Activation of the historical memory resource in modern politics

The article contains analysis of the reasons why the resource of the historical memory of civil societies and power elites is beginning to be actively used in the modern foreign and domestic policy of many countries, including Russia. The article describes the positive consequences of such a construction of political motivations, as well as the risks associated with the weakening of the influence of ideologies on political processes. From the author’s point of view, the interest of the subjects of modern politics in using the resource of historical memory is due to the distrust of citizens and elites to the motivational potential of ideologies growing in the modern world and in Russia. It is also caused by the desire to increase the “human capital” of democratic politics and reserve advantages for the national state in controlling the policy of implementing national interests. At the same time, the author argues, the active motivation of politics, both internal and external, by the arguments of historical memory can generate no less risks for its progress today than those that were generated by the dominance of “classical” ideologies in it.

Explication of "places/museums of conscience" in the context of memory culture

The purpose of the article is to analyze the role and place of “museum of conscience” in modern politics of memory and cultural space. The methodology is based on a comprehensive study of a wide range of museum expositions (interviews, reports, museum projects, reviews of museum collections, etc.) and generalization of the obtained material to identify current trends in the development of "museums of conscience" in the context of memory culture. Scientific novelty. On the example of specific museum research institutions (the Sixth District Museum in Cape Town, the Holocaust Memorial Museum (Washington, USA), the Museum of Military Childhood in Sarajevo, etc.) for the first time in Ukrainian historiography, their contribution to the process of deeper study of crimes of the past and its reflection in modern politics of memory and cultural space is analyzed. Conclusions: Places of conscience are museums, memorials, and other historical places, which aim not only to preserve memory but also to stimulate people’s conscience. While working with a visitor, they prefer forms that contribute to the involvement of a visitor in discussion and dialogue. The museum exhibit serves as a safe place to discuss sharp issues and reconcile conflicting parties in society. The museum collection and the results of its research are distributed in order to stimulate the human conscience. The task of the museums is not only to preserve the memory about the crimes of the past but also to provide an opportunity for a visitor to establish a connection between this past and today’s struggle for human rights.

Possible Assessment of the Stability and Sustainability of Modern State Systems

Based on the analysis of scientific resources on the theory of government, political process and public policy, the authors substantiate a conceptual model for assessing the stability and sustainability of state systems. The model is based on empirical analysis of the stability and sustainability of state systems obtained through semi-structured interviews with experts. The authors’ approach includes four main parameters for assessing the stability and sustainability of state systems with the focus on the role of state institutions in coordinating modern politics. The authors emphasize that the notion of ‘transition from government to governance’ often discussed in Russian and foreign scientific literature only demonstrates the possible changes in the role of state institutions in the public area and directions of transformation of public policy, without directly imply that. In this case, it seems promising to search for such conditions that would direct the transformation, and to develop a conceptual framework for diagnosing the state systems’ capacity to change.

Provoking Performance: Printed Dialogue and Early Modern Publics in Christopher St. German's Salem and Bizance

This essay argues that Christopher St. German made tactical use of the dialogue form to cultivate a public in his print controversy with Thomas More on the subject of reform. Publishing in the early 1530s, More accused St. German of disseminating disgruntled speech in print absent a real constituency of speakers voicing such complaints. St. German countered More's critique by incorporating a dialogue between the characters Salem and Bizance that conflated the reading of his printed works with the speaking and sharing of their political concerns. Although the role of performance in early modern politics has long been recognized in connection to the theater and theatricality, St. German's work demonstrates that early print also invoked the bodily interactivity and iterability characteristic of performance in order to script readers’ use of the relatively new medium. St. German's Salem and Bizance dialogue thus prompted print readers to understand themselves as, and indeed to become, partisan members of a public speaking in and about the debate.