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OverviewIn the absence of democratic state institutions, eastern European countries were considered to possess only myths of democracy. Working on the premise that democracy is not only an institutional arrangement but also a civilisational project, this book argues that mythical narratives help understanding the emergence of democracy without ‘democrats’. Examining different national traditions as well as pre-communist and communist narratives, myths are seen as politically fabricated ‘programmes of truth’ that form and sustain the political imagination. Appearing as cultural, literary, or historical resources, myths amount to ideology in narrative form, which actors use in political struggles for the sake of achieving social compliance and loyalty with the authority of new political forms. Drawing on a wide range of case studies including Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia, this book argues that narratives about the past are not simply ‘legacies’ of former regimes but have actively shaped representations and meanings of democracy in the region. Taking different theoretical and methodological approaches, the power of myth is explored for issues such as leadership, collective identity-formation, literary representation of heroic figures, cultural symbolism in performative art as well as on the constitution of legitimacy and civic identity in post-communist democracies. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Alexander Wöll (University of Regensburg, Germany) , Harald Wydra (University of Cambridge, UK) , Harald Wydra (University of Cambridge University of Cambridge, UK University of Cambridge, UK University of Cambridge, UK University of Cambridge, UK University of Cambridge, UK) , Alexander W LL (University of Regensburg, Germany)Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd Imprint: Routledge Dimensions: Width: 15.60cm , Height: 1.30cm , Length: 23.40cm Weight: 0.440kg ISBN: 9780415544191ISBN 10: 041554419 Pages: 240 Publication Date: 03 April 2009 Audience: College/higher education , Tertiary & Higher Education Format: Paperback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: In Print  This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us. Table of Contents1. Introduction: Democracy and Myth in Russia and Eastern Europe Harald Wydra 2. Mythology and the Trickster: Interpreting Communism Agnes Horvath 3. The Non-Being of Communism and Myths of Democratisation Arpad Szakolczai 4. The Power of Second Reality: Communist Myths and Representations of Democracy Harald Wydra 5. ‘Mazepa’ as a Symbolic Figure of Ukrainian Autonomy Thomas Grob 6. Misoteutonic Myths: Lopping Noses in Hussite Nationalism and Love’s Sweet Cure Robert Pynsent 7. The Myth of the Dialogue of Myths: Russia and Europe Walter Koschmal 8. Myths and Democratic Attitudes in Poland and Russia: An Intermedial Comparison Alexander Wöll 9. Contested Traditions? The Democratic Uses of Three National Holidays in Contemporary Hungary Heino Nyyssönen 10. The Paradox of Infra-Liberalism: Towards a Genealogy of ‘Managed Democracy’ in Putin’s Russia Sergei Prozorov 11. Myth and Democratic Identity in Putin’s Russia Richard SakwaReviewsAuthor InformationAlexander Wöll teaches Slavonic Studies at the University of Regensburg, where he is working as Assistant Professor. He is the author of Doubles. Mirror-writing, stone monument and usurpation (1999) and Jakub Deml. Life and Work. A Study in Middle European Literature (2006). Harald Wydra teaches Politics at the University of Cambridge, where he is a Fellow of St Catharine’s College. He is the author of Continuities in Poland’s Permanent Transition (2001) and Communism and the Emergence of Democracy (2006). Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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