Review of Democracy’s Post

Recent article on my practice by Daria Kravchuk, which examines the themes of shifting identities and the exoticized view within the framework of oriental fantasies shaped by Central Asia's post-colonial past. Find out more on STIR. https://lnkd.in/efK8ETg3

IT JUST MAKES ME WONDER! 🤔 The phrase "What can be, unburdened by what has been" is a quote often attributed to Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the Bolshevik Revolution. However, there is no reliable source confirming that Lenin ever uttered or wrote these exact words. The phrase's origin is unclear, and it's possible that it's a modern paraphrase or summary of Lenin's ideas rather than a direct quote. Lenin did emphasize the importance of revolutionary transformation and breaking with the past to create a new socialist society. He often spoke about the need to destroy the old capitalist order and build a new, socialist one. In his writings and speeches, Lenin frequently used phrases like "Breaking with the past," "Destroying the old," and "Building the new" to convey this idea. However, the exact phrase "What can be, unburdened by what has been" might be a later interpretation or summary of his ideas rather than a direct quote.

I am grateful to Review of Democracy for the invitation to contribute to its special series dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the 2004 enlargement of the EU. In this piece I share my personal experiences and reflect on Ukraine's path to the EU. From being born in the Soviet Union to lecturing EU law in The Hague: my life trajectory has been profoundly impacted by the EU. In the meantime, Ukraine has overcome significant hurdles to grow closer to the EU: from bordering the EU since 2004 to obtaining candidate status in 2023.

📚🌍⚜➡ "European Heritage Days" are celebrated to mark European unity, to share stories of common values and to ensure that the past isn’t forgotten. This book is about the birth of modern Europe, tracing the history from the end of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance into the modern era. https://lnkd.in/eu9XcHdg #EuropeanHeritageDays

RUSSIAN ARCHAISM by Irina Shevelenko offers a fascinating exploration of Russian modernism and its complex relationship with nation-building ideas in the late imperial period. This book provides invaluable insights into the cultural and political transformations that shaped early 20th-century Russia. If you're interested in the intersection of art, nationalism, and historical change, this is a must-read! https://ow.ly/fz1e50TqBF1

Join us for the 'Conflict, Peace, and Transnational Culture in Early Modern Europe' conference, where we will explore the intricate relationship between texts, culture, and the arts, and the specific historical moment in which they were produced, collected, understood. This event will address the challenges and possibilities posed by new forms of peace and cross-cultural communication amidst ongoing religious wars and imperial conflicts. Book in advance: https://buff.ly/3zwwTPs

Tomorrow’s world poses multiple threats to Europe’s most fundamental values. In the cultural & creative fields, as much as in politics, value wars and battles for sense-making are already being fiercely fought. 🔁It's time for the EU to shift from cultural resilience to cultural resistance and to creatively support freedom-fighting movements worldwide on behalf of ‘Resistant Liberalism’. 📕 Read Dr Damien Helly's contribution in the fourth issue of our Future Europe Journal on culture: bit.ly/44QR32a

👇Some of the key questions that will be addressed next week during the 12th edition of the European Remembrance Symposium, entitled ‘Commemorating and narrating freedom’ 👇 ❓ What role did the aspirations for independence and the accompanying freedom slogans play in 20th-century European history? ❓What did freedom mean in the last century and what does it mean today? ❓How did both the struggle for freedom and its celebration become enshrined in our cultural and historical memory? This year's symposium is dedicated to various narratives within the broader memory of freedom in Europe and around the world and includes a host of talks, workshops, round table discussions. 📅 When: 21–24 May 2024 🗺 Where: Warsaw 🏫 Who: Organised by European Network Remembrance and Solidarity & Muzeum Historii Polski w Warszawie ❓ Why: The conference will being together 200 representatives of memory institutions from around the world including Simina Badica from House of European History. The aim is to initiate and deepen cooperation between institutions and organisations dealing with the history and remembrance of 20th century Europe. For more information and registration follow the link below 🔗 https://lnkd.in/dtbBJ69d #Europe #Conference #History

When people think of an alien civilization potentially watching us, they probably ignore that the average distance to habitable planets is 200 light years. So even if there is a civilization watching over, they would be looking at us 200 years in the past, so they would be looking at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the Mexican Independence, and so on.  This ridiculous distance is often overlooked in the Fermi Paradox. Even if there is life out there, sending a single message takes ridiculously long, and when it arrives there the sender is likely dead. Moreover, the chance of two civilizations evolving to the point of sending radio messages at the speed of light, at roughly the same slice in Universal history is slim. We might not see life out there not because there isn’t, but because space is too huge and everything is too far apart to communicate at even the speed of light. 

Check out my recent article, titled "America as a Christian Nation"