Agreement No.: PPN/PRO/2020/1/00012/U/00001
This project proposes to examine the politics of history in contemporary Europe in the period from the 1980s (starting from 1989) to the beginning of the 2020s. The study will provide a comparative perspective and analysis of the politics of history in three historically defined regions: ‘Western Europe’, ‘Central-Eastern Europe’, and the ‘Post-Soviet space’. This spatial distinction is a mere analytical tool, which allows us to distinguish certain types of the politics of history based on certain political
considerations and interests, values, and traditions.
Accordingly, the research will pursue the following objectives:
• Examination of the interests, roles, functions, and scope of influence of major mnemonic actors: state bodies, non-governmental institutions, media, memory managers
• Analysis of dominating and alternative or conflicting discourses and representations proposed and imposed by these actors
• Analysis of mechanisms of production, transmission, and dissemination of memory narratives
• Investigation and comparison of major practices/policies/activities undertaken by major mnemonic actors
• Analysis of the major social, political and cultural determinants of the politics of history
• Study of societal responses to these policies, changes in public attitudes, reactions and activities of opinion makers, intellectuals, experts, mnemonic entrepreneurs
• Analysis of the outcomes of these policies and their consequences for nation-states, international relations, and supranational structures
To reach these objectives the project team headed by the visiting scientist Prof. Georgiy Kassianov, will undertake multidisciplinary research in Poland and several countries of the region. Particular attention will be paid to national politics and policies in Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Hungary, and Germany, to bilateral relations in the field of politics of history and memory, and to the supranational politics ('common European history' and Holocaust commemoration/education).
Principal investigator, project manager: Prof. Gueorgui Kassianov
Prof. dr hab. Marek Pietraś
