Christopherus
4 Jul 2008
History / POLAND: EASTERN or CENTRAL European country? [1080]
Why is the question so important? Having read most replies, there seems to be a tendency that Central Europe is somehow preferable. Why's that? Just because some of you say so? So, first we have to agree on what the cultural common denominator of such an entity should be, and that is, I'm afraid, quite impossible. Western vs. Eastern Christianity? Then Poland clearly is a Western country according to Samuel Huntington's influential "Clash of Civilizations", in contrast to both Islam and the Orthodox world. But with regards to an ethnic concept it could be defined as Eastern European ethnically and/or linguistically. Then, the concept of Central Europe is - at least historically - a German one: Defining herself arguably neither a Western nor a Slavic country, the German pre-Cold War elite referred to their sphere of influence as Mitteleuropa (lit. Central Europe) in sharp contrast to the Slavic "Eastern" sphere and the Western democracies. These and all the other cultural theories (like the Iron Curtain argument) are certainly challengeable, so let's agree that Poland is a hybrid, and that is - culturally and economically - by no means a disadvantage.
Why is the question so important? Having read most replies, there seems to be a tendency that Central Europe is somehow preferable. Why's that? Just because some of you say so? So, first we have to agree on what the cultural common denominator of such an entity should be, and that is, I'm afraid, quite impossible. Western vs. Eastern Christianity? Then Poland clearly is a Western country according to Samuel Huntington's influential "Clash of Civilizations", in contrast to both Islam and the Orthodox world. But with regards to an ethnic concept it could be defined as Eastern European ethnically and/or linguistically. Then, the concept of Central Europe is - at least historically - a German one: Defining herself arguably neither a Western nor a Slavic country, the German pre-Cold War elite referred to their sphere of influence as Mitteleuropa (lit. Central Europe) in sharp contrast to the Slavic "Eastern" sphere and the Western democracies. These and all the other cultural theories (like the Iron Curtain argument) are certainly challengeable, so let's agree that Poland is a hybrid, and that is - culturally and economically - by no means a disadvantage.