Kasia Krzyzanowska

Podcasts

The Intellectual Sources of the EU’s Response to the Rule of Law Crisis: In Conversation with Maciej Krogel

This latest RevDem Rule of Law podcast discusses the doctoral research of Dr Maciej Krogel following the defence of his thesis “The intellectual sources of the European Union’s response to the rule of law crisis in the Member States”. Maciej is a lecturer at the University of Amsterdam and he completed a re:constitution fellowship in 2022/23.

4.07.2024

Podcasts

Weaken Constitutional Review, Strengthen European Democracy – In Conversation with Nik de Boer

Are constitutional judges well equipped to deal with fundamental constitutional questions about the EU? Should national constitutional courts aim to address the EU democratic deficit? Several scholars see national constitutional courts as a constructive force in the EU legal order. Nik de Boer argues differently, and reasons why is it better to leave certain issues to parliaments rather than constitutional courts? In this conversation with Kasia Krzyżanowska, Nik de Boer discusses his recent book “Judging European Democracy. The Role and Legitimacy of National Constitutional Courts in the EU” (Oxford University Press 2023). The transcript was amended to improve readability and clarity.

9.04.2024

News

Some Like it Dark – In Conversation with Alessandro Nai

Who is a dark politician? How do dark politicians perform in the elections and in handling crises? What does being “dark” mean for female politicians? Why some people like it dark? In this conversation with Kasia Krzyżanowska, Alessandro Nai discusses his newest book “Dark Politics. The Personality of Politicians and the Future of Democracy,” co-authored with Jürgen Maier.

22.03.2024

Book Reviews

Who is afraid of the Doppelganger?

Until now, Naomi Klein has been chiefly known for her sharp arguments and passionate manifestos. Her new work Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World reveals her to be a consummate essayist who takes you on along her personal adventure that starts with her regularly being mistaken for another controversial writer. Eventually, this adventure, during times of COVID-19 and the digital attention economy, leads us straight into the shifting sands of politics.

20.03.2024

News

Colonialism and European Integration – In Conversation with Hanna Eklund

In this conversation with Kasia Krzyżanowska, Hanna Eklund discusses her recent article, “Peoples, Inhabitants and Workers: Colonialism in the Treaty of Rome”, published in the European Journal of International Law. She talks about the “coded language” of colonialism in the Treaty of Rome, explains the approach of the Treaty drafters to the African independence movements, and reflects on the colonial legacies of contemporary EU law.

14.03.2024

News

The Rule of Law Restoration in Poland – Legal and Political Challenges

In this conversation with RevDem editor and a re:constitution fellow Kasia Krzyżanowska, Krzysztof Izdebski (Batory Foundation) and Bartosz Pilitowski (Court Watch Poland) discuss all the current challenges the Polish government is facing with the legal legacy left by the Law and Justice party. How to restore trust in the judicial institutions? How to deal with the irregularly established Constitutional Tribunal and the National Council of the Judiciary? What should be the role of the judges in designing the judicial system?

6.03.2024

Podcasts

The Geopolitics of Shaming – In Conversation with Rochelle Terman

In this interview with RevDem editor Kasia Krzyżanowska, Rochelle Terman discusses her most recent book The Geopolitics of Shaming: When Human Rights Pressure Works—and When It Backfires published with Princeton University Press (2023). Rochelle Terman -- an assistant professor of the Department of Political Science at the University of Chicago. Her first book, The Geopolitics of Shaming: When Human Rights Pressure Works—and When It Backfires, was published in 2023 with Princeton University Press.

19.02.2024

News

The Provisional Measures Order in South Africa v. Israel: A Closer Look at the ICJ Bench

On Friday, 26 January, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) indicated six provisional measures in the case South Africa brought against Israel under the Genocide Convention. The highly-anticipated Provisional Measures Order has already been helpfully analyzed in various places (see, for example, here and here). Rather than attempting to add to substantive analyses of the Order, in this post, I will analyze the Order by giving it context from a different perspective: that from the bench. While the voting pattern suggests a very high level of agreement, the individual expressions of judges highlight why the Court prioritized this high level of agreement. The individual opinions shed light on the reasons why judges voted in favour of (or against) the provisional measures, but the opinions also reveal that South Africa will face a high threshold should the case reach the merits stage.

15.02.2024

Podcasts

Novelists Should Write for the Public Sphere — In Conversation with Bécquer Seguin

In a conversation with Kasia Krzyżanowska, Bécquer Seguin discusses his book “The Op-Ed Novel. A Literary History of Post-Franco Spain” (Harvard University Press, 2023). He elaborates on the concept of the op-ed novel, explains the idea of literary populism, advocates for the engagement of novelists in the public debates of historical and national meaning, and discusses some most noteworthy examples of Spanish op-ed novelists.

16.01.2024

Podcasts

End of the year podcast from the editors of the Review of Democracy

29.12.2023

Book Reviews

5 best books in Democracy and Culture – Kasia Krzyżanowska, RevDem editor of the Review of Books section, recommends five books read in 2023.

Kasia Krzyżanowska, RevDem editor of the Review of Books section, recommends five books read in 2023.

20.12.2023

Book Reviews

RevDem Top 5 Rule of Law Books of 2023 -Recommended by Oliver Garner, editor RevDem Rule of Law section

By the end of each year our editors recommend outstanding readings in their field. This is the list of the top five books recommended in the rule of law section.

19.12.2023

Book Reviews

We Need the Second European Rescue of the Nation-State

This is a rejoinder that ends the RevDem book symposium. You can read three book reviews by Peter J. Verovšek, Gábor Halmai and Petr Agha.

6.12.2023

Book Reviews

The Authentic Polish Experience

Kasia Krzyżanowska, RevDem book editor, reviews the novella “The Pole” by J.M. Coetzee.

22.11.2023

News

The Future in the European Union — In Conversation with Massimo Fichera

In this conversation with RevDem editor Kasia Krzyżanowska, Massimo Fichera talks about the need to include the future when designing EU constitutional architecture, criticises the economic components’ dominance over the European integration process, and explains his idea of communal constitutionalism as a remedy to presentism of constitutional theories.

15.11.2023

News

l’Europe qui confond — in Conversation with Hans Kundnani

What is “Eurowhiteness”? How do EU member states deal with their colonial pasts? How does the far right function in the EU? What is the structure of power within the EU? How was Brexit racially structured?  Hans Kundnani speaks about his recent publication – Eurowhiteness: Culture Empire and Race in the European Project – with RevDem editor Kasia Krzyżanowska.

14.09.2023

Interviews

In Need of a Spiritual Renewal of Europe — Modern Counter-revolutionaries 

In this conversation with RevDem editor, Kasia Krzyżanowska, Matthijs Lok answers these questions and more and discusses his newest book Europe Against Revolution: Conservatism, Enlightenment, and the Making of the Past (OUP 2023). 

1.09.2023

Podcasts

Constitutional Conflicts are Inevitable: In Conversation with Orlando Scarcello

In this conversation with RevDem editor Kasia Krzyżanowska, Orlando Scarcello discusses his newest book Radical Constitutional Pluralism in Europe (Routledge 2022). He elaborates on the descriptive nature of the theory of constitutional pluralism, stresses the inevitability of constitutional conflicts in the EU, and ponders on the political side of these conflicts. Orlando Scarcello —a postdoctoral fellow at Institute for European Law, KU Leuven. His research fields are EU law and comparative constitutional law. Kasia Krzyżanowska: What is the concept of radical constitutional pluralism? What are the alternative versions of conceptualizing the relationship between the EU legal order and domestic legal orders? Finally, why do you think that radical pluralism is the best framework for understanding the experience of living under two constitutions? Orlando Scarcello: Here we have a bit of a conundrum. The member states of the European Union clearly have their own constitutions, and [...]

31.05.2023

News

A Paranational World — Naturalization, Fiction and Edges of Nationality

In conversation with RevDem editor Kasia Krzyżanowska, Dr. Stephanie DeGooyer discusses her recent publication Before Borders: A Legal and Literary History of Naturalization (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2022).

15.05.2023

Racialized Labor — Eastern Europeans on The Western Market

In this conversation with RevDem editor Kasia Krzyzanowska, Aleksandra Lewicki discusses her recently published article “East-west inequalities and the ambiguous racialization of ‘Eastern Europeans’”. Lewicki elaborates on the racialized imaginary of the Western European discourses on migration, talks about how the stereotype of hard-working Eastern Europeans negatively impacts their labor conditions, and ponders on the influence of neoliberal policies on the precarization of labor.

19.04.2023

Playing Hardball: Political-Ethical Challenges of Illiberal Regimes

In this conversation with Kasia Krzyżanowska, Zoltán Gábor Szűcs discusses his newest book Political ethics in illiberal regimes. A realist interpretation.

17.04.2023

The Greatest Hits — Populist Edition. In conversation with Johannes Voelz

In this conversation with Kasia Krzyżanowska, Johannes Voelz discusses his theory of the aesthetics of populism, explains how Pierre Bourdieu and Norbert Elias can help us understand contemporary populism, elaborates on the concept of a (Trump) rally, talks about the culture of a dichotomized world, and shares his insights on the role of culture in helping to ease the deep political conflicts. 

20.03.2023

Constitutionalism — An Opium for the Lawyers

In this conversation with Kasia Krzyżanowska, Martin Loughlin discusses his newest book Against Constitutionalism (Harvard University Press 2022).

15.03.2023

In Conversation with Danuta Hübner — Ukraine’s Road to EU Accession

In this conversation with Kasia Krzyżanowska, Danuta Hübner explains the specificities of the EU accession path for Ukraine, elaborates on the difficulties other countries had to overcome (most notably Poland), showcases the problems with Turkey’s and Western Balkans’ EU accession, discusses the criteria of joining the EU, and shares her visions of the future EU. 

6.03.2023

Dictionary of Received Ideas (About Fascism)

Engaging with the difficult task of deconstructing firmly rooted myths, Corner’s main goal is to answer two questions: (1) How far does the affirmation of “many good things” done by Fascism corresponds to the historical reality?; and (2) Why do so many people today share a “permissive memory” of Fascism?

19.01.2023

Podcasts

In Conversation with Bruce Robbins — Criticism and Politics

In this conversation with RevDem editor Kasia Krzyżanowska, Bruce Robbins discusses his newest book Criticism and Politics. A Polemical Introduction.

17.01.2023

5 Key 2022 Books: Democracy in Literature

Kasia Krzyżanowska, RevDem editor of the Review of Books section at the Review of Democracy, presents five key books in democracy in literature in 2022.

21.12.2022

The EU Prize for Literature — In Conversation with Anne Bergman-Tahon

What is the EUPL? What is the story behind and what are its aims? Is there a European-wide readership? How to promote European literature? These and more questions are answered by Anne Bergman-Tahon in this conversation with editor Kasia Krzyżanowska.

15.12.2022

The Stories We Tell Ourselves — In Conversation with Peter Brooks

In this conversation with RevDem editor Kasia Krzyżanowska, Peter Brooks — author of the new book Seduced by Story. The Use and Abuse of Narrative — discusses the "storyfication" of reality; explains why we need stories; ponders the impact fiction has on our lives; and depicts the dangers oversimplified narratives pose to our democratic societies.

30.11.2022

Podcasts

Magic Mountain on Goodreads — On Experiencing Mann’s novel

In this conversation with RevDem editor Kasia Krzyżanowska, Karolina Watroba discusses her first book “Mann’s Magic Mountain: World Literature and Closer Reading,” published with Oxford University Press.

19.10.2022

It is a mistake to see the Eastern vision as undemocratic. Peter Verovšek on European memory

In this conversation with RevDem editor Kasia Krzyżanowska, Peter Verovšek — author of “Memory and the future of Europe. Rupture and integration in the wake of total war” — discusses the importance of foundational stories for communities; explains the influence of personal experience on the European integration; shows differences in remembering the past in West and East Europe and ponders on the consequences of Russian aggression on Ukraine for the European memory. 

3.09.2022

Adventitious Patron of Freedom

"Tóibín's book shows the absurdity of the widespread expectation that it is the writer who is supposed to be the nation's sage, who will point out the right political direction for the state, and who will find the right words to comment on important social events," writes in her review our editor, Kasia Krzyżanowska.

15.06.2022

Ghostwriting the European Union — In Conversation with Tommaso Pavone

In a conversation with our editor Kasia Krzyżanowska, professor Tommaso Pavone discusses his newly published book The Ghostwriters. Lawyers and the Politics behind the Judicial Construction of Europe [CUP 2022].

14.06.2022

Book Reviews

Imperialism in Russian Literature

In this conversation with our editor Kasia Krzyżanowska, professor Ewa Thompson discusses the imperialistic features of the Russian Federations; elaborates on how Russian writers advanced the imperial message of Russia, and shows  the persistence of the imperialistic motifs in the Russian literature. 

7.06.2022

Chamstwo. A Story of the Polish Serfdom: in conversation with Kacper Pobłocki

In a conversation with our editor Kasia Krzyżanowska, Kacper Pobłocki discusses his recent book Chamstwo and reflects on how Polish society was historically based on violence; elaborates on the historical sources of the name “Cham”; compares Polish predicament with other European states and discusses current state of the academia.

19.05.2022