As the desperate and unfortunate state of contemporary Europe now attests, the past casts a hauntingly long shadow from which it is difficult to emerge. The problems that came out at the end of WWII were played out bitterly in Europe, firstly through an artificially constructed division, and latter by a generational one. Both used violence and conflict as means of discourse.
To better process the failures of the present, I think that we must examine more closely those of the past. We are still very much defined by the boundaries that were established a century ago. The key players that shaped the end of the 20th century are still controlling the narrative that molds the present. For me, the question of what and who forged those perspectives becomes primordial to understand how we ended up where we are. The established countries’ secret networks did not dissolve with the Cold War but became more centralized, within governments. Large financial trade deals have become the standard means of international diplomacy, as European states sell off key national assets, from industry to football clubs, in the hope of buying control abroad. The failures of the 1970’s and 80’s tunneled the only available route, but are we on the Eurostar, or neck-deep in the dark waters of Andrej Wajda’s Kanal?
