Calls for Thematic Issues

The End of Czechoslovakia: 30 Years Later – Call for Papers

11. 8. 2022 – The thirty years since the end of the common Czech and Slovak state seems to be the longest period of stable continuous development in the modern history of both nations since 1918, unmarked by major historical breaks and discontinuities. The entry of Czechia and Slovakia into the European Union and the North Atlantic Alliance was a confirmation of the path taken in 1989 and 1993. The period of Vladimir Mečiar's "illiberal democracy" in Slovakia became just a small episode. The division of Czechoslovakia was also the last dramatic dilemma that the majority of its inhabitants intensely shared and experienced. Three decades constitute a sufficient distance from the events and processes of that time to allow contemporary historians to examine them in detail and in a broader context. The overall picture of the events surrounding the proclamation of the two independent republics has already been outlined and some of its important moments interpreted. Other issues are still a matter of dispute and await clarification.
To what extent was the division of Czechoslovakia a consequence of long-preserved problems of unitary state-law models and half-hearted federalism? To what extent were they triggered or accelerated by the new political, social and economic dynamics of post-November 1989 developments? And to what extent were these developments a resonance of the predatory wave of nationalism that disrupted all post-communist federations? Did the Czech and Slovak political elites fail to reach an acceptable compromise, despite hard negotiations, or was the division of the state a triumph of the will to power and pragmatism of some politicians? What were the economic costs and benefits of this radical state-building operation, and what was going on behind the scenes in the disputes over the division of federal property? What ideals and values did the two successor republics rely on in building a new statehood, which traditions, models and symbols were actualized or, conversely, which ones disappeared in the process? What has remained of Czechoslovak identity and how do both countries deal with the heritage of their common past?
How did the Czechoslovak divorce affect the everyday lives of people, what complications or benefits did it bring them? And have we, over the last thirty years, rid ourselves of mutual prejudices, misunderstandings, stereotypes and myths born out of our mutual coexistence, or are we piling more on top of them? For example, regarding the circumstances and causes of the division of Czechoslovakia?
We seek articles that analyse and reflect upon these and similar questions for the pages of Soudobé dějiny/CJCH and Historický časopis, to be published in 2023. In this joint project, we are not aiming to publish a single thematic issue, but we would like to include articles related to the round anniversary of the end of Czechoslovakia continuously in both journals throughout the year. We have chosen a "mirror" format, whereby we will publish the contributions of Slovak authors in Soudobé dějiny/CJCH and the articles of Czech authors will find a place in the Slovak Historický časopis. We welcome essays, studies, reflections, as well as texts focused on discussion or polemics, not only from historians, but also from experts in the field of sociology, political science, economics, law, etc. Manuscripts in Czech, Slovak and English can be submitted continuously until September 2023 via the journal’s online editorial system (FOR AUTHORS – SUBMIT MANUSCRIPT). For publication in the first issues of 2023, the deadline for submission is 31 December 2022.
Soudobé dějiny/CJCH is indexed in Scopus and CEEOL. Historický časopis is indexed in WoS, CCC, Scopus and CEEOL.
Contacts: sd@usd.cas.cz, histcaso@gmail.com.

The Politics of History and Memory: Actors, Tools and Narratives - Call for Papers (thematic issue 3/2022)

15. 3. 2022 - The gradual collapse of authoritarian regimes in Europe and Latin America in the last third of the twentieth century was naturally followed by a revision of the relationship to the past, whether communist or fascist. This process became an organic part of social liberalization and was neither conflict-free nor painless. It created a dilemma between the demand for historical truth and for the restitution of historical justice on the one hand, and the need for social stability and a basic consensus on the other. In some countries, alongside systemic transformation, it is now possible to more openly discuss not too distant grievances, injustices and guilt. In others, however, society is being confronted by repressed historical traumas, with demands for at least a symbolic atonement for past wrongs and for the memory of the former losers and victims.
The transformation of historical self-reflection after the collapse of the old regimes could first be observed in the break with legitimizing historical narratives, the expansion of sources of information and the opening of taboo topics. Subsequently, the institutional base for research, school teaching and cultural institutions was transformed. Various foreign authorities, social science approaches and memorial actors came forward with their strategies and innovations. The pantheon of national heroes and commemorations have been transformed and different, at times even contradictory, versions of the past have started competing in the public space. Such plurality, however, began to hinder some political and intellectual elites who saw it as a potential threat to their own values, goals or social integrity and began to use conformist interpretations of the past as political capital in domestic and foreign policy. If the past is the natural battleground of contemporaries, it is no longer only scholarly arguments, value preferences or lived experiences that serve as ammunition, but also power claims and tools. The recent war in Ukraine, with its propagandistic justification, demonstrates how pernicious the potential of utilitarian historical constructs and manipulations can be.
In this thematic issue of Soudobé dějiny / Czech Journal of Contemporary History we would like to conceptualize this process of changing historical self-reflection, to capture its transnational context and national specificities and to scrutinize the metanarratives that accompany it. We do not limit ourselves solely to reflections on the post-communist world, and the editors also welcome texts on the experiences of Southern European and Latin American countries. The issues covered may include, for example, the following questions: Are the changes in the institutional basis of research and commemoration comparable across borders and time? How are state-established memory institutes and museums typical in relation to the representation of the authoritarian past and what is their impact on the memory of particular societies? What ideas about this past and its legacy are promoted by relevant political actors and what tools do they use? How are historical symbols and sites of memory invoked and transformed in the contestations over the past? What is the role of historians themselves in confronting the political instrumentalization of history?
Manuscripts in English should be submitted by 15 August 2022 via https://sd.usd.cas.cz (section “for authors – submit manuscript”). Authors are also welcome to send their abstracts and drafts of their intended texts.
Indexing: Scopus, CEEOL, ERIH+
Contact: sd@usd.cas.cz

Revisionism and Contemporary History Research – Call to Authors

25. 10. 2021 – The media controversy over revisionism in research on socialist Czechoslovakia drew attention to an important fact – that historiography, and the humanities and social studies in general, regularly revise the starting points and conclusions of their research. These revisions give rise to expert controversies, which often reflect current political disputes and may therefore spill over into debates far beyond the academic sphere. Issues in contemporary history have long been central themes of such controversies.

The debate on totalitarianism and revisionism in research on state socialism, most recently covered in Radek Buben and Martin Štefek’s article entitled Konceptuální labyrinty. Kolik pojetí totalitarismu znáš, tolikrát jsi revizionistou? [Conceptual labyrinths. For as many concepts of totalitarianism that you know, so many times are you a revisionist] (Soudobé dějiny 2/2021 https://sd.usd.cas.cz/corproof.php?tartkey=sod-000000-0019), is a famous and today archetypical polemic of this type. This was, however, only one of many similar disputes over methodological innovations and revisions of interpretations in contemporary history research. As a follow-up to the publication of the cited article, the editorial team of the Soudobé dějiny/CJCH journal invites authors to submit papers for a thematic issue dedicated to this phenomenon. The aim of the issue is to open up discussion on revisionism that would show the broad nature of this theme and point out, for example, the complicated history of the term revisionism, interaction between historiography and politics in controversies over interpretations of the recent past, or other “revisionist” disputes that so far have been overlooked in the current Czech debate.

The issues covered by the papers may include, for example, the following:

1) Revisionism – history of the term

2) Methodology of contemporary history research and the issue of revisionism

3) Historical revisions and study of expert controversies

4) Discussion on revisionism in Cold War research

5) Holocaust denial and other extreme forms of historical revision

6) Gender-inspired revisions of dominant historical concepts and actors

7) Revisionism and the media image of contemporary history research

8) Historical revisions and the politics of history

Manuscripts should be submitted by 15 February 2022 via the journal’s online editorial system at https://sd.usd.cas.cz, FOR AUTHORS – SUBMIT MANUSCRIPT