On Saturday, November 6, IWP Professor, and the current holder of the Kosciuszko Chair in Polish Studies, Dr. Marek Chodakiewicz, delivered a lecture on “The Intermarium: The Eastern Borderlands of the West.”
He focused primarily on the Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania – in addition to Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova. Whilst part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, this region had been exposed to Western notions of civic and property rights and freedoms emanating from the Christian (Latin) West in general, and the Kingdom of Poland in particular.
Unfortunately, the eventual conquest of this region by Muscovy/Russia occurred and, later, the Soviet Union expunged this legacy from the mindset of the population. Thus, the greatest challenge for the peoples of the Intermarium is to emancipate themselves from the Post-Soviet Stockholm Syndrome by restoring historical memory. This, however, requires a committment to traditional historical empiricism, rather than the emulation of trendy, relativistic post-modernist theories.
According to Dr. Chodakiewicz, the greatest hope for the Intermarium lies in organic and evolutionary reconstruction and development within the context of peace.
Prof. Chodakiewicz’s book on the Intermarium will soon be available via IWP Press.
