Open access
COLLECTIVE MEMORY MYTHIZATION AND EXERCISING POLITICAL POWER IN THE SITUATION OF CONFLICT OCCURRENCE
Eugeniusz PONCZEK1
Transformations of Politics - Controversies, Mythization
Publication language: Polish
Journal article
Transformations No. 1-2 (92-93) 2017, Publication date: 24 May 2017
Keywords: collective memory, mythization, political power, conflict situations, political crises
Abstract The way of exercising political power is presented in the attitude of the decision- makers and people responsible for their implementation. Exercising power may be accompanied by a shorter or longer political crisis turning into a more or less lasting conflict. The opinion about the way of exercising power is reflected in collective memory, which is subject to mythization, of political class, and civic communities which are influenced by the centre of power. A political decision-maker takes suitable actions taking into consideration political values dominant in the society, which are clearly rooted in historical tradition. He is more or less aware of possibility of various reactions of the elites and social groups which are under the influence of the political power centre. Thus, one or another relation to historical and political myths, often in a significant way, polarizes moods of many social groups, both in the intra-state dimension and a geopolitical one, which may lead to occurrence of escalating, often unpredictable conflicts
Uniwersytet Łódzki
E-mail: genezo@wp.pl