalist in their reliance upon existing institutions, while also regenerative in enabling new synergies among those same institutions—much as our Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) is meant to enable our post-Lehman financial regulators to develop. An FSOC for national reconstruction and development will better use what we already have and augment it with a financing arm linked to the Federal Reserve and the Treasury. I call the resulting synthesis a National Reconstruction and Development Council (NRDC) and National Investment Council (NIC), which will both rebuild capacity now, and perpetually renew such capacity going forward, as knowledge and technology progress as they always do. Building Back Better means Building Back Now and Forever.

Gendering the Memories of War and Holocaust in Europe and the United States

Based on a theoretical discussion of how and why memories are “gendered,” this chapter demonstrates the centrality of gender for changing memories of war and genocide in Europe and North America after 1945. Notwithstanding women’s extensive participation in World War II, patriotic memories centered on the predominantly male figures of the “victor,” the “martyr,” and the “victim.” Linking national reconstruction with the restoration of a hierarchical gender order, these narratives marginalized or erased women’s experiences. The ascendancy of Holocaust memory in the West fundamentally challenged this commemorative regime and elevated the figure of the “survivor.” Second-wave feminism not only rendered visible women’s role in World War II; it also promoted the gendering of Holocaust memory. The end of the Cold War enabled the public proliferation of previously private memories with significant gendered implications.

Pandemics and soft power: HIV/AIDS and Uganda on the global stage

The COVID-19 outbreak of 2020 threatened years of effort by the Chinese authorities to extend its influence around the world. This article seeks to enhance understanding of China’s defensive engagement with global health agencies, and more broadly of the relationship between pandemics and soft power, through an analysis of Uganda’s evolving response to HIV/AIDS. As with COVID-19, HIV/AIDS presented a fundamental threat not only to countries’ internal social stability and population health, but also to governmental legitimacy and nation-states’ international reputation. HIV, however, also provided Uganda with an opportunity to enhance its global standing, influence international policy, and achieve national reconstruction. This case study highlights the importance of viewing international affairs from the perspective of the Global South. It argues that the very weakness of Uganda, and the structural marginality of HIV/AIDS, provided the leverage which would in the end deliver radical shifts within global health.

A roomful of Owls

This chapter explores how the Athenians' reputation for 'reserve and dignity' was sustained throughout the 1920s and 1930s, when a particular breed of highly educated and deeply serious members played leading roles in club life. Political decisions on national reconstruction were often based upon reports from advisory groups of the kind that had been needed during the war, and again many members of the club served as expert advisors in a wide range of fields. Athenians had always valued the opportunity to meet fellow members with different interests and from a wide variety of professions, and the freer spirits among them now enjoyed engaging with a generation of writers and artists who specialised in satire and caricature. Although the traditions of the club were still fiercely defended in the inter-war years, this was a period of innovation, with the ending of the ballot and the introduction of bedrooms for members, monthly Talk Dinners, and an annexe where ladies could be entertained. Change, or rather adaptation was under way, both inside and outside the Athenæum.