On 14–15 October 2026, the Pilecki Institute in Warsaw will host the international academic conference “Embracing the New, Preserving the Old? Studying Fascism, Communism, and Totalitarianism in the 2020s”. The Institute of Central Europe (IEŚ) is a partner of the event, and its researchers will take part in discussions devoted to interpretations of the past and their significance for understanding contemporary political processes.
More than three decades after the end of the Cold War, the categories used to describe fascism, communism and totalitarianism are being re-examined, reinterpreted and critically reassessed. Contemporary challenges such as disinformation, digital transformation, geopolitical tensions and neo-imperialism are prompting scholars to reconsider the legacy of the twentieth century and the ways in which it is studied.
The conference will provide a forum for interdisciplinary discussion on methodological and conceptual developments in research on twentieth-century history, as well as on the relationship between historical memory, politics and contemporary social phenomena.
Participation of IEŚ Researchers
Panels moderated by researchers from the Institute of Central Europe feature prominently in the conference programme.
On 14 October, from 2:15 p.m. to 3:45 p.m., Bartłomiej Krzysztan, PhD, will moderate the panel Authoritarian & Totalitarian Theories of the Past and their Application in the Present. The discussion will address, among other topics, the use of history in analysing contemporary security policy, theories of modern tyranny, debates surrounding the concept of totalitarianism, and the resurgence of totalitarian analogies in interpretations of contemporary geopolitics.
On 14 October, from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., Agata Tatarenko, PhD, will moderate the panel Imported Revolutions? Eastern Europe, Afro-Asian Socialism, and the Road to the One-Party State. Participants will discuss issues related to Marxism-Leninism and revolutions in Africa, Bulgaria’s support for liberation movements in Lusophone Africa, and Polish-Vietnamese relations during the period of Władysław Gomułka’s leadership.
Agata Tatarenko will also take part in a panel discussion on 15 October, from 2:45 p.m. to 4:15 p.m., entitled Rethinking the Soviet Past and the Post-Sovietness: New Analytical Frameworks. The discussion will focus on new analytical frameworks for interpreting the Soviet past and post-Soviet phenomena. Bartłomiej Krzysztan will also be among the panellists.
The participation of IEŚ researchers in the conference programme highlights the importance of Central and Eastern European perspectives in the international debate on the legacy of totalitarian regimes, historical memory and contemporary political transformations.
Practical Information
The conference will be held in English on 14–15 October 2026 at the Pilecki Institute, 82 Sienna Street, Warsaw.
The event partners are the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, the Institute of Central Europe, the Tadeusz Manteuffel Institute of History of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and the Polish History Museum.
The detailed conference programme is available on the Pilecki Institute website.
Fascism, Communism and Totalitarianism in the 21st Century – Conference Featuring IEŚ Researchers