Res Publica Foundation

At the heart of the Res Publica Foundation is our flagship publication, Res Publica Nowa, a journal covering culture and politics published since 1979. Initially under the title Res Publica, the journal has undergone expansion in recent years to incorporate a separate internet platform. Res Publica Foundation also prints two other related publications including Visegrad Insight, which encourages contemporary analysis and debate, and New Europe 100, a network of innovators from Central and Eastern Europe.

Foundation

Management Board

Magdalena Jakubowska – vice-president

Tomasz Kasprowicz – vice-president

Wojciech Przybylski – president

Editorial Board

Tomasz Kasprowicz – editor-in-chief

Anna Kuczyńska – deputy editor-in-chief

and others.

Supervisory Board

Ireneusz Białecki

Beata Jaczewska

Igor Kaleński

Zofia Król

Ewa Moncure

Paweł Lisiewicz

Joanna Rohozinska

Andrzej Waśkiewicz

Mission

The world is governed by ideas. We are concerned with those that determine the shape of tomorrow. Everybody is welcome to take part in the discussion, regardless of differences of opinion.

Ideas also have practical consequences. An honest debate about them can therefore become the foundation for inclusive laws. A tendency to simplify is a tendency to exclude. This is why, for three generations, we have been the predominant voice leading debates about the republic.

History

Res Publica started in 1979, sparked by the efforts of a group of Polish intellectuals, who wished to establish an independent journal. The publication was initially issued intermittently by the Henryk Krzeczkowski Res Publica Foundation, based in Warsaw. Its founding editor-in-chief was Marcin Król, who remains its chairman.

Operating until 1992 under the Res Publica name, the early issues of the magazine included works by prominent social figures, such as Paweł Śpiewak, Barbara Toruńczyk, Andrzej Micewski, and Stefan Kisielewski. In 1987, Res Publica was recognised by official state authorities, thus becoming one of the only magazines of its kind in the Soviet Bloc.

Res Publica earnt international acclaim for its work in publishing distinguished intellectuals from Poland and other countries including Isaah Berlin, Hannah Arendt, Michael Oakeshott, Pierre Manent, Aldonus Huxley, Bohumil Hrabal, Alasdair MacIntyre, Slavoj Žižek, Timothy Snyder, Ivan Krastev, Irving Kristol, among others. Many of these names were virtually unknown to the Polish reading public at the time. The magazine also played a major role as a contributor to discussions within the contemporary political climate, ultimately allowing for the possibility of the Roundtable Negotiations.

Despite all the political and personnel changes, Res Publica Nowa has managed to defend its prominent position on publishing scene. In 2008, the magazine was re-established and continues to build on the traditions inherited from its founders. Since it reappeared on the market, it has also featured in the European network of cultural periodicals, Eurozine.

Thanks to the contributions from opinion-makers of various disciplines, including philosophy, politics, sociology, literature, and arts, our journal appeals to ambitious, intelligent and analytical readers, along with 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 are also active in our meetings and discussion panels organized in 11 Polish cities and in numerous European cities, including the Czech Republic, Germany, Slovakia, Ukraine and Hungary. We also reach out to readers in other countries, with the publication of bi-annual special editions in English.

Cooperation

In the past years our partners and sponsors have included:

        • National Endowment for Democracy,
        • German Marshall Fund of the United States,
        • Financial Times,
        • Google,
        • International Visegrad Fund,
        • Embassy of the United States,
        • Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands,
        • Embassy of Canada,
        • NATO HQ,
        • Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of Poland,
        • Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
        • National Centre for Culture of Poland,
        • Stefan Batory Foundation,
        • Orange S.A.,
        • Orlen S.A.,
        • International Paper S.A.,
        • Solidarity Fund PL,
        • Adam Mickiewicz Institute,
        • Villa Decius Association,
        • Aspen Institute Central Europe,
        • Eurozine,
        • Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna,
        • Kondrad Adenauer Foundation,
        • Heinrich Boell Stiftung in Warsaw,
        • American Center,
        • History Meeting House,
        • Polish-German Cooperation Foundation,
        • European Solidarity Center,
        • City of Warsaw,
        • GLOBSEC,
        • Polish Confederation Lewiatan,
        • GE,
        • Centre for Euro-Atlantic Integration and Democracy

Past programs

Central European Dictionary of Political Concepts aims to initiate public discussion in Europe on political dilemmas concerning Central Europe. A series of seminars, workshops, public debates and articles pioneers alternative uses of language in political debate across the region. This project was concluded in 2017 with the publication of Understanding Central Europe, Routledge 2017

Free Speech Partnership encourages international cooperation between magazines from Central and Eastern Europe. Promoting intellectual exchange and cooperation, it precipitates networking channels between publications, particularly in collaboration with Eurozine, a platform connecting over 90 cultural journals and associates. This program has been merged with Visegrad Insight and the activities of New Europe 100.

City DNA supports the inclusion of public opinion as a cornerstone of cultural strategies in urban centres. It unites political decision-makers with surveys and analyses on urban culture in order to facilitate change in urban cultural policy. It has instigated a series of public debates, creative workshops, networking, academic research and publications. The project was concluded in 2017, though separately reopened in 2018 with the publication Magazyn Miasta.

 

Policies

Equality and Diversity Policy