IWMpost 127: History and Memory

IWMpost

“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 MedvedevNikolai Antoniadis), the difficulty but also the need to confront the unpleasant aspects of one's own past (Teresa ReiterJerko 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 DonàPaula BanarjeeEric Reinhart), address contemporary capitalism (Branco MilanovicMariana MazzucatoAlbena AzmanovaPedro Perfeito da Silva), deal with current challenges to liberalism (Judy DempseyMichael Igantieff) and Russia's and China's relationship to the West and the international order (Volha BiziukovaThomas Eder), and honor Marcin Król, a long-time friend of the IWM who sadly passed away last November (Ivan VejvodaMarci ShoreTim 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
Design: steinkellner/zotter, www.steinkellner.com
Printed by Print Alliance HAV Produktions GmbH, 2540 Bad Vöslau. 
IWMpost is published two times a year.
Copyright IWM 2021