IWMpost 129, is now available in both digital and hard copies. “European Boundaries and Divides” make up the central focus of this issue, along with a special supplement with insights from and reflections on Ukraine.
We intended to celebrate – IWMpost 129 was to contain a supplement for the fortieth anniversary of the IWM. However, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we no longer felt like celebrating. Thus, we decided to dedicate the supplement to Ukraine instead. The guiding maxim of the supplement’s editor, Permanent Fellow Kate Younger: If we want to understand what is at stake in Ukraine today, not only for Ukrainians but for all of us, the only place to start is to listen to Ukrainians. With the exceptions of Timothy Snyder and the editor herself, all contributions to the supplement are penned by former or current fellows of the program Ukraine in European Dialogue. The creators of the photographs and artwork illustrating the articles are also from Ukraine.
From the originally envisaged anniversary supplement, we decided the regular issue should include only a focus on “European boundaries and divides.” Permanent Fellow Ivan Krastev and Volodymyr Yermolenko address the question of Europe’s borders against the backdrop of the war, each from a different perspective. Jacques Rupnikand Maria Todorova, for their part, discuss the relevance of two categories that enjoyed great prominence in the first post-socialist decade: “Central Europe” and “the Balkans.” Finally, Basil Kerski’s essay points to the often neglected transnational and European dimension of the Solidarność movement.
The remainder of IWMpost 129 displays a variety of topics as well as a diversity of entry points and disciplinary approaches. Some of the essays address issues of democratic decline (Gniazdowski, Sitze, Völz, Regatieri, Schwartz), others deal with implications of the Cold War (Plokhy, Dodd), questions of art and museum exhibitions (Glanc, Kostro), Israel’s international relations, and migration in the Global South (Aung, Acosta, Sur). HannesWerthner’s essay on digital humanism introduces a new and promising research focus at the IWM. Finally, the IWM new rector, Misha Glenny, introduces himself.
Click here to see the full contents, and to read IWMpost 129
