The aim of this paper is to discuss the political and military aspects of the Year of the Four Emperors, i.e. the period of civil war in Rome which began with the death of emperor Nero in June 68, and ended with Vespasian’s ascend to undivided power towards the end of 69. In Part Two, the author discusses the events which took place between the death of the Emperor Galba in January 69 and the final victory of Vespasian’s party in December 69.
Four years after the end of its uprising against the Gaddafi regime, Libya remains in chaos. It is worth noting that for the third time since their independence in 1951, the Libyans’ attempts to create a modern and powerful state seem to be ‘wishful thinking’. The first two failed attempts – in 1951 and 1969 – were essentially local affairs without significant consequences beyond the country’s borders. The ongoing turmoil which followed in the wake of the Arab Spring in 2011 is leading to serious regional and international destabilization. This paper discusses the main factors of the instability in post‑Gaddafi Libya. According to the authors’ analysis, there are the following main obstacles in the process of transition toward democracy and peace: two competing governments, multiplicity of militias and combat groups operating in Libya, jihadism rising in power as well as the regional and ethnic claims for recognition and autonomy. The last part of this paper is devoted to potential scenarios for the future of Libya.
For about ten years now people in NATO member states have, on a daily basis, been confronted with the faltering attempts by their troops to create a semblance of stability in Afghanistan. It is now widely recognized that Afghanistan has become an intractable international problem. This article, however, focuses on previous attempts to impose solutions. Beginning in the late 1970s and continuing throughout the 1980s, the two Cold War superpowers, the USSR and the USA, intervened in Afghanistan’s affairs. In this article the legality, under international law, of those efforts is examined. This requires an extensive analysis of international law as applicable to external interventions in civil wars. It will be demonstrated that neither the USSR’s invasion of Afghanistan, nor the USA’s massive support of the Afghan rebels, was reconcilable with international law. Considering the fact that these ill-advised interventions in Afghanistan backfired on both superpowers, they constitute a good object lesson to demonstrate that the prohibition of external interventions in civil wars not only reflects what international law demands, but is also simple common sense. Recent interventions in Bahrain and Libya are also briefly examined as to their legality, and this examination includes projections whether the unsatisfactory results of the Afghanistan interventions will be replicated there.
It is difficult to understand the current situation in Syria without making an analysis of the historical reasons that have led to the country on the brink of collapse. This brief article intends to expose the lines of rupture of the Syrian regime as well as the regional and international importance of this conflict.Full text: http://bazhum.muzhp.pl/czasopismo/589/?idno=14763
Plato is the first philosopher who speaks about the genesis of dialectic between civil war and outside war. The war among States may be considered a righteous war when an outside enemy threats the freedom of the polis, as freedom – from Plato’s point of view and the whole classical Greek culture point of view – is the fundamental human right that makes a man a citizen and not a slave. From Plato’s point of view this objective can be achieved by means of the education promoted by the State that helps the citizens to realize his essence as man. The State, therefore, realizes the natural order among citizens thus educated, that may only consist in a proportional equality of all citizens for their friendship and thus for peace. The polis becomes a unity and a real political community only thanks to the peace granted by that friendship.
The Year of the Four Emperors, as the period of civil wars in Rome after Nero’s death is often called, was the first major shake-up which affected the Roman state since a new system of rule, referred to as the Principate, had been established by Augustus. Following the imperial proclamation of Servius Sulpicius Galba, the governor of Spain (June 8th, 68) and the suicide of Nero (June 9th), the Roman state plunged into a profound political crisis. This was because the new emperor found no support either in the City itself, or among the soldiers of legions stationed on the Empire’s frontiers. On January 2nd, 69, Roman army on the Rhine hailed Aulus Vitellius, their commander, as the emperor. As Tacitus observed, this revealed the “secret of rule” (arcanum imperii) – namely one could become an emperor not only in the capital of the Empire but also on its remote periphery. Vitellius immediately began preparations for an armed contest with Galba. However, on January 15th, 69, the latter was murdered in Rome, and praetorians proclaimed M. Salvius Otho as the emperor.
In book I M, N alliteration amounts to 24,8%; T, D – 16,5%; S – 10,5%, R – 6,7%. In book II the first place belongs to M, N alliteration – 22,8%; then: T, D – 16,1%; S – 11,8%; M, N, T, D – 5,9%. In book III the predominant alliteration is M, N – 19,8%; then: T, D – 15,09%; S – 12,5%; M, N, T, D (TH) – 5,6%. Book IV is atypical, as the number of M, N and T, D alliterations is identical, i. e. 19,1%. S constitutes 11,7%, while M, N, T, D – 6,9%. In Book V the most frequent alliteration is M, N – 20,0%, next we have T, D – 19,3%; S – 9,2%; M, N, T, D – 8,2%. Alliteration in books I–V of Lucan`s Pharsalia is mainly used to describe the character and actions of Julius Caesar. The narrator insists on his great energy, his ability to cope with critical situations, his extreme luck and Fortune’s favour during the struggle with the elements. Civil war brings about enormous chaos in the universe. The personified Roma is responsible herself for all the calamities that befall her. Yet alliteration is also used to describe more placid scenes, for example the scenery, such as cities (Iolcos, Brundisium) and rivers (Euphrates, Tigris). Sometimes alliteration emphasises certain religious elements, e.g. the sacred grove near Massilia. Alliteration is sporadically used in the account of the exploits of Pompey, Cato and Crassus. It plays an important role in the frequent descriptions of the elements that bring disaster on the army, in particular floods and droughts.
The process that started with a demonstration against the regime on 15 March 2011 spurred by desire to reform Dera/Syria quickly turned into a civil war. The resulting forced immigration presented Turkey with the challenge of one of history’s largest immigration movements. Turkey adopted open door policy towards Syrians and gave them temporary protection status. Thus the Syrians were considered to be guests of Turkey until they could return to their homeland. However, internal disturbances in Syria became increasingly complex and the Syrians’ stay turned into a long-term one. As the case of Şanlıurfa city demonstrates, there are significant cultural differences between the Syrian immigrants and the indigenous people, which include clothing, traditions, customs, attitudes and behaviours. They make integration of both peoples difficult and cause a serious cultural clash between the local people and the Syrians in the city. These emerging problems inspired this research, which aims to showcase the problems of socio-cultural integration of the Syrians through a case study of Şanlıurfa city and to examine the factors underlying these problems.
During the Spanish Civil War the Catholic Church in Poland sided with General Francisco Franco. The reasons behind such an attitude should be sought in repression against the Spanish clergy by Spain’s left-wing government and in the attitude of the Holy See, which had given its blessing to the rebellion already in September 1936. The Church in Poland saw the Spanish Civil War in black and white. Everything associated with the left-wing Republic was shown as the greatest evil, anti-civilization, Satan’s domain. The Francoists, on the other hand, were usually presented in a positive light, as twentieth-century crusaders fighting in the name of Christian civilization.
This paper examines an interesting facet of Caesar’s account of the events around Dyrrachium in his Bellum Civile, in which Caesar’s soldier recollect their past experiences as a means to cope with a difficult situation during their siege of Pompey’s forces. In so doing, they establish engagement with the past as a means by which they affirm their suitability to win the war. The use of memory of military experiences past (both the civil war and the Gallic campaign) by Caesar’s men, then Caesar himself, and the misuse of the same by the Pompeians, establishes that Caesar’s side is in the best position to win the war and, ultimately, to provide the official (historically valid) narrative of the civil war.
In Italy of the ‘90s, after major political parties were dissolved and institutional antifascism faded out, a reassessment of the Resistance movement took on. Giampaolo Pansa entered a clearly revisionist path in telling, he claims, untold and long overdue stories of “Guerra di casa”, the civil war. The house, household and domesticity are portrayed literally in his “cycle of the defeated”, as he emphasizes the impact of war on family and its members, whence love or friendship cannot “save” anyone anymore. I try to demonstrate that Pansa’s epic, based on fascist sources and private testimonies, is biased and partial, put in goal-oriented plots. “If war entered households, we read, we should hold communist partisans responsible for it, who first privatized war and later appropriated its historiography.
The Image of Alexander Kolchak and the Civil War of 1917 in Admiral, and contemporary Russian Historical Consciousness The article offers an analysis of the image of Alexander Kolchak in Russian cinematography. The most extensive portrayal of both this figure and of the Russian civil war is found in the film Admiral. Contemporary Russian historical consciousness has been modified or moulded by images conveyed in films. Historical cinema is an effective means by which attitudes to the past can are formed and may be used as a tool in carrying out historical politics.
PL
The Image of Alexander Kolchak and the Civil War of 1917 in Admiral, and contemporary Russian Historical Consciousness The article offers an analysis of the image of Alexander Kolchak in Russian cinematography. The most extensive portrayal of both this figure and of the Russian civil war is found in the film Admiral. Contemporary Russian historical consciousness has been modified or moulded by images conveyed in films. Historical cinema is an effective means by which attitudes to the past can are formed and may be used as a tool in carrying out historical politics.
In the article an attempt is made to apply the idea of nomadism to the process of transforming literary themes and plots that have taken shape and are fixed in the framework of certain national and cultural paradigms. In this case, it is a process of transforming such a topic, suchs so significant for Russian literature of the 20th century, as the Civil War in Russia. At present, it is experiencing a unique revival, but the means for its artistic implementation change significantly, as can be seen from the comparison of two contemporary novels dedicated to this topic: L. Yuzefovich’s “Winter Road” and A. Makushinsky’s “City in the Valley”. As a result of the analysis, it is concluded that in the sense of literary and artistic psychology, which assumes living in an image, the topic of the Civil War in Russia can be considered as closed, while the resources of historical evidence are able to open a new emotional, intellectual and artistic potential for it.
The aim of the essay is to demonstrate that John Maxwell Coetzee’s Life and Times of Michael K can be perceived as a parody of Voltaire’s Candide, a novel intended as a ridicule of Leibniz’s Theodicy. While Voltaire proposed to withdraw from the world and ‘‘to cultivate one’s own garden” as a remedy to Leibniz’s ill-conceived optimism, Coetzee shows that Voltaire’s praise of passivity and life in accordance with nature, symbolized by a retreat into gardening, is as erratic as Leibniz’s philosophy. The essay concludes that Coetzee’s Michael K can be treated as a caricature of Voltaire’s Candide.
Maximilian Kirienko-Voloshin (known as Maximilian Voloshin), a Russian poet and painter, was a colourful, maverick person; it is not possible to assess him unequivocally. He made a strong impression on people around him, which is reflected in abundant literary memoirs. When the opinions of Ivan Bunin, Marina Tsvetaeva, Eugenia Gertsyk, Nadezhda Teffi and Boris Sadovskoy are analysed, a heterogenetic picture of the artist emerges. His unusual demeanor and clothing, and surprising beliefs - often perceived as iconoclastic - attracted attention or even led to controversy.
After Arab Spring many hopes were dashed. However historical change must be happening now in the area of social awareness. The rise of extremism limits awareness and also endangers the Arab identity. The Arab revolution has to be more than the overthrowing of dictators. Bennabi created the concept of Post- Almohad Man and its “Colonsability” – a tendency to be colonized which allows the aggressor to be transformed into the colonizer. Is Bennabi’s theory applicable to Iraq? Should killing a Post- Almohad Man be the aim, as Bennabi postulated, and only this will allow society to develop? Although Bennabi rather had in mind liberation from auto-stereotype and reconstruction of identity, many still interpret his words literally.
Artykuł przedstawia wyniki badań dotyczących dywersyjnego udziału rosyjskich ochotników w wojnie domowej na terenie byłej Jugosławii w latach 90. XX w. Obejmuje zarys szlaku bojowego ochotników, prawdopodobne motywy, jakie nimi kierowały oraz sposób zaciągu i przerzutu. Ponadto autor próbuje udzielić odpowiedzi na ważne w tym kontekście pytanie: czy Rosjanie biorący udział w walkach byli najemnikami czy – jak sami twierdzą – ochotnikami?
EN
The article presents the results of research on the participation of Russian volunteers in sabotage activities during the civil war on the territory of former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. It describes the volunteers’ combat trail, probable motives, as well as the methods of recruitment and redeployment. Moreover, the author attempts to answer the significant question: whether Russians involved in combat activities were mercenaries or – as they claim themselves – volunteers.
This article has examined the motives of the leaders and rank-and-file of the two most important paramilitary groups in Hungary during the counterrevolution. It has shown that the atrocities committed against middleclass Jews were primarily motivated by greed, rather than ethnic and religious hatred or anti-Communist sentiments. Paramilitary violence was conditioned by economic collapse and the “retreat of the state” and its loss of monopoly on violence. Many individuals and social groups also used the militias to achieve their long-term goals: to put pressure on law makers to pass anti-Semitic legislation, which would limit the number of Jewish students admitted to universities and control their share in the various professions. Paramilitary violence can thus be perceived as not only as a product of economic collapse, social chaos, and the “retreat of the state”: it was also part and parcel of a social strategy aimed at the redistribution of wealth, life-chances, power and influence. Finally, article has argued that the defeat of the militia movement in Hungary was due to its leaders’ lack of political talent and the slow restoration of law and order under the conservative government of István Bethlen in the early 1920s.
Over the course of 1917, Russia experienced two revolutions. The revolution in March first overthrew the Tsarist regime and established an eight-month provisional government. The subsequent revolution in November toppled the provisional government and established a Bolshevik dictatorship. The far-reaching political and religious changes in the country attracted the attention of the Holy See, which followed events in Russia with extraordinary interest. The picture of conditions represented an incomplete mosaic of testimony which led from initial accommodation to a fairly quick sobering up, especially after the young Bolshevik regime separated the Church from the state and began opposing the relatively liberal religious situation in the country with exceptional brutality.
One of the major questions emerging in present-day reflections on politics is related to violence and its relation to institutional order and law. In the paper, an issue of concern for a very particular form of political conflict, that is, civil war, is addressed. Violence in politics, and particularly its specific form, that is, stasis (civil war), has been omitted from philosophical reflection on the origins of politics. Contrary to the traditional representation of the constitution of the political sphere, contemporary political philosophy attempts to grasp the fundamental place of violence in politics. This paper will analyze two major ways of representing politics: the traditional one, which suppresses violence, and the contemporary one, which brings to the forefront of reflection the presence of it. The comparison of these two depictions of politics affords us a comprehension of the evolution of contemporary reflection on politics, and deeply modifies how we understand politics. This article focuses on the reinterpretation of the view of politics offered by Nicole Loraux and Chantal Mouffe and discloses the influence of their reflection on our understanding of politics.
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