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Special issue of Res Publica Nowa in partnership with Eurozine
"Does Central Europe exist?" asks Carl Henrik Fredriksson in his editorial for a special issue of Polish journal Res Publica Nowa. "Disregarding for a moment those characteristics usually put forward as the foundations of the contested concept of Central Europe – literary and cultural heritage, befriended mentalities and common historical experiences – and looking instead at the unsentimental realpolitik currently conducted by the countries in the region, there can be no doubt about the answer to this question: No, Central Europe is no more".
But it is exactly this type of narrow-minded realpolitik, Fredriksson continues, that "makes transnational publishing endeavours such as this issue of Res Publica Nowa all the more important. In this context, the question whether Central Europe still exists or whether the Visegrad Group is a viable unity, becomes less consequential. Cross-border exchange of political, philosophical and aesthetic ideas is a way to forge new identities and put them to the test; a realm in which transnational values and principles – or transnational practices if you like – can be defined, shaped and reshaped. This practice is its own question – and its own answer. It has room for commonalities as well as differences, for unity as well as diversity."
The English language issue, entitled "Are we East or West?", has been jointly edited by journals from the four Visegrad countries and Eurozine, and supported by the International Visegrad Fund. Alongside initiator Res Publica Nowa they are: Host (Czech Republic), Kritika & Kontext (Slovakia) and Magyar Lettre Internationale (Hungary).
The issue reflects debates taking place in a region negotiating its identity between East and West twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and five years after EU enlargement.
European stability is threatened less from outside than from within, argues Kritika & Kontext editor Samuel Abrahám. Does the EU possess a strategy for dealing with the type of illiberal politician gaining ground in the Visegrad Four nations?
Whether irrational or calculated, anti-communism in the Czech Republic distracts from more pressing problems, writes Marek Seckar, editor of Host. The Czech communist party might be an anachronism, but to ostracize it only prolongs its existence.
The notion of abandoning the East for the sake of a brighter western dominates the Polish memory of '89, writes Res Publica Nowa editor Wojciech Przybylski. Renewed debate among the born-free generation about the period of change would foster a more individual cultural identity.
Accompaning the debates are literary texts exploring issues of national identity and the legacy of socialism.
The full table of contents of "Are we East or West?", including links to further articles.
You can order "Are we East or West?" for free directly from Res Publica Nowa. Postal costs vary, depending on your location.
Published 2009-10-23
Original in English
© Eurozine
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