2/2024: Becoming (Un)Political: Facets of Political Socialization in East Central Europe

The objective of this issue is to engage in a comprehensive discussion encompassing various dimensions such as social, economic, political, religious/confessional, cultural, and power factors contributing to politicization, political socialization, and mobilization in Central and East Central Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries. Emphasis is placed on treating these phenomena as complex social constructs, delving into the analysis of the actors involved, the social contexts, and the diverse settings or events within which politicization occurred among different strata of society, both in rural and urban settings.
We particularly encourage studies that extend beyond the “obvious” agents and the sphere of political activists or party members. Exploring indirect and “banal” forms of mobilization, where politicization emerges as an unintended byproduct or consequence, is of great interest. Additionally, we welcome perspectives from below, examining the understanding and conceptualization of politics by the non-elite population.
Both deep case studies and contributions that shed light on the multifaceted aspects of politicization and political socialization, providing nuanced insights into the historical dynamics of Central and East Central Europe, are highly encouraged.

The preferred topics may include, but are not limited to:
• Methodological and theoretical challenges: new perspectives on the concepts of political awareness, politicization, political socialization and related phenomena.
• The agents of politicization, the institutional basis, the communication channels, and instruments of politicization.
• The non-elite population’s understanding of politics, power dynamics, institutions, and the state, along with the dynamics of transferring and appropriating concepts from elite to non-elite discourses.
• The situations and places where politicization and political socialization might have occurred with greater or lesser intensity and potential for success.
• The “counter” processes of de-politicization and re-politicization.
• How did political actions, behaviour, attitudes, and values adapt to the change of the political regime from a democratic to an authoritative one?
• Politicization and the formation of public space. Impact of mass politics on the appearance of cities (urbanization, arrangement of public space, political symbolism).
• Effect of political socialization in the field of culture (formation of engaged art seeking to activate society, selection of theatrical repertoire, role of museums and other memory institutions).
• Case studies of various roles, experiences, and agencies of various types of actors: understandings of politics, becoming political, turning an activist, acting as an agent etc.