History and Geopolitics: a Contest for Eastern Europe

Andrzej Nowak

Warsaw 2008

ISBN 978-83-89607-28-7

“An impressive collection of essays on the history of modern Poland and Russia which emphasizes the relationship between them and their neighbors and revolves around the idea of ‘empire’ as it affected both. Professor Nowak is thoroughly familiar with the literature on this complicated subject and expresses his views clearly and dispassionately.”

Richard Pipes, Harvard University

“Professor Nowak, an outstanding Polish historian, has a special interest in the relationship between political ideas and international power. As this excellent book demonstrates, he is willing to apply his interpretations to the present day to the great profit of anyone interested in Poland, Russia, and Eastern Europe generally.”

Timothy Snyder, Yale University

“Professor Andrzej Nowak, who shows a masterful command of the texts, presents and analyzes thinkers and scholars from the eighteenth century on, but especially interesting are his reviews of current Russian academic and political literature which interprets and reinterprets historical events to advance imperial claims of post-Soviet Russia. This book is essential reading, for it brings attention to important works and debates that are being largely ignored by Western scholars today.”

Roman Szporluk, Harvard University

“In this stimulating collection, Andrzej Nowak brings history and geography together to brilliant effect. The subject is the troubled relationship between Russia and Poland across the centuries. The author explores Russia’s enduring self-image as an empire and its manifold implications for Poland, and he offers a thoughtful meditation on the complex interweaving of space, identity, and the destinies of nations in the modern world. Nowak’s scholarship is impeccable, his commentary fresh and insightful, and his conclusions forcefully compelling. ‘History and Geopolitics’ is essential reading for anyone interested in the troubled dynamics of modern European civilization on its eastern frontier.”

Mark Bassin, University of Birmingham

Spis treści

Introduction & Acknowledgements

I. Russia and Europe, or Geopolitical Orientations in Russian Thought

II. Was the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth an Empire?

III. Russian “Enlightened” Imperialism and Poland 

IV. Between Republicanism and Independence: a Clash of Polish Concepts of Patriotism 

V. Polish Foreign Policy during the Partitions: Concepts and Limitations 

VI. Poland in Lenin’s Strategy: a Study of Realpolitik (1918–1920)

VII. Józef Piłsudski: a Federalist or an Imperialist? 

VIII. Poland after 1945: Between anti-Imperial Function and Imperial Temptation 

IX. “Poor Empire or a Second Rome” - Temptations of Imperial Discourse in  Contemporary Russian  Thinking 

X. History as an Apology for Totalitarianism 

XI. Russia, Empire and Evil: Dilemmas and Temptations in Contemporary Russian Political Imagination

XII. How Empires Fall and Are Reborn (Variations on Russian Theme)

XIII. A “Polish Connection” in American Sovietology: or the Old Homeland Enmities in the New Host Country Humanities

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