Research

The Cultural Landscapes of 20th Century (Post)Authoritarian States research group is madeup of geographers and historians who combine the methods of physical and social geographyand history to study cultural landscapes and their changes. This group seeks to study andcompare the cultural (urban, agrarian, natural landscapes affected by political and socialprocesses and events) landscapes that have been formed and shaped in different authoritarianand post-authoritarian states, the political, economic, social, technological objectives ofauthoritarian and post-authoritarian governments and their resulting interventions in, oradaptations to, the environment, and the patterns of spatial management and organisationused in the Soviet republics and in other authoritarian states. Current research has begun onthe impact of Soviet collectivisation on cultural landscapes and their changes since 1990, theimpact of modern migration on agro-cultural landscapes, natural landscapes as sites ofHolocaust perpetration and memory, etc.

The wave of political transformations and radical economic restructurings that swept through post-authoritarian countries at the end of the last century fundamentally altered the assumptions about the relationship between these societies and their cultural and natural environments. Throughout history, political, technological and economic interventions in the natural environment have left a deep imprint on landscapes. Post-authoritarian societies are simultaneously coming to terms with this legacy, but are also reinventing their relationship with the environment. This context offers unique opportunities to develop social research methodologies that deepen our understanding of society’s relationship to cultural (urban, agrarian) and natural landscapes. <From this point we can expand “read more”> Taking advantage of the uniqueness of these countries, we address the following themes and questions:

Ecological attitudes: How does the social context influence people’s attitudes towards and relationships with the natural environment? How are environmentally friendly or damaging practices socially shaped? Are forms of political identification and political mobilisation transformed in the Anthropocene?

Symbolic meanings: How are the signs of (urban, rural or natural) landscapes used in the struggles for the definition of local identity? What are the social preconditions for the (re)valuation of architectural, urban and natural heritage? What are the differences and similarities between territorial stigmatisation in post-authoritarian states and other countries.

Spatial inequalities: How do contemporary housing regimes influence the formation of social segregation in urban and rural areas? How do the diversity of housing stock, the distinctiveness of the natural and urban environment and the tastes of people of different social status influence the social values of urban landscapes? What are the embedded experiences of social inequalities in areas that have experienced authoritarian regimes and economic restructuring?

Transformations of capitalism: How do land tenure regimes and the social structures that support them affect natural and cultural landscapes? How would a capitalist diversity approach help to reshape the research agenda in environmental sociology? How do the examples of countries that have experienced economic and political transformations after authoritarian regimes stand out in these respects?

By examining the examples of (post-)authoritarian countries, we try to understand how the radical transformations of these countries can stimulate the political imagination. By observing people’s newly emerging local relationships with their environment, we are also looking for answers to the practical questions that arise in the context of global challenges. Our research aims to enable qualitatively new attitudes and relationships with the natural and cultural environment.

This interdisciplinary research group examines the legacy and heritage of cultural landscapes in authoritarian states following periods of transformation. It analyzes the current state of these landscapes, societal perceptions towards them, issues of recognition, collective memory, and socio-cultural challenges therein.