“History and memory” make up the central focus of this issue. Robert Skidelsky illustrates how questions of interpretation and positionality have pushed the claim of objective reconstruction of the past into the background in the mainstream understanding of history. His essay provided the inspiration for the cover of this issue which shows a statue of King Leopold II of Belgium in Ghent that was smeared with red paint and removed just as the country was about to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Congo's independence. The other essays in this focus address the official politics of memory (Sergei Medvedev, Nikolai Antoniadis), the difficulty but also the need to confront the unpleasant aspects of one's own past (Teresa Reiter, Jerko Bakotin), the problems of critical historians in authoritarian regimes (Felix Ackermann) and the function of memorial sites and monuments (Iryna Sklokina).
Other contributions shed light on the severe consequences of the pandemic among socially vulnerable groups such as migrants and prisoners (Giorgia Donà, Paula Banarjee, Eric Reinhart), address contemporary capitalism (Branco Milanovic, Mariana Mazzucato, Albena Azmanova, Pedro Perfeito da Silva), deal with current challenges to liberalism (Judy Dempsey, Michael Igantieff) and Russia's and China's relationship to the West and the international order (Volha Biziukova, Thomas Eder), and honor Marcin Król, a long-time friend of the IWM who sadly passed away last November (Ivan Vejvoda, Marci Shore, Tim Snyder).
Contents
Covid-19 and Social Vulnerability
Immigration Policies and Public Health Responses to Covid-19 / by Giorgia Donà
The Pandemic Tale: A Dangerous Time for Migrant Women in South Asia / by Paula Banerjee
Punishment in a Pandemic / Eric Reinhart in conversation with Salmaan Keshavjee
Pandemie im Diskurs / Burgtheater-Debatten
Capitalism
Kapitalismus im 21. Jahrhundert / von Mariana Mazzucato und Branko Milanović
Capitalism at a Crossroads / by Albena Azmanova
Bolsonaro and Brazil’s Capitalist Revolt / by Pedro Perfeito da Silva
History and Memory
Geschichte auf den Barrikaden / von Robert Skidelsky
Was ist politisch am 18. Jahrhundert? / von Felix Ackermann
Europa kann sich seine Vergangenheit nicht aussuchen / von Teresa Reiter
Putin’s Memory War / by Sergei Medvedev
Holy Places and Leisure Spaces / by Iryna Sklokina
The Moral of the Dvor Massacre / by Jerko Bakotin
Sie sollen sich erinnern, wen sie vergessen sollen / von Nikolai Antoniadis
Challenges for Liberal Democracy
Poland’s New Transformation via Legal Impossibilism / by Judy Dempsey
Can Liberal Democracy Outlive Climate Change? / Podcast with Michael Ignatieff
China, Russia, and the West
Condemning ‘the West’ and Redrawing the Realm of the Political in Russia / by Volha Biziukova
China’s Distinct Path to Engaging International Courts / by Thomas S. Eder
Marcin Król
In Memory of a Friend / by Ivan Vejvoda, Marci Shore and Timothy Snyder
Publications / Upcoming Events
Impressum
Editor: Evangelos Karagiannis
Editorial Assistance: Nicolas Bouchet, Katharina Hasewend, Sarah Hayes, Anahita Neghabat, Katherine Younger
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IWMpost is published two times a year.
Copyright IWM 2021
