W podjętych rozważaniach autorzy analizują obecny stan tożsamości Polaków zamieszkujących na terenach Ukrainy wschodniej ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem sytuacji językowej na Donbasie. Przeprowadzone badania pozwalają stwierdzać, iż ze względu na specyficzne mechanizmy tygla kulturowego w Ukrainie wschodniej tworzy się jakościowo nowy gatunek kultury polskiej. W środowiskach polonijnych, gdzie nie ma ciągłości kultury ojczystej, kultywowane są tylko niektóre jej elementy, o czym często decyduje nieliczna grupa działaczy i społeczników. Dlatego tak zwany renesans polskiej mniejszości na Wschodzie ma charakter spontaniczny i nieukierunkowany. Dotyczy to również znajomości języka polskiego i motywacji podjęcia jego nauki.

The main purpose of this article is to analyze the situation of modern Tibet, which political and legal structures are divided into the Central Tibetan Administration in India and the Tibet Autonomous Region in China. What connects them is a developing national identity of the Tibetans and the actions taken by the Central Tibetan Administration to create a new and independent state. Of great importance for the specificity of politics and the shaping of Tibetan national identity are also activities of the 14th Dalai Lama, who internationally promotes Tibetan culture and informs about the situation of Tibetans living in the Tibet Autonomous Region in China.
Dalai Lama is also the author of the draft constitution of the future state of Tibet, which content is a basis of the analysis in this article. Due to the comprehensive presentation and explanation of the specifics of this project, we will analyze not only particular articles, but also the introduction that we can consider as preamble. Thanks to this, it will be possible to show the relationship between political, legal and religious issues that make up the visions of the new state of Tibet.
This article is divided into two related parts. The first one is connected with national identity and independence of Tibet. The second part is focused on democratization of Tibet and relation between religion and politics.

The concept of national heritage in the light of constitutional regulations

National heritage is a constitutional value. It protects it, just like the independence of the Republic of Poland, in accordance with art. 5 of the Constitution. National heritage can be understood as a culture rooted in the Christian heritage of the nation. In this way, it captures the preamble or cultural heritage referred to in art. 6 par. 2 of the Constitution. This last concept seems to be an integral part of the national heritage. The national heritage can’t, as it was proved, be perceived as a heritage of the Polish ethnic nation, although the term “nation” used in the Constitution can be interpreted differently. In practice, the problem is also the status of the cultural heritage of national minorities and whether it is part of the Polish national heritage.

Singapore Golden Jubilee: Chinese community’s contribution to the building Singaporean national identity

The article presents the significant contributions of the Chinese community to the Singaporean nation building during the first 50 years of the independence. It is based on a book 50 Years of the Chinese Community in Singapore. The text presents the major Chinese organizations, including the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations, the Chinese Development Assistance Council and the Chinese Heritage Centre. The author, former Polish ambassador to Singapore, outlines several main issues, that provoked controversies within the Chinese community, such as the use of the Chinese language and the integration of the new immigrants from China. The author presents also the role of the Chinese religions, the development of the cultural life, and the role played by the Singaporean Chinese in relations with China and the neighboring countries.

When we think of our understanding of the category of ‘the nation’, turning to the most important official document and source for which this category is central – namely, the constitution of the modern democratic state – could yield new insights into how the category of ‘nation’ could be understood and interpreted. No other document is focused on ‘the nation’ and/or ‘the people’ to such an extent and, likewise, no other act seems so dependent on a particular understanding of the term of ‘the nation’/‘the people’. In this study, I decided to analyze how specific constitutions of selected democratic states (particularly in Europe) choose to define the category of ‘the people’/‘the nation’, and why, providing contemporary explanations as well as exploring relevant historical background of how the understanding of this capital category came to be shaped. This perspective serves as lens through which I examine ‘the nation’ as a sociological and political category.

Lazarians as ambassadors of the national identity of Poles in Eastern Europe. The past, the present and the future

The article is dedicated to the activity on the part of Congregation of the Mission founded by Vincent de Paul, the so-called Lazarians, starting with their arrival to Poland in the 17th century, followed by their activity spreading to various parts of the Polish Republic in the subsequent centuries and the Mission’s difficulties in the 20th century in what is now Lithuania, Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia. Attention is also given to the scope and role of Congregation of the Mission in maintaining religious, linguistic and cultural traditions in the local Polish diasporas.

Lazaristé velvyslanci národní identity Poláků na východě Evropy. Minulost-přítomnost-budoucnost

Count Mauritius August Benyovszky (1746–1786) – the Pole, Hungarian, Slovak or cosmopolitan?

In this article we focus on the question of the national identity of a famous adventurer and traveller Count Mauritius August Benyovszky (Polish: Beniowski, 1746-1786). Despite the fact that Benyovszky was born in present-day Slovakia and he sometimes described himself as a Pole, his national identity could not be labelled as either Slovak or Polish.

Celem artykułu jest ukazanie związku historii z kształtowaniem się tożsamości narodowej wybranych bohaterów literackich. Rozważania oparte są na analizie tego procesu na Ziemiach Odzyskanych – migracji różnych ludów po II wojnie światowej (Szczecin) lub na pograniczach (Śląsk jako tygiel narodowości). Artykuł jest próbą literackiej interpretacji zjawiska. Proces kształtowania się tożsamości został ukazany na przykładzie losów bohaterów literackich następujących utworów: Bambino I. Iwasiów, Proszę bardzo A. Rottenberg i Czarny ogród M. Szejnert.

Aktualnie wieloetniczną Ukrainę zamieszkuje ponad 110 narodowości w różnym stopniu zasymilowanych i przeważnie zrusyfikowanych, szczególnie na terenach południowo-wschodnich. Na terenach byłego ZSRR problem samoidentyfikacji Homo Post Sovieticus ściśle wiąże się z kwestią wielokulturowości i świadomego wyboru etnicznej przynależności. Pomimo nielicznych aktów prawnych Ukrainy, gwarantujących „wszystkim mniejszościom narodowym prawa autonomii narodowo-kulturalnej”, procesy rozwoju i odradzania tożsamości grup etnicznych są hamowane specyfiką zbiorowej świadomości Homo Post Sovieticus, która w dużym stopniu wyznacza społeczno-kulturowy system tego kraju na rozdrożu.

Autor zwraca uwagę, że z dotychczasowych badań nad wielokulturowością i skutków funkcjonującej ideologii wielokulturowości wynika potrzeba wypracowania nowej koncepcji kultury wiedzy o sobie i innych, co może i powinna podjąć rozwijająca się obecnie edukacja międzykulturowa. Wskazuje na normy, którymi kieruje się edukacja międzykulturowa, w ustawicznym procesie kształtowania tożsamości kulturowej. Są to między innymi: uczyć się, aby być sobą, doświadczać Innych i potrafić działać wspólnie, wiedzieć o sobie i Innych. W kontekście powyższego przedstawia zadania edukacji międzykulturowej związane z kreowaniem kilku nurtów rozwoju człowieka i jego kultury. Nurt tradycji i kultury regionalnej, inaczej nurt związany z nabywaniem tożsamości rodzinno-lokalno-parafialnej, nurt kultur narodowych i kształtowania się tożsamości narodowej, nurt kultury państwowej, dotyczący kreowania więzi obywatelskich z państwem, nurt dialogu kulturowego i cywilizacyjnego (wewnętrznego i zewnętrznego), inaczej, nurt kreujący wielopłaszyznową tożsamość jednostkową i społeczną oraz nurt symetrycznej akulturacji, między innymi jako wynik mobilności i ruchów migracyjnych na świecie.

W artykule porównano konstruowanie tożsamości narodowej przyszłych nauczycieli w Słowacji i Serbii. Pomiaru tożsamości narodowej dokonano przy pomocą skali NAIT (National Identity Scale)1. Badana grupa składała się ze 163 studentów narodowości słowackiej i 163 narodowości serbskiej (N – 326), 12% mężczyzn i 88% kobiet. W obrębie obu badanych grup, poprzez międzykulturowe analizy porównawcze, dokonano ewaluacji parametrów wyniku surowego ankiety. Wyniki badań wskazują, że przyszli nauczyciele w Słowacji prezentują wyższy poziom i większą stałość tożsamości narodowej. Jednocześnie badanie dowodzi, że świadomość narodowa słowackich przyszłych nauczycieli wzmacniana jest poczuciem patriotyzmu, a serbskich studentów – poczuciem nacjonalizmu. Wyniki omówione zostały w kontekście szkolenia przyszłych nauczycieli, z perspektywy tolerancji i międzykulturowości. Konkluzja zawiera szkic koncepcji edukacji międzykulturowej.

Language Problems of the European Union. Between the Idealism of Assumptions, Utilitarian Solutions, and the Need for Communicative Law. Part 1

The presented text is the first part of a broader study dedicated to linguistic issues in the constitutional aspect with reference to the territory of the Republic of Poland and the European Union. Linguistic issues, issues of the official language disappear from the perspective of constitutionalists and researchers dealing with European Union law. However, this is an important problem, given that the interpretation of legal norms is primarily a linguistic interpretation. The text deals with the issue of the official language in Poland, considering it in the constitutional aspect and in specific laws, especially in the law on the Polish language. The concepts of the state language, preferred in the interwar period, were considered. It has been pointed out that language is an element of identity. It causes problems in the area of the European Union. an attempt to solve them was the European Charter of Regional or Minority Languages. The article discusses the regulations on official languages, addressing the issue of the status of official and working languages. Due to the nature of the considerations taken in the text, their meaning, the complexity of the problem, the content of the article is divided into two parts.

Language problems of the European Union. Between the idealism of assumptions, utilitarian solutions, and the need for communicative law. Part II

This article is the second part of the considerations regarding language issues in the constitutional aspect with reference to the territory of the Republic of Poland and the European Union. The issues of linguistic interpretation in the practice of the European Court of Justice, as well as issues relating to language interpretation in the proceedings before the Court of Justice of the EU, draw attention to the content of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the consequences thereof. The problem of the status of semi-official (additional) languages has been pointed out. The author analyses normative acts referring to this issue and the language problems that occure in the proceedings before the Court of Justice of the European Union. The summary points out the financial aspect resulting from the fact that Europe does not have a language which the entire population of the Union would identify with, stressing the difficulties that will arise after the expected departure from the European Union by the United Kingdom.

Who am I? Meanders of national identity on the example of the fate of an ethnic Pole Ivan Iosifovich Osinskiy on the example of the fate of an ethnic Pole Ivan Iosifovich Osinsk

Who am I? Meanders of National Identity on the Example of the Fate of an Ethnic Pole Ivan Iosifovich Osinsky. The article presents the profile of an ethnic Pole Ivan Iosifovich Osinskiy, professor at Buryatia State University. It presents the process of formation of his national identity, the influence of individual elements (family, local community, professional environment, among others) on its formation. Emphasising Osinski’s sense of national identification is based on the model of the triad of identity: inherited, acquired, presented.

The Role of (Post)memory and Film in the South Korean National Narrative and its Impact on Relations with Japan

There seems to be a barrier in relations between Japan and South Korea that, despite shared interests and values, is an obstacle to building a lasting reconciliation. Political solutions that are supposed to be permanent and unchangeable (such as the agreement on comfort women) are being undermined. The idea of unresolved historical disputes and the lack of sufficient apologies has been ingrained in South Korea, which influences the perception of Japan as a dishonest partner. Subsequently, the brutality of authoritarian rule and the restriction of civil rights became associated with the legacy of the colonial period. Although political elites on both sides agree on the need to build future- oriented relationships, these efforts encounter internal resistance. Analysis of the role played by the collective memory of the colonial period allows us to notice antagonisms that lead to the reification of reality in which lasting reconciliation without solving historical disputes is impossible. Using the film, a post-memory with a strongly emotional tone is constructed, reinforcing anti-Japanese resentments. The analysis of the development of film narratives about the colonial period serves to capture changes in the national discourse and leads to conclusions regarding the impact not only on relations with Japan, but also on the connection between the anti-colonial discourse and the criticism of authoritarian power. The rhetorical vision presented in the films has been so deeply rooted in the national narrative that changing it seems extremely difficult - which is why it constantly threatens the building of lasting reconciliation with Japan.

Ukrainians at the Central Cemetery in Szczecin

The aim of the text is to reflect on the importance of burials and remembrance of the dead in preserving the national identity of Szczecin’s Ukrainians. The author believes that the cemetery is a place where social and political dependencies related to the ethnic sphere can be observed. The writer’s interests focus on the role of social memory and ethnic moblization.

The role of anthems in the process of forming Central European national identities based on the book by Csaba G. Kiss

Csaba G. Kiss, using comparative analysis, has not only attempted to uncover the corpus of dominant motifs in national songs, but has also indicated how their selection was influenced by historical events and the traditions of individual communities. Particularly noteworthy are the sections of the work where the links between the songs produced in different national communities are presented, both in terms of their forms and content. On the other hand, what can draw exceptional admiration is the enormous erudition of the author of The Anthems of East-Central Europe, who in his investigations referred not only to the literature in the languages of the conference, but also made extensive use of Polish, Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Romanian and - understandably because of his origin – Hungarian studies. Minor errors of a factual nature are somewhat surprising, such as the attribution to Alexander I the paternity of Grand Duke Constantine, commander-in-chief of the Polish army and the actual governor of Congress Poland from 1815 to 1830. The book under review can be considered a highly successful example of the use of comparative analysis in research dedicated to the emergence of national identity in Central Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries.