Pieter van Duin, Zuzana Poláčková

This book is a contribution to European comparative history involving Portugal and Slovakia, but also the larger geographic units of Iberia and Slavic Central Europe. While developments in Portugal and Slovakia predominate, Spain, the Czech lands, and other regions are discussed as well. The subjects investigated include the position of women and the activities of messianic thinkers in the seventeenth century as well as semi-fascist Catholic political movements in the twentieth century. The authors look at the subject matter from the viewpoint of politics, social phenomena, and culture. The cultural dimension includes religion and ideology, both of which have clearly been of critical importance in Portuguese and Slovak history. It also includes problems of ethno-linguistic and national identity and the more recent phenomenon of multiculturalism, whose social promotion is controversial and uncertain. "This comparative study by Zuzana Poláčková and Peter C. van Duin, a collection of essays, is a revelation, especially for students of European authoritarian and totalitarian regimes, and, furthermore, anybody interested in European history." —Josette Baer, Professor, UZH University of Zurich "This book gives proof to Cicero’s dictum: "Historia magistra vitae est"—without knowledge of the past we cannot build a sustainable future. Thanks to the authors for this great contribution to knowledge!" —Lucia Mokrá, Professor of International Law, Comenius University, Bratislava "This collection of essays provides not only fascinating insights into the political workings of these two small states, but of the workings of politics in the larger Iberian / Slavic context. Highly recommended." —Dr. David Reichardt, International Relations, Webster University, Saint-Louis, Missouri "A very important contribution to the study of the comparative history of Europe, and therefore I fully recommend its publication." —Mgr. Juraj Marušiak, PhD. Institute of Political Science, public research institution, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovak Republic

Comparative research on the history and culture of the Iberian and Slavic peoples, or more precisely the southern and eastern peripheries of Europe, has been developing for about two decades. This is undoubtedly related to the eastern enlargement of the European Union, which has also raised anew the question of the integration of the countries of the Central and Eastern European region into the European political, social and cultural context. The present manuscript by Zuzana Poláčková and Pieter C. van Duin is the result of several years of research. What I consider innovative, however, is that, unlike previous publications, it does not deal only with partial aspects, but is already the first attempt at a synthetic comparison of the history of two countries from the European peripheries - Portugal and Slovakia, which it thus places in a common European context, while respecting the political and cultural diversity of Europe.

The European context has a decisive position in the publication. Its various sections cover the history of the two states from the 17th century to the present day, but they cover not only political aspects, which include questions of political regimes and ideologies that have strongly influenced the character of the two states, such as liberalism, authoritarian conservatism and communism, but also social and cultural aspects, such as the Counter-Reformation, the dominance of the Catholic Church in both states, 17th-century messianic philosophy, as well as phenomena such as the position of women in central and eastern Europe in comparison with Portugal. The publication also touches on issues of postcolonial studies and multiculturalism, whereby the chosen comparative framework unexpectedly takes on global implications.

I consider the publication to be a very important contribution to the study of the comparative history of Europe, and therefore I fully recommend its publication.

Mgr. Juraj Marušiak, PhD. Institute of Political Science, public research institution, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovak Republic