Agata Fijalkowski - Böcker

Addressing the relationship between law and the visual, this book examines the importance of photography in Central, East, and Southeast European show trials. The dispensation of justice during communist rule in Albania, East Germany, and Poland was reliant on legal propaganda, making the visual a fundamental part of the legitimacy of the law. Analysing photographs of trials, this book examines how this message was conveyed to audiences watching and participating in the spectacle of show trials. The book traces how this use of the visual was exported from the Soviet Union and imposed upon its satellite states in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War. It shows how the legal actors and political authorities embraced new photographic technologies to advance their legal propaganda and legal photography. Drawing on contemporary theoretical work in the area, the book then challenges straightforward accounts of the relationship between law and the visual, critically engaging entrenched legal historical narratives, in relation to three different protagonists, to offer the possibility of reclaiming and rewriting past accounts. As its analysis demonstrates, the power of images can also be subversive; and, as such, the cases it addresses contribute to the discourse on visual epistemology and open onto contemporary questions about law and its inherent performativity.This original and insightful engagement with the relationship between law and the visual will appeal to legal and cultural theorists, as well as those with more specific interests in Stalinism, and in Central, East, and Southeast European history.

From Old Times to New Europe considers the post-totalitarian legal framework in today's Europe, arguing that the study of totalitarianism and post-totalitarianism continues to be significant as ever. Drawing mainly on the Polish experience, this analysis focuses on the significant part played by history in the development of the region's identity and preferences concerning the role of the state in public and private life. It examines the political, socio-economic and legal aspects of key events and draws comparisons with other CEE states, whilst implementing key socio-legal theories to explain trends and strains in this post-Communist and post-totalitarian period. With the benefit of access to archival sources in Poland and Russia, this book will be of interest to students and researchers of European law, law and society and international criminal justice.

From Old Times to New Europe considers the post-totalitarian legal framework in today's Europe, arguing that the study of totalitarianism and post-totalitarianism continues to be significant as ever. Drawing mainly on the Polish experience, this analysis focuses on the significant part played by history in the development of the region's identity and preferences concerning the role of the state in public and private life. It examines the political, socio-economic and legal aspects of key events and draws comparisons with other CEE states, whilst implementing key socio-legal theories to explain trends and strains in this post-Communist and post-totalitarian period. With the benefit of access to archival sources in Poland and Russia, this book will be of interest to students and researchers of European law, law and society and international criminal justice.

Addressing the relationship between law and the visual, this book examines the importance of photography in Central, East, and Southeast European show trials. The dispensation of justice during communist rule in Albania, East Germany, and Poland was reliant on legal propaganda, making the visual a fundamental part of the legitimacy of the law. Analysing photographs of trials, this book examines how this message was conveyed to audiences watching and participating in the spectacle of show trials. The book traces how this use of the visual was exported from the Soviet Union and imposed upon its satellite states in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War. It shows how the legal actors and political authorities embraced new photographic technologies to advance their legal propaganda and legal photography. Drawing on contemporary theoretical work in the area, the book then challenges straightforward accounts of the relationship between law and the visual, critically engaging entrenched legal historical narratives, in relation to three different protagonists, to offer the possibility of reclaiming and rewriting past accounts. As its analysis demonstrates, the power of images can also be subversive; and, as such, the cases it addresses contribute to the discourse on visual epistemology and open onto contemporary questions about law and its inherent performativity.This original and insightful engagement with the relationship between law and the visual will appeal to legal and cultural theorists, as well as those with more specific interests in Stalinism, and in Central, East, and Southeast European history.

This title was first published in 2000: A discussion on the right of a child to a clean environment. It links two important contemporary issues: human rights and the environment. The volume consists of the extended versions of some of the papers which were presented at a workshop on "The Right of a Child to a Clean Environment", held at Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London, in 1997, and there are also some additional contributions. The workshop participants included Michael Anderson and Sylvia Bluck, Harry Post, Holly Cullen and Olufemi Elias. The additional contributors include Veronic Wright, Maria G. Doglioli and Soledad Aguilar. There are essays on general issues, selected case studies and annexes.