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Poslední úprava: Dr. phil. Torsten Horst Lorenz (13.09.2014)
In the seminar we will examine the conditions of democracy in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe between the world wars - Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hun-gary and the Baltic states. We will start with an introductory survey of the region and its political, social and economic structures and the predominant cleavages, shaping the political landscape. Then we will examine the constitutional and political systems of the Central and Eastern European states and their practical performance. In the next step we will ask, from which sides democracy came under attack (communist, fascist and right-wing movements), how they acted, from where they borrowed their ideas and which implications all this had for international relations. Then we will take a closer look at economic and social measures aimed at legitimizing the democratic regimes and finally we will ask, what were the reasons for the success of democracy’s enemies or why democracy persisted. |
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Poslední úprava: Dr. phil. Torsten Horst Lorenz (14.09.2014)
Proficiency certificate (for credit): Students will receive a proficiency certificate of 1 ECTS for regular attendance, active participation in the discussions and delivering a short presentation of about 10 minutes on a topic chosen by themselves (preferably from the programme of the class, but other proposals are welcome); Students will receive a proficiency certificate of 2 ECTS for regular attendance, active participation in the discussions and delivering one presentation of about 20 minutes on a topic chosen by themselves; those who would like to earn 4 ECTS will additionally have to deliver an essay of about 5 pages (9.000 signs). Essays/papers have to be in English. Presentations: Try to confine your presentation to 20 minutes. Please prepare a handout of 2-4 pages, which contains statistical data, maps, (written) sources, etc. - everything that you need to make your argument. Formulate two or three theses/short statements (ca. three of four sentences each), which will serve as a starter for discussion. Please send me the handout until Monday before your presentation, so I can send it to the other students. If you need a data projector for your presentation, please tell me in advance. |
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Poslední úprava: Dr. phil. Torsten Horst Lorenz (30.09.2014)
Arnd Bauerkämper: Transnational Fascism: Cross-Border Relations between Regimes and Movements in Europe, 1922-1939, in: East Central Europe 37 (2010), S. 214-246; Ivan T. Berend: An Economic History of Twentieth-Century Europe. Economic Regimes from Laissez-Faire to Globalization, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2006; Ivan T. Berend: Decades of Crisis. Central and Eastern Europe before World War II, Berkeley: California University Press 1998; Dirk Berg-Schlosser, Jeremy Mitchell (eds.): Authoritarianism and Democracy in Europe, 1919-1939. Comparative Analyses, New York: Palgrave MacMillan 2002; Dirk Berg-Schlosser, Jeremy Mitchell (eds.): Conditions of Democracy in Europe, 1919-1939. Systematic Case Studies, Basingstoke: MacMillan 2000; Robert Bideleux, Ian Jeffries: A History of Eastern Europe. Crisis and Change, 2nd edition, Milton Park: Routledge 2007; Martin Blinkhorn: Mussolini and Fascist Italy, 3rd edition, London, New York: Routledge 2006; Detlef Brandes: Sudetští Němci v krizovém roce 1938, Praha 2012 (deutsch: Die Sudetendeutschen im Jahr 1938, München: Oldenbourg 2008); Stefan Breuer: Die radikale Rechte in Deutschland 1871-1945. Eine politische Ideengeschichte, Stuttgart: Philipp Reclam 2009; Rogers Brubaker: Nationalizing States in the Old "New Europe" - and the new, in: Ders.: Nationalism Reframed. Nationhood and the National Question in the New Europe. Cambridge, Mass.: Cambridge University Press 1996, pp. 79-106 Thomas Childers: The Nazi Voter. The Social Foundations of Fascism in Germany, Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press 1983; Patricia Clavin: The Great Depression in Europe, 1929-1939, New York: St. Martin's Press 2000; Mark Cornwall, Robert J. Evans (Hg.): Czechoslovakia in a nationalist and fascist Europe, 1918-1948, Oxford: Oxford University Press 2007; Thomas Etzemüller: Social Engineering als Verhaltenslehre des kühlen Kopfes. Eine einleitende Skizze, in: Ders. (ed.): Die Ordnung der Moderne. Social Engineering im 20. Jahrhundert, Bielefeld: Transcript 2009; Charles H. Feinstein, Peter Temin, Gianni Tonniolo: The European Economy between the Wars, Oxford: Oxford University Press 1997; Michael Geyer, Sheila Fitzpatrick (eds.): Beyond Totalitarianism. Stalinism and Nazism Compared, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2009; Ben Fowkes: The Rise and Fall of Communism in Eastern Europe, Houndmills: Macmillan 1993; Peter Fritzsche: Rehearsals for Fascism. Populism and Political Mobilization in Weimar Germany, New York: Oxford University Press 1990; Richard F. Hamilton: Who voted for Hitler? Princeton: Princeton University Press 1982; Josef Harna: Konsenzus a kompromis. Budování politického systému první Československé republiky 1918-1922, Praha 2013; Harold James: The German Slump. Politics and Economics, 1924-1936, Oxford: Clarendon Press 1986; Constantin Iordachi (ed.): Comparative Fascist Studies. New Perspectives, London, New York: Routledge 2010; Constantin Iordachi: Fascism in Interwar East Central and Southeastern Europe: Toward a New Transnational Research Agenda, in: East Central Europe 37 (2010), pp. 161-213; Anton Kaes, Martin Jay, Edward Dimendberg (eds.): The Weimar Republic Sourcebook, Berkeley: University of California Press 1994; Zdeněk Kárník: České země v éře První republiky (1918-1938), 3 Bde, Praha: Nakladatelství Libri 2003; Ian Kershaw: Weimar. Why did German Democracy fail? London: Weidenfeld & Nicholson 1990; Thomas Mergel: Dictatorship and Democracy, 1918-1939, in: Helmut Walser Smith (Hg.): The Oxford Handbook of Modern German History, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press 2011, S. 423-452; Jan-Werner Müller: Contesting Democracy. Political Ideas in Twentieth-Century Europe, New Haven: Yale University Press 2011; Jan Němeček (Hg.) Československo a krize demokracie ve střední Evropě ve 30. a 40. letech XX. Století. Hledání východisek, Praha 2010; Erwin Oberländer, Rolf Ahmann (eds.): Autoritäre Regime in Ostmittel- und Südosteuropa 1919-1944, Paderborn: Schöningh 2001; John Pollard: The Fascist Experience in Italy, London: Routledge 1998; Joseph Rothschild: East Central Europe between the Two World Wars, Seattle, London: University of Washington Press 1974; Kurt Sontheimer: Antidemokratisches Denken in der Weimarer Republik. Die politischen Ideen des deutschen Nationalismus zwischen 1918 und 1933, München: Nymphenburger Verlags-Buchhandlung 1962; Matěj Spurný: Bijeme na poplach! Německá publicistika proti nacistickému nebezpečí 1930-1933, Praha 2009; Zara Steiner: The Lights that Failed. European International History 1919-1933, Oxford: Oxford University Press 2005; Zara Steiner: The Triumph of the Dark. European International History 1933-1939, Oxford: Oxford University Press 2011; Daniel Woodley: Fascism and Political Theory. Critical Perspectives on Fascist Ideology, London, New York: Routledge 2010. |
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Poslední úprava: Dr. phil. Torsten Horst Lorenz (14.09.2014)
1st meeting, 1.10.2014 Introduction
2nd meeting, 8.10.2014 Overview I.: Central and Eastern Europe between the Wars Reading: Joseph Rothschild: East Central Europe between the Two World Wars, Seattle, London: University of Washington Press 1974, pp. 3-25. Topics: Central and Eastern Europe as a historical region; The emergence of the post-war order; main trends in politics, economy and society; inter-state relations; Germany and the Soviet Union and their influence on the development in Central and Eastern Europe; Ethnic relations and conflict; ruling classes and "their" societies; styles of government; democracy and authoritarianism
3rd meeting, 15.10.2014 Overview II: Economy and society in Central and Eastern Europe between the wars Topics: Main trends in economic and social developments; Modernization and its (partial) success; The remnants of noble society; The peasants and the problem of land reforms; The working class; The end of liberalism in economic policy; Statist ("etatist") trends in economic policy and "organized capitalism"; The world economic crisis of the 1930’s Reading: Robert Bideleux, Ian Jeffries: A History of Eastern Europe. Crisis and Change, London, New York: Routledge 1998, pp. 426-434, pp. 435-442 & pp. 443-453.
4th meeting, 22.10.2014 Democracy in interwar Central and Eastern Europe I.: Political and party systems, pressure groups and political culture Topics: Constitutions, political systems and party systems - structures and performance; political (mass) mobilization and universal franchise; "the mass"; political currents from "left" to "right"; pressure groups and their influence on politics; political culture - notion and development; the performance of democracy in Central and Eastern Europe in the 1920’s; the weakness of the political systems and the way towards authoritarian rule Reading: Mark R. Thompson: Building Nations and Crafting Democracies - Competing Legitimacies in Interwar Europe, in: Dirk Berg-Schlosser, Jeremy Mitchell (eds.): Authoritarianism and Democracy in Europe, 1919-39. Comparative Analyses, Basingstoke: Macmillan 2002, pp. 20-38.
5th meeting, 29.10.2014 Intellectuals and intellectual currents in interwar Central and Eastern Europe Topics: Intellectuals and the production of political doctrines; The role of intellectuals in politics; Criticism of Democracy; Intellectual currents in interwar Central and Eastern Europe: leftist, right-wing, conservative, clerical, völkisch ideas; The wartime experience and the First World War as a topic in art (Futurism, ...); Anti-liberal and organicist thinking about the state; Christian corporatist ideas and the encyclical "Quadragesimo anno"; The call for a "Führer"; Important political and economic thinkers between the wars: Carl Schmitt, Georg Lukács, Ernst Bloch, Othmar Spann, ... Reading: Jan-Werner Müller: Contesting Democracy. Political Ideas in Twentieth-Century Europe, New Haven, London: Yale University Press 2011, pp. 50-90.
6th meeting, 5.11.2014 An enemy from the "left": Soviet Communism and left-wing movements in Central and Eastern Europe Topics: What is communism?; The "October Revolution" in Russia and the first years of Bolshevik rule; Stages of development of Soviet Communism: From "war communism" through "New Economic Policy" to Stalinism; Characteristics of Soviet Economic Policy; The development of Society under communist rule; Mass events and the legitimization of Communist rule; Early interpretations of Soviet Communism; the early Soviet Union in travel reports and contemporary critique; Communism in self-testimonies; Communism as a "political religion"?; Communism and communist movements in Central and Eastern Europe: their role and influence in politics; Soviet foreign policy: Between spreading revolution and "Socialism in one country"; The role of the Comintern; Communism and violence Reading: Ivan T. Berend: Decades of Crisis. Central and Eastern Europe before World War II, Berkeley: University of California Press 1998, pp. 203-223.
7th meeting, 12.11.2014 An enemy from the "right": Italian Fascism and right-wing movements in Central and Eastern Europe Topics: What is Fascism?; The "March on Rome" and Mussolini’s rule; Stages of Fascist rule in Italy; Economic and Social Policy in Fascist Italy; Corporatism: the notion and its practice in Fascist Italy; Mass events and the legitimization of Fascist rule; Early interpretations of Fascism; Fascist Italy in travel reports; Fascism in self-testimonies; Fascism as a "political religion"?; Fascist movements in Central and Eastern Europe: their role and influence in politics; Fascist foreign policy; Fascism and violence; Georges Sorel & Giovanni Gentile and Fascism; Antonio Gramsci and his critique of Fascism Reading: Marco Tarchi: The Role of Fascist Movements, in: Dirk Berg-Schlosser, Jeremy Mitchell (eds.): Authoritarianism and Democracy in Europe, 1919-39. Comparative Analyses, Basingstoke: Macmillan 2002, pp. 101-128.
There will be no meetings on 19th and 26th November due to conference talks of the course instructor
8th meeting, 3.12.2014 Democracy in interwar Central and Eastern Europe II.: Modes of conflict resolution and stabilizing democracy (social policy, corporatism, …) Topics: The performance of democracy in Central and Eastern Europe, cases: Czechoslovakia, Poland, Germany; The performance of parliaments as basic arena of pursuing and settling political conflict; Social policy as a way of moderating economic and social conflict; The rise of corporatism and alternative ways of settling conflict - and circumventing the parliaments; The rise of "technocratic" rule Reading: Allan Zink: Organized Interests and Their Patterns of Interaction, in: Dirk Berg-Schlosser, Jeremy Mitchell (eds.): Authoritarianism and Democracy in Europe, 1919-39. Comparative Analyses, Basingstoke: Macmillan 2002, pp. 77-100.
9th meeting, 10.12.2014 Democracy without democrats: The rise of National Socialism and Communism in Germany... and: Hitler’s totalitarian rule in Germany Topics: The heritage of the First World War; The condition and performance of Weimar democracy; Economic and social cleavages in interwar Germany; Criticism of Weimar democracy; Mass mobilization on the "right" and on the "left"; The rise of National Socialism in Germany; The rise of Communism in Germany; Biography: Adolf Hitler - political ideas and performance until 1933; Hitler’s rule in Germany and the destruction of democratic institutions; The legitimization of Hitler’s rule (charisma, Führertum, ...); The inscenization of Hitler’s rule (mass events, ...); Hitler’s elite - biographical approaches; National Socialism as "Biocracy" (the notion of Volksgemeinschaft, anti-Semitism from exclusion to mass murder); The role of violence in Hitler’s regime Reading: Folko Arends, Gerhard Kümmel: Germany: From Double Crisis to National Socialism, in: Dirk Berg-Schlosser, Jeremy Mitchell (eds.): Conditions of Democracy in Europe 1919-39. Systematic Case Studies, Basingstoke u. a.: Routledge 2000, pp. 184-212.
10th meeting, 17.12.2014 Authoritarian regimes in Central and Eastern Europe between the wars Topics: Varieties of authoritarian rule in Central and Eastern Europe: cases (Poland; Hungary; Romania; Lithuania/Latvia/Estonia; Austria); Ideology and legitimization strategies of authoritarian rulers (Corporatism, Church, anti-Semitism, ...); Economic and social policy of the "small" dictators; Biographical approaches to authoritarian rule (Piłsudski, Horthy, King Carol, ...) Reading: Jerzy Holzer: Poland: From Post-War Crisis to Authoritarianism, in: Dirk Berg-Schlosser, Jeremy Mitchell (eds.): Conditions of Democracy in Europe 1919-39. Systematic Case Studies, Basingstoke u. a.: Routledge 2000, pp. 335-353; Robert Bideleux, Ian Jeffries: A History of Eastern Europe. Crisis and Change, London, New York: Routledge 1998, pp. 458-466.
11th meeting, 7.1.2015 Comparison: Why did democracy fail in most states but persist in Czechoslovakia?; Closing discussion: What is to be learned from the failure of democracy in interwar Europe? Topics: Attempt at comparison: Reasons for the failure of democracy and the rise of anti-liberal regimes; Closing discussion Reading: John Bradley: Czechoslovakia: External Crisis and Internal Compromise, in: Dirk Berg-Schlosser, Jeremy Mitchell (eds.): Conditions of Democracy in Europe 1919-39. Systematic Case Studies, Basingstoke u. a.: Routledge 2000, pp. 85-105. |