Zbigniew Rau - Böcker

The turmoil that shook Eastern Europe in the late 1980s and challenged traditional centers of power in the Soviet Union has touched off an intense debate about the forces behind the recent collapse of Soviet-type systems. Civil society, a key concept in the debate, is the focus of this thought-provoking volume, which contrasts the views of Eastern scholars and activists in independent movements against those of Western academics. The authors' various perspectives on the struggle between the people and their governments highlight different facets of civil society, providing new insights into its definition, origin, and function within a nation's public life.

The turmoil that shook Eastern Europe in the late 1980s and challenged traditional centers of power in the Soviet Union has touched off an intense debate about the forces behind the recent collapse of Soviet-type systems. Civil society, a key concept in the debate, is the focus of this thought-provoking volume, which contrasts the views of Eastern scholars and activists in independent movements against those of Western academics. The authors' various perspectives on the struggle between the people and their governments highlight different facets of civil society, providing new insights into its definition, origin, and function within a nation's public life.

This book offers a new, European-centered approach to Tocqueville’s thought. Although Tocqueville is often revered as a classic writer on the subject of American democracy, this book focuses on the multifaceted importance of his ideas within a European context. This collection of essays presents Tocqueville’s vision of a diverse and united Old Continent, exploring his ideas of liberty, virtue, religion, patriotism, greatness, civic participation and democracy. These thoughts are analyzed not only in the context of Tocqueville’s output, but also in the light of their potential to describe the dilemmas of contemporary Europe and to offer remedies for its problems.

To mark the 800th anniversary of the ratification of the Magna Carta by King John at Runnymede, Magna Carta provides the central European perspectives on this monumental document and its impact on the political and legal experiences of freedom, from the medieval period to the present day. The volume gives rise to a discussion about the legacy of the Magna Carta as one of the fundamental elements of European identity.Supported by previously untranslated sources at the end of each chapter, the team of contributors consider the lasting legacy of Magna Carta in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Lithuania. The authors present the successful attempts to limit royal power by law while protecting the priveleges of the nobility carried out throughout the region from the thirteenth to eighteenth centuries. Each chapter considers the historical and political contexts behind these efforts, the processes by which political and legal institutions were subsequently formed and finally examines the legacy of those institutions which are today found in constitutional identities, constitutional arrangements and political projects across Central Europe. A preface by Robert Blackburn draws the collection together, highlighting the continued universal significance of the Magna Carta.This original title will enable students and academics alike to see for themselves the reverberations the Magna Carta caused in medieval Europe and beyond from a fresh and unusual perspective.

To mark the 800th anniversary of the ratification of the Magna Carta by King John at Runnymede, Magna Carta provides the central European perspectives on this monumental document and its impact on the political and legal experiences of freedom, from the medieval period to the present day. The volume gives rise to a discussion about the legacy of the Magna Carta as one of the fundamental elements of European identity.Supported by previously untranslated sources at the end of each chapter, the team of contributors consider the lasting legacy of Magna Carta in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Lithuania. The authors present the successful attempts to limit royal power by law while protecting the priveleges of the nobility carried out throughout the region from the thirteenth to eighteenth centuries. Each chapter considers the historical and political contexts behind these efforts, the processes by which political and legal institutions were subsequently formed and finally examines the legacy of those institutions which are today found in constitutional identities, constitutional arrangements and political projects across Central Europe. A preface by Robert Blackburn draws the collection together, highlighting the continued universal significance of the Magna Carta.This original title will enable students and academics alike to see for themselves the reverberations the Magna Carta caused in medieval Europe and beyond from a fresh and unusual perspective.