Changing the national past: re‐creating the democratic Polish nation after 1989

ABSTRACT. Poland provides a critical example for studying how national identity is transformed to fit new domestic and global circumstances. While Poles must re‐identify themselves as a democratic nation, they have a choice of whether to incorporate aspects of the communist experience or to ignore it and draw solely from other historical sources. A comparison of holiday newspaper articles from before and after 1989 provides an opportunity to observe this process through the lens of national commemoration. This review shows that themes of national identity are influenced by political context and their potential to unify without contestation. In addition, while the communist period remained a salient unifying historical experience for Poles, democratic values did not act as a unifying theme during the first ten years of Polish democracy.     

Against War! Regional Identity Across a National Border in Late Medieval and Early Modern Scandinavia

During every war between Denmark and Sweden from at least 1505 to 1676 popular peace treaties were concluded by common men on both sides of the national border. These treaties were negotiated in contrast to the aggressive policy of the political leaders and to the nationalistic discourse of the elite. The aim of this article is to use archaeology to give an economic, social, and mental background to these treaties, and to the regional identity across the border that they presuppose. Above all a specific building tradition seems to have given the peasants a mental affinity across the border.     

The Herme-Neutics of Χοιροκομεῖον in Aristophanes’ Lysistrata

The following paper discusses the meaning of the word χοιροκομε?ον and its function in a passage in Aristophanes’ Lysistrata 1073. Although its semantics became obscure as early as the time of Pollux, it almost certainly originally referred to a wicker-work pigpen. The fact that in the Aristophanic passage under discussion the Spartan delegates are said to be wearing it around their thighs suggests that the author meant it to be an obscene joke based on a stereotype according to which, unlike the Athenians, the Spartans were very likely to become sexual objects for other males. Within the reconstruction proposed below they wore χοιροκομε?α in order to protect themselves from penetration. This element, combined with the other aspects of the visual characteristics of the Spartan delegates, namely erect phalli and long beards, made them similar to the herms of Hermes.     

An Alternative Approach to Canadian House of Commons Reform

Empowering backbench Members of Parliament in order to restore the effectiveness of the House of Commons has been a central theme in Canadian parliamentary reform for at least fifty years, but results are widely seen as disappointing. This article argues that unrealistic expectations, fostered by adherence to a traditional conception of the Westminster model of representative and responsible government, are part of the problem. A modernized conception of parliamentary government, recognizing the House as a forum for competing political parties between elections, could help us to better understand the House and improve its contribution to democratic governance. The proposed approach suggests innovative procedural options for legislative debate, Question Period, and other activities. It also offers a consistent basis for addressing issues such as floor-crossing, coalitions, and prorogations. More broadly, it points to the need for an integrated approach to the House, elections, political parties, public education, and citizen engagement in order to respond to contemporary democratic challenges.     

拉斯基的美国政治体制变革观

拉斯基的美国政治体制变革观,对于整个资本主义制度从私人垄断阶段过渡到国家垄断阶段的变革具有深刻的启迪意义,也从一个重要的侧面和较为适合的角度,反映出了处于思想成熟时期的拉斯基主张和一贯倡导的民主社会主义理论的丰富内涵。     

20世纪中国的社会转型与社会变革的两种思想和方式

在20世纪中国社会转型的过程中,革命与改良(改革)这两种变革思想和方式之间虽然有重大区别,但又是互补的,而且"你中有我,我中有你".两者在不同的历史时期各凸现其主导功能,也会相互转化,不可绝对地厚此薄彼,更不可只肯定一种而否定另一种.事实上,革命与改良是同一部乐曲的"双重变奏",两者的相生相克、相辅相成、交互辉映,共同组成了20世纪中华民族救亡图存、启蒙大众、革故鼎新的历史画卷,共同推进了中国社会的现代化.20世纪最后20多年的改革和发展趋势表明,中国尽管已从根本上摆脱了自我束缚的困扰,但进入新世纪后最需要的是居安思危,力戒盛世意识,增强忧患意识.     

Fragmentation and forgetting: Sarajevo’s Vijećnica

In this article I argue that the crisis of common collective heritage in Bosnia and Herzegovina is negatively affecting continued peace building processes in the country through an examination of the reconstruction of Sarajevo’s Austro-Hungarian city hall – the Vije?nica. Without a state-level ministry of culture, heritage that attests to a common cultural past uniting the three major ethno-religious groups in the country has suffered immeasurably, especially in comparison to ethnically specific cultural heritage. After the Second World War, the Vije?nica began to embody shared collective memories through its function as the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Nacionalna i Univerzitetska Biblioteka Bosne i Hercegovine). The building’s destruction during the Siege of Sarajevo cemented its place within the Bosnian psyche as a collective memory institution, but its reconstruction is transforming the discourses surrounding the building and the collective memories it embodies. By investigating the reconstruction process and the post-war separation of the National and University Library from the Vije?nica, I show that common collective heritage matters for peace building, and that in Sarajevo, the decay and neglect of such institutions not only mirror the splintering dynamics of ethno-religious nationalism, but also perpetuate them.     

孙中山地方自治思想之学理意义

孙中山关于地方自治的思想理念,是其民权主义政治革命纲领的基本内容。在长期的民主革命实践中,孙中山的地方自治思想不断丰富和完善,尤其是在中华民国建立以后,孙中山始终坚持以地方自治为政治理想,并由此形成了系统而完整的地方自治思想体系,体现了孙中山卓越的政治智慧和坚定的理想信念。孙中山关于地方自治的思想理念,带有鲜明的时代特色和民族属性,它是近代中国资产阶级政治文化的产物,也是近代政治思想发展史上的一个重大理论贡献。虽然这一地方自治思想体系带有不可避免的理论缺陷,在近代民主政治的实践过程中也遇到很多挫折和障碍,但其在学理上的意义是应当给予认真总结和充分肯定的。     

毛泽东关于西藏民主改革的认识与决策

西藏民主改革是西藏在和平解放的基础上由封建农奴制到人民民主的历史性变革和发展,是西藏完成反帝反封建的民主革命任务的里程碑。这是在以毛泽东为核心的中共中央第一代领导集体根据西藏和平解放后不同阶段的实际,正确认识和处理西藏民主改革的历史必然性与社会基础、时机与条件、策略与步骤以及性质与前途等问题,并依此相应地作出和平协商、"六年不改"、赎买和"稳定发展"等方针政策的指导下开展和实现的。正是在这一历史进程中,西藏由和平解放、筹备成立自治区至民主改革,跨越几个世纪而成为人民民主的西藏。     

一切能力都是为人民执政——学习十七届四中全会《决定》

所谓党的执政能力,其本质就是为人民服务的本领。一切能力,都是为人民执政;一切能力,都要为人民执政。归根到底,党的执政能力要从人民群众的历史创造中来,要在与群众密切联系的实践中历练,要在严酷的反腐败斗争中提升,最终还要由人民群众来断定。加强党的执政能力建设,意义重大,任务艰巨,过程艰苦。