There has been surprisingly little celebration of the tenth anniversary of the revolutions that brought down communism. The exaggerated hopes of the time have given way to disillusionment, but the real achievements of many of the postcommunist countries should not be discounted.
About the Author
Aleksander Smolar is senior research fellow at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in Paris and chairman of the board of the Stefan Batory Foundation in Warsaw. He served as a political advisor to Polish prime ministers Tadeusz Mazowiecki and Hanna Suchocka.
Europe has seen a proliferation of laws governing historical memory, but they sometimes threaten to inflame social tensions and undermine liberal values.
If Iraq is to become the free and self-governing country that an overwhelming majority of its citizens want it to be, a "useable past" made accessible by historical memory will…
Across East-Central Europe, the political center ground has long been characterized by the uneasy cohabitation of liberal and illiberal norms, but the latter have been gradually overpowering the former.
