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 Warsaw Studies in Philosophy and Social Sciences 8 8 Warsaw Studies in Philosophy and Social Sciences 8

Katarzyna Kajdanek / Igor Pietraszewski /

Katarzyna Kajdanek / Igor Pietraszewski / Jacek Pluta (eds.) Katarzyna Kajdanek / Igor Pietraszewski /
Jacek Pluta (eds.)
City and Power – Postmodern Urban Spaces
in Contemporary Poland
This book is an empirical study of a central European city focused on the political
process.
City and Power –

Jacek Pluta (eds.)

The authors use the example of the city of Wroclaw to present a condition of the
urban public sphere in the context of local governance. Contemporary specificity
of the public sphere is a result of a long process of system transformation in this
Postmodern Urban Spaces
part of Europe as well as of the impact new global challenges have had on the
political process in self-governmental institutions. The book presents the practice
of governance as a form of the political in both institutional and civic spheres of
in Contemporary Poland
the city. The cases provided (related to politics of memory, the symbolic, sports,
subcultures and urban movements) show how circulations of governance practices
are created and how they influence the institutional borders of the political.

City and Power – Postmodern Urban Spaces

in Contemporary Poland
The Editors
Katarzyna Kajdanek is an Associate Professor at the University of Wroclaw. Her
main research interest is the process of urbanisation, urban culture and rural
studies.
Igor Pietraszewski received a PhD from the Institute of Sociology at the University
of Wrocław. His main research interest is the sociology of culture, music and
memory.
Jacek Pluta received a PhD from the Institute of Sociology at the University of
Wroclaw. His main research interest is urban development, sociology of the public
sphere and sociology of culture.

ISBN 978-3-631-66490-2

WPSS_08_266490_Pluta_gr_A5HC new.indd 1 24.04.18 09:16

 Warsaw Studies in Philosophy and Social Sciences 8 8 Warsaw Studies in Philosophy and Social Sciences 8

Katarzyna Kajdanek / Igor Pietraszewski /

Katarzyna Kajdanek / Igor Pietraszewski / Jacek Pluta (eds.) Katarzyna Kajdanek / Igor Pietraszewski /
Jacek Pluta (eds.)
City and Power – Postmodern Urban Spaces
in Contemporary Poland
This book is an empirical study of a central European city focused on the political
process.
City and Power –

Jacek Pluta (eds.)

The authors use the example of the city of Wroclaw to present a condition of the
urban public sphere in the context of local governance. Contemporary specificity
of the public sphere is a result of a long process of system transformation in this
Postmodern Urban Spaces
part of Europe as well as of the impact new global challenges have had on the
political process in self-governmental institutions. The book presents the practice
of governance as a form of the political in both institutional and civic spheres of
in Contemporary Poland
the city. The cases provided (related to politics of memory, the symbolic, sports,
subcultures and urban movements) show how circulations of governance practices
are created and how they influence the institutional borders of the political.

in Contemporary Poland
City and Power – Postmodern Urban Spaces
The Editors
Katarzyna Kajdanek is an Associate Professor at the University of Wroclaw. Her
main research interest is the process of urbanisation, urban culture and rural
studies.
Igor Pietraszewski received a PhD from the Institute of Sociology at the University
of Wrocław. His main research interest is the sociology of culture, music and
memory.
Jacek Pluta received a PhD from the Institute of Sociology at the University of
Wroclaw. His main research interest is urban development, sociology of the public
sphere and sociology of culture.

WPSS_08_266490_Pluta_gr_A5HC new.indd 1 24.04.18 09:16

City and Power – Postmodern Urban Spaces in Contemporary Poland
Warsaw St udies in Philos ophy
and S o cial S ciences

Edited by
Tadeusz Szawiel and Jakub Kloc-Konkołowicz

Volume 8
Katarzyna Kajdanek/Igor Pietraszewski/Jacek Pluta (eds.)

City and Power –

Postmodern Urban Spaces in
Contemporary Poland
Bibliographic Information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche
Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available in the
internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Kajdanek, Katarzyna, 1981- editor. | Pietraszewski, Igor, 1962-editor. | Pluta,
Jacek, 1971 - editor.
Title: City and power : postmodern urban spaces in contemporary Poland / Katarzy-
na Kajdanek, Igor Pietraszewski, Jacek Pluta (eds.).
Description: New York : Peter Lang, [2017] | Series: Warsaw studies in philosophy and
social sciences ; Vol. 8 | Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017026538| ISBN 9783631664902 (Print : alk. paper) | ISBN
9783653057416 (E-PDF) | ISBN 9783631705773 (EPUB) | ISBN 9783631705780 (MOBI)
Subjects: LCSH: Urban renewal--Poland--Wroclaw. | Wroclaw (Poland)--Buildings,
structures, etc. | Sociology, Urban--Poland--Wroclaw. | Wroclaw
(Poland)--History--21st century.
Classification: LCC HT178.P6 C58 2017 | DDC 307.3/4160943852--dc23 LC record
available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017026538

This publication was financially supported by the University of Wroclaw.

Printed by CPI books GmbH, Leck

ISSN 2196-0143
ISBN 978-3-631-66490-2 (Print)
E-ISBN 978-3-653-05741-6 (E-PDF)
E-ISBN 978-3-631-70577-3 (EPUB)
E-ISBN 978-3-631-70578-0 (MOBI)
DOI 10.3726/978-3-653-05741-6

© Peter Lang GmbH

Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften
Berlin 2018
All rights reserved.

Peter Lang – Berlin · Bern · Bruxelles · New York ·

Oxford · Warszawa · Wien

All parts of this publication are protected by copyright.

Any utilisation outside the strict limits of the copyright law, without
the permission of the publisher, is forbidden and liable to prosecution.
This applies in particular to reproductions, translations, microfilming,
and storage and processing in electronic retrieval systems.

This publication has been peer reviewed.

www.peterlang.com
Contents

Katarzyna Kajdanek, Jacek Pluta & Igor Pietraszewski

Preface: Wrocław, a City of Success?...........................................................................7

Barbara Pabjan
The Power over Collective Memory..........................................................................15

Grzegorz Kozdraś
To Leave a Trace on Urban Walls: Youth Cultures in the
Third Circulation of Memory in the City.................................................................49

Iwona Borowik
Transformation of Architectural Space in Wrocław...............................................65

Katarzyna Kajdanek & Jacek Pluta

Bike Power: Emergence of the Cycling Movement in the
Urban Public Sphere...................................................................................................79

Igor Pietraszewski
Artists and Power in the Field of (Subsidized) Urban Culture.......................... 111

Mateusz Błaszczyk
The Football Paradigm in Wrocław Urban Policy:
the Municipalisation of Śląsk Wrocław................................................................. 121

Bibliography.............................................................................................................. 139
 Katarzyna Kajdanek, Jacek Pluta & Igor Pietraszewski

Preface: Wrocław, a City of Success?

The idea of writing an anthology of texts devoted to Wrocław – a large city in south-
west Poland – emerged as a result of a longer process. Its main subject – the nature
of social transition in Poland from the perspective of local politics – stemmed from
observations of urban movements that are now on the increase. By positioning
themselves in opposition to the local government, urban movements have become
an important player in the local public sphere. The local government elections
in 2014, in which urban movements in Poland achieved the best results in their
history, demonstrated the political significance of this process. In many big cities,
long-standing mayors lost or, as in Wrocław, won only in the second ballot and
with great difficulty1. This situation was only partly rooted in voter apathy and a
jaded approach from the incumbents. Most of all, it was related to the dynamic of
the social changes that accompany the current Polish political transition.
In the initial period of the transition (from 1989 to the beginning of the
21st century) the most crucial problems for the authorities were related to the
construction of a new political, economic and social order. Solving these problems
was necessary to overcome developmental delays. On a local level, it was necessary
to establish democratic rules in the form of self-government. It is important to note
that the construction of self-governmental order in Poland was clearly divided
into two stages. The first stage began in 1990, when territorial self-government
was restored at gmina (municipality) level. The second level of local and regional
self-government (counties, Polish: powiat) with both self-governing bodies and a
structure representing the state administration (voivodships, Polish: województwo)
was established in 1998 and became operational as of 1 January 1999. Between
1989 and 2004 the narrative about Polish towns and their problems focused on
economic transition, particularly the shift from an industrial to a service sector, as
well as social problems such as unemployment. This narrative was accompanied by
a quite universal political discourse that referred to historical heritage, which was
related to the need to build an attractive image of Polish cities in Europe. However,
somewhere around 2014, a change could be observed in these narratives. Problems

1 In the local government elections in 2010, 25 of 107 Polish mayors were elected in the
first ballot; in 2014, as many as 41 (https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prezydenci_miast_w_
Polsce_(kadencja_2014–2018).
8 Katarzyna Kajdanek, Jacek Pluta & Igor Pietraszewski

related to the political, economic and social transition were gradually giving way to
new challenges, rooted in global economic processes and cultural changes.
The processes of reflective monitoring of the public sphere were gradually forc-
ing the local authorities to modify their narrative. This alteration can be described
as the change of the political,2 i.e. a narrative method that introduces locality in
place of statehood. At first glance, this change seemed attractive to local politi-
cians who like to emphasise the increasing role of cities and their autonomy in a
globalised world. On the other hand, the discussed changes may also be unfavour-
able to the local authorities, as the reflexivity of the public sphere undermines
their authority and their narrative. As a result, the public sphere is revitalised as
a space of articulation for local advocacy groups who object to the narrative and
activities of the authorities. All these phenomena display the changing rules of
the public sphere: a process in which power is being gradually distributed among
different actors of the public sphere.
This book discusses events that are direct or indirect examples of the political
in the urban public sphere; they involve relations between the local authorities,
other local actors and the ordinary citizens. To offer a broader context for these
analyses, we will now provide a short profile of Wrocław.
Wrocław, a city with a population of 636,000, has been undergoing a process of
transition since 1989 that is typical for all cities in Poland, that is, from a socialist
city characterised by:
• no self-government on a local level;
• a limited urban public sphere, controlled by the central government;
• limited economy based on industrial production;
• dysfunctional and often degraded public space, unsuited to citizens’ require-
ments concerning the quality of life;
to a post-industrial city, in which:
• local governments are autonomous from the central government;
• in addition to production, consumption has an important role in the city’s
economy; as a result, the urban system of opportunities and satisfaction of
needs develops, particularly in the sphere of leisure;
• the logic of growth is increasingly based on competition for resources on a
national and global level;

2 We do not define the political in terms of conflicts in the public sphere, after C. Schmidt
or Ch. Mouffe (2005) but rather in T. Parson’s theoretical framework, as a generalised
quality of the public sphere that influences the actions of its actors (motives, mode of
action, narratives, etc.).
 Preface: Wrocław, a City of Success? 9

• w
 ith the increasing potential for development of urban advocacy groups, the
importance of quality of life issues related to urban resources is also growing;
• the public sphere becomes important as a moderator of urban life.
The post-Fordist model of urban development in developed countries, widely
discussed by researchers, emphasised that cities are subject to macrostructural
conditions (Błaszczyk 2015; Castells 1989, 2011), which leads to predictable and
inevitable consequences (demographic, economic, social and cultural). On the
other hand, many researchers share a view that postmodern cities are important
centres for moderating social-economic processes, which, when used by local
politicians and businesses, can bring them considerable profits (Florida 2005).
However, there are also critical voices about negative consequences of develop-
ment processes in cities that are based on unsustainable consumption (Zukin
1993, 1998, 2003; Clark et. al. 2003), financial speculation and domination of
neoliberal ideology, which lead to social destruction (Harvey 2008).
Regardless of the debate about the uncertain future of cities, in the case of
Wrocław the consequences of changes seem positive. For example, Wrocław was
ranked 87th of 141 world cities in Mercer’s Quality of Life Index 2016 Mid-Year,
ahead of Milan (88th), Saint Petersburg (119th) or Beijing (128th) and with only
two Polish cities ahead of it: Warsaw (72nd) and Cracow (84th).3
Thanks to a positive net internal migration rate, the population in Wrocław
remains constant despite the negative demographic processes observed in other
Polish cities. Over the past years, unemployment has significantly decreased and
it is now below 3%, making the city an attractive labour market in the region
as well as on a national scale. A new phenomenon is a mass influx of migrants
from Ukraine. In 2006, 38,000 work permits were issued (Karabon and Karabon
2016: 4). The majority of employees work in the following sectors: industry, trade,
education, healthcare, administration, science, insurance, information and com-
munication. In 2012, the GDP per capita in Wrocław was equivalent to 155.2%
of Poland’s average.4 The GDP growth between 2004 and 2012 in Wrocław was
45%, which was the second best in Poland (after Rzeszów). Poland’s big cities
average at 34%.5
Wrocław’s rank depends on the indicators and criteria for measurement. From
a demographic perspective, Wrocław is the fourth most populous and the fifth

3 https://www.numbeo.com/quality-of-life/rankings.jsp (accessed 1 December 2016)

4 Data from 2012, see Wrocław w liczbach 2015, Urząd statystyczny we Wrocławiu (Sta-
tistical Office in Wrocław); available at www.wroclaw.stat.gov.pl
5 Based on the data of GUS: Central Statistical Office of Poland.
10 Katarzyna Kajdanek, Jacek Pluta & Igor Pietraszewski

largest city in Poland. Its size is similar to Riga, Oslo or Copenhagen. According
to a typology based on spatial planning, such as the ESPON project (Possible
European Territorial Futures),6 Wrocław, alongside Cracow, Katowice, Tri-City
(Gdańsk, Gdynia, Sopot), Poznań, Łódź and Szczecin, is classified as a Weak
MEGA – a city more peripheral than a potential MEGA (large metropolitan cen-
tre). GaWC, another ranking that classifies world cities (based on their integra-
tion in the global economy), categorises Wrocław alongside 41 other cities (e.g.
Lille, The Hague, Nurnberg, Poznań, Bilbao and Dresden) as a “high sufficiency
city”, i.e. cities that have a sufficient degree of services so as not to be obviously
dependent on world cities (Karabon and Karabon 2016: 7).

Table 1: Potential of Polish cities

City Population (in GDP per capita Potential for 7 types of

thousands)* Poland=100** capital according to the PwC
methodology***7
Tri-City (Gdańsk, 747 148 103
Gdynia, Sopot)
Bydgoszcz 359 111 81
Białystok 295 98 83
Warsaw 1724 291 136
Lublin 344 115 91
Rzeszów 183 121 94
Cracow 759 155 112
Katowice 304 142 109
Łódź 711 122 85
Wrocław 632 155 114
Poznań 548 196 107
Szczecin 408 118 86
Source: PwC and GUS data from 2012**, 2013*, 2014*** The concept of 7 capitals include the
following: human and social capital, culture and image capital, quality of life capital, technical and
infrastructure capital, institutional and democratic capital, investment attractiveness capital and
sources of finance capital.

6 http://www.espon.eu/main/Menu_Projects/Menu_AppliedResearch/06.TerritorialFu-
tures.html (accessed 25 November 2016) The project is based on a foresight approach.
It aims at predicting possible futures of European cities and providing information on
factors that affect their development opportunities.
7 Wrocław was one of only two cities ranked in the report that steadily developed its
capitals, see Wrocław Nadodrzański mikrokosmos musi dalej rosnąć. PwC 2015, p. 7.
(http://www.pwc.pl/pl/pdf/miasta/raport-o-metropoliach-wroclaw-2015.pdf)
 Preface: Wrocław, a City of Success? 11

The nationwide perception of Wrocław as a successful city is related to the so-

called Base effect. In 1990, the developmental potential of Wrocław was estimated
distinctly lower than that of other Polish cities, e.g. Szczecin, Łódź or Poznań.
Today, the situation is quite the opposite. The success of Wrocław is due to the
character of the changes the city underwent. Wrocław is perceived by experts as
a city that created its image in a most spectacular way. Importantly, on its path
to post-transitional revival, Wrocław managed to avoid the Shrinking City phe-
nomenon (Martinez-Fernandez 2012) – a significant population loss that was
experienced by Łódź, for instance. Wrocław also expanded its economic base by
developing business and consumer services.
This positive image of transition, however, should not obscure the problems
Wrocław is facing. They are related to macrostructural as well as local risks. The
most crucial are:
• negative demographic processes, including population ageing;
• suburbanisation and urban sprawl (Kajdanek 2012);
• environmental threats (air pollution, heavy car traffic);
• political threats (the influence of unfavourable changes at central government
level – desisting from the path of modernisation, increase in isolationist ten-
dencies);
• investment and economic collapse related to political and globalisation risks – a
drop in investments subsidised by EU programmes;
• dysfunctional local public sphere – distance between the local authorities and
citizens.
These factors are an increasingly important element of a narrative that has a con-
siderable influence on public opinion, which the social study conducted for the
design of development strategy for Wrocław 2030 confirms.8
To conclude, in the second decade of the 21st century, Wrocław is commonly
perceived as a successful city. On the other hand, studies on the strategy for
Wrocław 2030 clearly demonstrate that the actions regarded as sufficient by the
authorities show a decreasing level of respect for the citizens’ interests. How is
this possible?
Local politics in Poland is in many respects the opposite of politics on a central
level. It is characterised by structural (financial, political, social) autonomy. There

8 See J. Pluta, Prezentacja wyników badań nad założeniami Strategii Wrocław 2030, http://
www.wroclaw.pl/strategia-rozwoju-wroclawia-2030/files/Wroclaw-2030-prezentacja-
media-3.pdf
12 Katarzyna Kajdanek, Jacek Pluta & Igor Pietraszewski

are no limits on the number of terms of office for a mayor. Local government is
to a large extent independent from the context of national politics. In contrast to
the central government, the distance between politicians and citizens is shorter
and their relations are more empowered and direct. Alongside political parties
that are governed by pragmatic interests there are other intermediary structures,
which are based on values. Therefore, the role of NGOs, the activity of citizens
and their social representatives and individual authority of a mayor are more
important than membership of a political party.
Although it would seem that there should not be a discrepancy between the
local authorities and the citizens, it is still observed. One source of this discrepancy
is the stability of power (unlimited number of terms of office), which can lead to
failure to recognise citizens’ problems. Cultural and social sources of the discussed
discrepancy, however, such as different attitudes and values, are even more impor-
tant. The first Congress of Urban Movements in 2015 proposed a new model for
urban development policy based on the Leipzig Charter on Sustainable European
Cities. The most highlighted premises were: citizens’ right to make decisions on
urban matters, urban democracy with social participation as its core, the role of
the city budget in improving the citizens’ quality of life and the idea of a com-
munity: social integration as opposed to marginalisation and social exclusion.9
Relating these ideas to the context of the local public sphere and its condition,
one may conclude that the premises of the Congress undermine the institutional
mechanisms of the local authorities and they redefine the conditions of the po-
litical. However, it is important to realise that local politics and expectations of
them regarding their aims and strategies are not exclusively the domain of the
local authorities. They also include the activities and narratives of other collective
actors who act in the urban public sphere.
All the discussed processes compound a general picture of the emergence of a
new urban public sphere in Poland in the times of the decline in the narrative of
transition and the increase in the narrative about a city’s residents, identity and
future. This picture provides a necessary background to understand the relation-
ship between the authorities and the city and the factors that will influence this
relationship in the future. The anthology of texts in this book compose a study
of this relationship. It is presented from the perspective of the local authorities
and their prerogatives as well as from the perspective of the urban public sphere

9 For more conclusions from the congress, see http://kongresruchowmiejskich.pl/tezy-

miejskie/
 Preface: Wrocław, a City of Success? 13

in which these prerogatives are the subject of a critical narrative by other social
actors: urban movements and the citizens.
In the first chapter, which opens a discussion about the power-city relationship,
Barbara Pabjan analyses power-knowledge in urban politics. Referring to rich
literature, particularly to Eric Hobsbawm, Terence Ranger, Michael Schudson,
Richard Sennet and John Bodnar (all inspired by Michel Foucault), the author pre-
sents an empirically based study of power-knowledge in local politics of memory,
including its social reception and the political motives of the Wrocław elite.
Grzegorz Kozdraś reveals another aspect of non-institutional understanding
of local power as symbolic violence, which manifests itself in the activity of youth
subcultures. His particular subject of examination is the creation of murals and
graffiti as a process of social production of space and the broader context for this
phenomenon. Hence the major problem analysed by the author is how subcultures
participate in the process of building sites of memory by their symbolic appropria-
tion of urban space.
“Transformation of Architectural Space in Wrocław” by Iwona Borowik is a
study of transformations in the urban space presented in the context of accom-
panying social changes and illustrated with the examples of several buildings that
were fiercely debated among experts and the citizens of Wrocław. An important
background used by the author to present ideological and social contexts of the
transformation of urban space was the exuberant decade of the 1990s. During
this period the logic of transition was flourishing; it permeated the minds of the
authorities and investors and it often expressed the aspirations and expectations
of the citizens as a contrast to the socialist narrative that had hitherto prevailed.
Katarzyna Kajdanek and Jacek Pluta offer a look at the problem of the exercise
of public authority from the perspective of the activity of the Wrocław cycling
movement. It is a social action in which the participants clearly and efficiently
mark their presence in the public sphere by demonstrating their ability to exer-
cise social pressure on the institutions of authority and, to a considerable extent,
by influencing the attitudes of the citizens. The analysis of the emergence of the
bicycle movement is thus a good example of creating a new public sphere.
A consumer logic of development, which dominates in European cities, results
in an intensified relationship between local authorities and the field of subsidised
municipal culture. Igor Pietraszewski discusses the nature of this relationship as a
process of the conversion of capitals in the field of cultural production, in which
the dominant role is played by the disposers of economic values – politicians and
bureaucrats.
14 Katarzyna Kajdanek, Jacek Pluta & Igor Pietraszewski

Finally, in his analysis of the football paradigm in Wrocław urban policy,

Mateusz Błaszczyk depicts the details of a local sport club and the process of its
transformation. Sport-related municipal investments, as well as cultural policy,
are examples of consumer ideology. From the perspective of the logics of power,
this ideology seems imperative in the developmental policy of the city.
We believe that the relationship between cities and power, which is discussed
here from several perspectives, provides a good illustration of the cultural and
social transformation of Polish cities at the end of the political transition era.
 Barbara Pabjan

The Power over Collective Memory

Abstract: The article presents the empirical results of a study of collective memory in
Wrocław and discusses collective memory in a theoretical context of cognitive models and
ethnic relations. The empirical results strongly suggest that the collective memory shared
by cultural elites is conflictual-discursive and symbolic-consensual, while the collective
memory of average citizens is conflictual-symbolic and consensual-discursive.
Keywords: power-knowledge, power and collective memory, politics of memory

Introduction
Based on an empirical study of the collective memory1 of Wrocław residents,2 this
chapter addresses the issue of power over collective memory. There is a popular

1 The concept of memory I understand as beliefs about the past, and collective memory
is collective beliefs about the past. I agree with those who do not see collective memory
as a special or new phenomenon, it is just a form of knowledge about the past. I adopt
the perspective of sociology of knowledge.
2 I present the empirical data collected mainly through interviews with individuals (face-
to-face paper-to-pencil interviews) but also based on qualitative analysis of community
activity reflected in the debates in local newspapers.
The data was collected in stages in five different samples:
• a random sample of Wrocław population N=547;
• a quota sample of students (N=329) of selected university faculties (architecture,
history, urban studies, German and Jewish history and culture);
• a quota sample of the elites (N=64) of the city, including representatives of the highest
levels of city administration, members of the city council, politicians and leaders and
members of organisations related to the city (urban planning, architecture, history
of the city, museums, etc.) and significant scholars;
• a quota sample of pupils of the majority of Wrocław secondary schools, final year,
(N=512).
Data from these samples is presented depending on the question (the frequency of
answers in a sample depends on missing values, and usually it varies because only the
valid answers are presented). The research was carried out in 2012–2014 as the part of
the project with Lund University – The Memory of Vanished Populations. Due to the
fact that the students and elite samples are not probability samples, the conclusions
have limited coverage. The research project was supported by The Bank of Sweden
Tercentenary Foundation.
16 Barbara Pabjan

belief that cultural elites have the greatest influence on shaping collective memory.
This issue is examined here along with the assertion that the degree of influence
that cultural elites have has been greatly overestimated. The influence of cultural
elites on shaping collective memory is limited, due to the complexity of the pro-
cess that creates a collective memory; this is not a deterministic process. The
overall social context, including economics and politics, the media, the structure
of society and education levels can all have an impact on collective memory. The
influence of the cultural elite is not easy to determine, because it does not come
from a homogeneous group of people who communicate with the public using
a variety of channels, e.g. through the education system or popular culture. Cul-
tural elites do not always agree among themselves nor do they share a common
view of the future. Collective memory can reflect a struggle for power between
various factions of elite intellectual and political social groups. Two cognitive
memory models, symbolic and discursive, are proposed to explain how collective
memory differs among social groups that have gone through either conflictual or
consensual ethnic relations.
In the introductory part, the meaning of power-knowledge is discussed and a
short overview of the theories of power-knowledge is presented. The main part
presents the results of empirical research that were categorised into three groups:
• L ocal politics of memory, i.e. a typical example of power-knowledge, which
includes such phenomena as the creation of commemorative practices and sites
of memory, public interpretation of history as well as myths and traditions.
• Power-knowledge as a relation: the structural asymmetry of the statuses of
collective memory, the variety of forms of collective memory, the relation-
ship between official and unofficial memory and public and private memory,
alternative forms of memory and the tension between official memory and
counter-memories. Using two cognitive memory models (symbolic and dis-
cursive) I analyse the difference between the memory of the elite and popular
memory, which are examples of official and unofficial memory, taking into
account their specificity as well as the different interests of the social groups
that also determine the content of memory.
• The institutional power over memory: the power of social actors (elites, non-
governmental organisations, the media).
 The Power over Collective Memory 17

What is power and power-knowledge? Terminology problems

and the state of research
From a sociological perspective, power is a multidimensional phenomenon that
refers to many aspects of social life. Theories of power are very diverse. Some of
them focus on violence and coercion, others on normative regulation. Power is
associated with the use of force as well as with the ability to influence and impact
others. Definitions of power include the actor who exercises power and the object
of power; the specific, asymmetric social relationship; the means of exercising
control, such as coercion and violence, but also giving rewards. Power is analysed
on a micro and macro social level: as an element of culture (e.g. normative power),
economy or politics, as a media mechanism, etc.
Similarly to power, the concept of power-knowledge, or the power over mem-
ory, is ambiguous. Of many essential factors (coercion, dependence, asymmetry
of social relations, violence, sanctions, social norms as the basis for the legitimacy
of power), legitimacy and asymmetry of social relations are the most useful in
the analysis of power-knowledge. Power as an asymmetric relation resulting from
social structures can explain the inequality of resources and influence on collective
memory. The specific nature of power-knowledge is that it is based on legitimacy,
norms and tradition rather than coercion, violence and sanctions.
This chapter also refers to theories that define power as a possibility of influence
on the knowledge (memory) of particular social groups. This understanding of
power takes account of the influence of social structure on knowledge.
There is a long list of authors who analyse power-knowledge. The study of
power-knowledge derives from the perspective of sociology of knowledge, which
studies the relationship between social context (particularly social structure) and
forms of knowledge. This perspective can be found in the works of classical so-
ciological theories: Marks, Mannheim, Weber or Stark. The concept of power-
knowledge, however, is used in many disciplines: sociology, political sciences,
international relations, philosophy, history, economics, urban studies, studies of
education and science and many other fields.
Another problem relates to the definition of collective memory. It is one of the
most problematic terms, which is demonstrated by the fact that there is a sepa-
rate field of critical research on this concept (Olick 1999, 2007; Olick, Vinitzky-
Seroussi and Levy 2011; Gedi and Elam 1996; Kansteiner 2002; Radstone 2000,
2008; Szacka 2006; Wertsch and Roediger 2008a, 2008b). As the definitions of
power, knowledge and memory are unequivocal, there is a debate about what
power-knowledge and power/memory actually refer to.
18 Barbara Pabjan

In my analysis, I will refer to several theories, authored by Eric Hobsbawm,

John Bodnar, Michael Schudson, Richard Sennett and the so-called Popular Mem-
ory Group. I should start, however, with Michael Foucault, who coined the term
power-knowledge – it appears in his work The History of Sexuality (1978: 98).3
Foucault analyses the problem of power over collective memory in the field of
mass culture and studies the transformations in collective memory in the context
of broader transformations in mass society (Foucault 1975). He examined the
mechanisms of power and knowledge, such as the role of authority or the category
of truth. He also observed that relations of power-knowledge are dynamic and
susceptible to change.4
Adopting a sociological perspective, Eric Hobsbawm analysed social mecha-
nisms that regulate the process of forming collective memory. His concept of
invented tradition explains the phenomenon of normative power over memory.
According to Hobsbawm, constructing and instituting traditions is a form of
power. The author demonstrated how power is exercised with the use of rituals.
He also analysed the role of social order, noting that social change creates the need
to invent traditions as a form of exercising power (Hobsbawm 2013). Richard
Sennett, who also analysed the macrostructural context of power-knowledge,
analysed the influence of the market on mentality and collective memory. In his
opinion, conditions generated by late capitalism (such as impermanence, insta-
bility, lack of continuity or individualisation of labour) led to privatisation of
memories and, as a result, to the vanishing of collective memory. Sennett (2006)
observed that these factors caused a general crisis in the liberal culture of contem-
porary capitalism. Bodnar (1992), on the other hand, noted that collective mem-
ory reveals the structures of power in a society. As power is always questioned,
collective memory becomes an instrument of power. Schudson (1989) presented
an interesting theory of three factors that limit the full freedom to reconstruct
the past: “the structure of available pasts, the structure of individual choices, and
the conflicts about the past among a multitude of mutually aware individuals

3 Although he was the author of the term, he was not the first to analyse the relation-
ship between power and knowledge. Similar concepts appeared in the works of many
philosophers. The phrase ipsa scientia potestas est is commonly attributed to Francis
Bacon (Meditationes Sacrae) and Hobbes in his Leviathan included an almost identi-
cal phrase scientia potentia est. While Bacon in his words referred to the power and
knowledge of God, Hobbes referred to human abilities and the characteristics of their
knowledge.
4 “Relations of power-knowledge are not static forms of distribution, they are matrices
of transformations” (Foucault 1978: 99).
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