Res Publica Nowa

Our flagship publication has always been the Res Publica Nowa journal. It is an intellectual journal published since 1979 focusing on culture, politics and society. Between 1979 and 1992 it has been published under name of the Res Publica. Today it is published by the Res Publica Foundation along with separate web publication and other related projects.

Our mission

We work to enhance public debate in Poland. Res Publica Nowa upholds modern republican ideas while disavowing ties to the republicanism of the political right. Despite abuse of the term in political language we believe that republican ideas reflect wishes of many. Pursuing debate in the public interest we respect and advocate for the right to privacy.

Program areas

Along with the editorial work, our team has come up with three program areas focused on city, culture and politics, which are cornerstone of the web publication.

City DNA program promotes the inclusion of public opinion in creating cultural strategies in urban centres. It joins the power of making political decisions with surveys and analysis concerned with culture and its role in urban space in order to facilitate change in the field of cultural policy in cities through a series of public debates, creative workshops, networking, academic research and publications.

The Free Speech Partnership program is concerned with international cooperation of editorial offices of former USSR countries, promoting intellectual exchange and experience sharing, and thanks to that creating a network of cultural journals from Eastern Europe, identifying shared fields of concern, and re-publishing related articles in Poland and, through Eurozine.com network, in the rest of Europe.

The Central European Dictionary of Political Concepts program aims at initiating  public discussion in Europe on political dilemmas concerning Central Europe through a series of seminars, workshops, public debates, articles, thus setting new standards of describing the language of political debate in this territory.

Publications

Our list of publications includes volumes of the journal, some in English, books and multimedia CD publications prepared in co-production with 34mag.net. Please see our bookstore for more details.

Masthead

Editorial team

Aleksandra Bilewicz – politics online, Artur Celiński - deputy editor, Justyna Czechowska, C. Cain Elliott, Tomasz Kasprowicz, KatarzynaKwiatkowska, Magdalena Malińska - deputy editor, Małgorzata Mostek - editor online, Martyna Obarska – culture online, Wojciech Przybylski - the Editor, Gabriela Sitek, Xawery Stańczyk - city online, Michał Wysocki

Łukasz Bukowiecki – editorial assistant

Editorial board

Kuba Ambrożewski, Ireneusz Białecki, Łukasz Bluszcz, Grażyna Borkowska, Przemysław Czapliński, Małgorzata Dziewulska, Wojciech Górecki, Piotr Gruszczyński, Łukasz Jasina, Robert Jurszo, Damian Kalbarczyk, Katarzyna Kazimierowska, Marcin Kilanowski, Piotr Kłoczowski, Jacek Kochanowicz, Andrzej St. Kowalczyk, Sergiusz Kowalski, Marcin Król, Joanna Kurczewska, Jacek Kurczewski, Andrzej Leder, Tomasz Łubieński, Maciej Melon, Krzysztof Michalski, Łukasz Mikołajewski, Jan St. Miś, Marcin Moskalewicz, Aleksandra Niżyńska, Teresa Oleszczuk, Szymon Ozimek, Arkadiusz Peisert, Kacper Pobłocki, Jeremi Sadowski, Bohdan Sławiński, Marta Słomka, Aleksander Smolar, Michał Sołtysiak, Piotr Sommer, Aleksandra Stańczuk, Jerzy Szacki, Weronika Szczawińska, Karolina Szymaniak, Gniewomir Świechowski, Anna Wylegała, Wojciech Zajączkowski

Foundation

Advisory board

Ireneusz Białecki
Marcin Król – chairman
Agnieszka Liszka
Janusz Palikot

Board

Marcin Bąba
Artur Celiński – deputy chairman
Wojciech Przybylski – chairman

Foundation staff

Artur Celiński, Maria Karpińska, Anna Kiedrowicz, Anna Kiedrzyńska, Justyna Krakowska, Katarzyna Kwiatkowska, Magdalena Malińska, Aleksandra Niżyńska, Martyna Obarska, Anna Piłat, Agnieszka Piotrowska, Wojciech Przybylski, Gabriela Sitek

PR team

Anna Kiedrowicz, Justyna Krakowska

History

Res Publica started in 1979 when a group of Polish intellectuals decided to set up and independent journal. Issued intermittently since 1979 in Warsaw by the Henryk Krzeczkowski Res Publica Foundation, Res Publica Nowa is headed by Marcin Król, the editor-in-chief. The early issues of the magazine were hosting prominent contributors including Paweł Śpiewak, Barbara Toruńczyk, Andrzej Micewski, and Stefan Kisielewski. By 1987 Res Publica gained the acceptance of state officials, thus becoming probably the only magazine of this kind in the Soviet Bloc.

Res Publica has earned its fame for publishing distinguished intellectuals from Poland and other countries including Isaah Berlin, Hannah, Arendt, Michael Oakeshott, Pierre Manent, Aldonus Huxley, Bohumil Hrabal, Alasdair MacIntyre, Slavoj Zizek, Timothy Snyder, Ivan Krastev, Irving Kristol, and many, and many others, virtually unknown to the Polish reading public of the time. The magazine has also played a major role in creating the necessary political climate to make the Roundtable Negotiations possible. Despite all the political and personnel changes, Res Publica Nowa has managed to defend its position on publishing scene. In 2008, the magazine was re-established and continues to pay due respect to the traditions inherited from its founders. Since the year of reappearance on the market, it features in the European network of cultural periodicals Eurozine.

Thanks to opinion-making articles from various disciplines including philosophy, politics, sociology, literature, and arts our journal appeals to ambitious, intelligent and discriminating readers,  political and social leaders, political council members on both local and European levels, and politically and culturally engaged students. As of today, the magazine has nearly three thousand readers, and 25 thousand internet followers per month, hundreds of participants taking active part in meetings and discussion panels organized in 11 Polish cities and in numerous European metropolises in i.e. the Czech Republic, Germany, Slovakia, Ukraine and Hungary. We also reach out to readers in other countires publishing biannualy special editions in English.

Cooperation

Sponsors since 2007: US Embassy Warsaw, Austrian Culture Forum, European Capital of Culture Office – Warszawa 2016, Departament of Culture of Warsaw, Stefan Batory Foundation, Janusz Palikot Foundation, Fundusz Inicjatyw Obywatelskich, Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Polish Institute in Budapest, Polish Institute in Prague, International Visegrad Fund, Ministry of Culture, PKN Orlen S.A., Plustek, French Culture Centre – Warsaw University

Project partners since 2007: Akademia Myśli Społecznej, Toruń, Ambasada Francji, Art Stations Foundation, Biblioteka Publiczna w Dzielnicy Śródmieście m.st. Warszawa, Centrum Informacji im. Jana Nowaka Jeziorańskiego, Centrum Sztuki Współczesnej w Toruniu, Chłodna25, Czas Kultury, Czasopismo Ji (Lwów, Ukraina), Enter 2016, Eurozine.com (Wiedeń, Austria), Forum Rozwoju Warszawy, Fundacja Art Transparent, Fundacja Bęc Zmiana, Fundacja Forum Różnorodności, Fundacja Kopernikańska, Toruń, Fundacja Stabilo, Toruń, Gazeta Wyborcza, Gdańsk 2016 – Europejska Stolica Kultury, kandydat, Helsińska Fundacja Praw Człowieka, Homo Faber, Host, magazyn literacki (Brno, Czechy), Instytut Europejski, Łódź, Instytut Nauk o Człowieku z Wiednia, Instytut Stefana Starzyńskiego, Instytut Sztuki Wyspa, Klub Storrady, Szczecin, Klubokawiarnia Lokator w Krakowie, Kritika & Kontext (Bratysława, Słowacja), Krytyka Polityczna, klub w Gdańsku, Liberte, Łódź Art. Center, Lokalna Organizacja Turystyczna, Toruń, Lublin 2016, Europejska Stolica Kultury – kandydat, Magyar Lettre International (Budapeszt, Węgry), Muzeum Sztuki Nowoczesnej w Warszawie, Nadbałtyckie Centrum Kultury, Gdańsk, op.cit.,, Ośrodek Brama Brodzka – Teatr NN, Polsko-Białoruskie Stowarzyszenie im. Roberta Schumana, Porozumienie Rowerowe, Lublin, Press, Projekt Polska, Projekt Społeczny 2012 – Projekt deliberacji „3D – dyskutujemy, decydujemy, dopilnujemy”, Przegląd Polityczny, Radio GRA, Toruń, Radio Lublin, Radio PiN, Samorządowa Instytucja Kultury “Szczecin 2016”, SARP Szczecin, Staromiejski Dom Kultury w Warszawie, Stowarzyszenie Duopolis, Stowarzyszenie Inicjatywa Szczecińska, Stowarzyszenie KoLiber, Stowarzyszenie Liderów i Fundraiserów, Szczecin, Stowarzyszenie OFFicyna, Szczecin, Stowarzyszenie Willa Decjusza, Teatr Kana, Szczecin, Teraz Toruń, Torun24.pl, Trojmiasto.pl, Twój Styl, Tygodnik Polityka, Tygodnik Powszechny, Uniwerstytet Warszawski, Katedra im. Erazma z Rotterdamu, Viva!, Warsztaty Analiz Socjologicznych, Warsztaty Kultury, Wydawnictwo słowo/obraz terytoria, Wydawnictwo W.A.B., Zieleń Polska Lublin