Tadeusz Buksiński Knihy

This book presents insights and understandings on the issue of identities and modernizations, contributed mainly by theoreticians from China and scholars from Central and Eastern European countries. Both regions have followed a similar path towards modernization until the second half of the twentieth century. The past experience in both regions leads to two crucial, yet paradoxical conclusions: Firstly, no modernization of economy, technology or science is possible without a prior modernization of the collective identity, i. e. of culture, tradition, religion and spirituality in general. Secondly, effective and long-term modernization cannot be achieved with disregard for tradition, culture, religion and spirituality. The theory of dispersed modernity is promoted.

The book contains articles of philosophers, theologians, and sociologists from 20 countries in Europe, America, Africa, and Asia. They describe the status of religions in different cultures and states and formulate the norms and conditions of the presence of religion in public spheres from different perspectives. There has been religious revival and a worldwide process of subjectivization and immanentization of the traditional institutional religions. This book raises questions that are particularly significant to the present-day social, cultural and political practice in a global dimension. It is intended as a companion volume for all those who combine their academic research with wider interests in the promotion of freedom and tolerance.

The authors of this book, scholars from Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Ukraina, Kirghizia and Poland, seek to answer the question, in what way the Westeuropean and postcommunist countries respond to the challenges posed to them by democratization in Central and Eastern Europe and European constitutional politics and policymaking. New democracies necessarily pose a challenge to non-democratic states, because they liberated themselves from the totalitarian regime. They pose a challenge for the old liberal democracies too, because they try to compromise individual interests and freedoms with traditional prepolitical and political group identities. But just the model of democracy can be followed in many non-Western countries which aspire to establish a democratic order. This book raises the questions that are particularly significant to the present-day political practice in its European and global dimensions. It is intended as a companion volume for all those who combine their academic research with wider interests in the promoting of democracy in the period of globalization and under the new pressures of European constitutional politics.

Die Arbeit charakterisiert die Arten von Nationen und den Prozess des Aufbaus von Nationalstaaten in Mittel- und Osteuropa. Die Nationen in dieser Region sind eher ethnisch als staatsbürgerlich geprägt und die Beziehungen zwischen den staatlichen Nationen und den Minderheiten sind aufgrund des historischen Erbes und des Einflusses der Nachbarstaaten komplizierter als im Westen. Die Hauptthese des Papiers besagt, dass der extreme Nationalismus ein Laster (Fehler) und der gemäßigte Nationalismus (Patriotismus) eine Tugend ist. Der gemäßigte Nationalismus ermöglicht den Dialog und die Lösung von Konflikten zwischen Nationen und anderen Gemeinschaften auf friedliche Weise. Extremer Nationalismus macht den Dialog unmöglich. Der gemäßigte Nationalismus bedeutet die Liebe zur eigenen Nation und deren Unterstützung in einer privilegierten Weise, aber unter Gewährleistung der Menschen- und Bürgerrechte für alle ethnischen und religiösen Minderheiten im Staat. Die kulturelle Autonomie sollte den friedlichen, toleranten Minderheiten gewährt werden.

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