Overview

"In this first English-language monograph about the Polish historian Feliks Koneczny (1862-1949), Andrew Kier Wise explains Koneczny's theories and the ongoing debate about their meaning and relevance for Poland in the twenty-first century. Koneczny believed in a ""plurality of civilizations"" rather than a universal path of historical development. Developed fully during the troubled interwar period, his ""science of civilizations"" prefigured the ""clash of civilizations"" theories of our own era. Koneczny was especially concerned with pressure from ""the Orient"" on Polish society by the so-called Byzantine, Turanian, and Jewish civilizations. He believed that Poland's distinct cultural identity was grounded in Latin (Western) civilization and derived from the classical heritage of the Roman Republic and medieval Catholicism. Adherents to Koneczny's worldview--which Wise defines as ""Konecznian fundamentalism"" or ""civilizational fundamentalism""--embrace Koneczny's ""quincunx of existential values"" as a way to understand the world. Koneczny's theories and analytical framework thus provide a scholarly foundation for popular criticism of globalization, cosmopolitanism, immigration, feminism, the European Union, and other perceived threats to traditional Polish society."

Full Product Details

9780940962750

Table of Contents

Reviews

This is an extremely well-researched and intelligently argued account of the thought of the Polish intellectual historian Feliks Koneczny (1862-1949). There is clearly a need for a critical evaluation of his work, which has had a considerable influence on the ethno-nationalist right wing of Polish politics. --Antony Polonsky, Chief Historian, POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, Warsaw Feliks Koneczny and Civilizational Fundamentalism in Poland is an interesting and insightful discussion of Koneczny's significant contribution to right-wing thinking in contemporary Poland. --Robert Blobaum, Eberly Family Distinguished Professor of History, West Virginia University

Author Information

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available