Summary

Terrorism is age-old, as old as the world itself; it may easily date back to the time the first war was fought. Nonetheless the opening years of the new millenium have forced us to consider the two kinds of occurrences differently. It was exactly one year ago ("Znak", no 578) that we attempted to diagnose this new face of warfare. Today there’s time to look more closely at the new aspect of global terrorism, one so far pretty much unknown and obscure. What yesterday constituted a difficult, painful, but at the same time specifically local problem of a given community, like that of Israel or Palestine, the Basque Region and Spain, Egland and Ireland, today, when a bomb exploded in the Mideast results in a tragic incident the heart of one of European capitals – has come to affect each and every one of us, has come to be our own problem.

We have invited, as contributors to this issue, a bunch of outstanding experts in the area of international politics and questions concerned with the Middle East, to together look for an answer to the question of whether any means exist capable of stopping the domino effect which had the 11th of September for a starting point and whether it is at all possible to wage war on terrorism. Wojciech Jagielski relates his encounters with terrorists and motives behind their activity. Piotr Kłodkowski delineates how terrorism evolved within history of mankind and points to the consequences of its becoming a global phenomenon: further rifts existing and deepening only between the world of Islam on the one hand and America on the other, but also within the divided Europe and within Islam itself. Wojciech Giełżyński takes a different stand, warning against the danger of China’s growing power, one that few bother to notice now that everybody is engrossed in events taking place in Mideast. Timothy Garton Ash writes about ways to combat terrorism and the obliteration of the differences between domestic versus international terrorism. A British historian Norman Davies in a conversation with the monthly’s editors breaks down reasons underlying America’s going into Iraq, whereas Zbigniew Brzeziński argues that the U.S. prevalence if only it chooses to assume a positive form, i.e. force and prestige, as distinct from a negative form (naked force) is the only way enabling to avoid general chaos in the world.

So much for the theme section. In "Topics and Reflection" some space is dedicated to remembering a great man, one of the most eminent Polish historians of philosophy, the late Prof. Stefan Swieżawski who died on the 18th of May. We begin by publishing, for the first time ever, his meditation on death. Then Jacek Woźniakowski and Janusz Poniewierski share their memories of the late Professor. Besides we recommend to the reader the "Diagnoses" pages with Barbara Fedyszak-Radziejowska’s text on the political phenomenon of Polish populist Andrzej Lepper, as well as Andrzej Franaszek’s essay on Czesław Miłosz. This month a new column is getting launched: one entitled "At Different Hours" including portions of the journal of Halina Bortnowska.

POCZĄTEK STRONY