''Communisme'' is a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

multidisciplinary

academic journal An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and d ...

in the field of communist studies, focusing in particular on the history of communism, founded in 1982 by

Annie Kriegel Annie Kriegel, née Annie Becker (born 9 September 1926, Paris; died 26 August 1995, Paris) was a French historian, a leading expert on communist studies and the history of Communism, a cofounder (1982) of the academic journal ''Communisme'' (wi ...

and

Stéphane Courtois Stéphane Courtois (born 25 November 1947) is a French historian and university professor, a director of research at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), professor at the Catholic Institute of Higher Studies (ICES) in La R ...

. The starting objective of the journal has been to scientifically analyze the history of communism.

History

Description

This French biannual multidisciplinary journal brought together specialists of different generations and targeted young people. The editorial board included:

Nicolas Werth Nicolas Werth (born 1950 in Paris) is a French historian. Biography Werth is a scholar of communist studies. He is the son of Alexander Werth, a Russian born British journalist and writer who lived in the USSR during World War II. Work Nico ...

, Marc Lazar, Philippe Buton, Michel Hastings, Karel Bartosek and Denis Peschanski. Published works include both the teleological (political and doctrinal side) and social (relationships with society, social settlements) dimensions of communism.

Evolution

Access to archives of the

Comintern The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet Union, Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to ...

, following the collapse of the communist regimes of Eastern Europe, was interpreted by

as providing an opportunity to create a true history of communism. This approach has been criticized as "aimed at justifying a rewrite of history, the craze for suspecting all "affairs", the explicit desire to exploit the political history of communism in trying to present himself as the sole possessor of the truth of communism".

Departures

Since 1993, a significant portion of the editorial board of the ''Communisme'' journal distanced themselves to express their disagreement with the evolution of the journal. Numerous stirrings agitated the editorial team of the journal, especially the

Jean Moulin Jean Pierre Moulin (; 20 June 1899 – 8 July 1943) was a French civil servant and resistant who served as the first President of the National Council of the Resistance during World War II from 27 May 1943 until his death less than two months l ...

matter (when he was accused of being a Soviet agent) and the publication of the Black Book of Communism (under the direction of Courtois, who put Nazism and Communism on the same plane in his preface). This resulted in the resignations of the core of the editorial board, including Karel Bartosek and

. The historian Denis Peschanski, who was among the first contributors to the journal "motivated by a desire to make communism a scientific subject" left because he did not feel in tune with the editorial line. He explained that "the collapse of the team began when a renewed police-related history appeared of the PCF which was a "scoop".« Le communisme, entre analyse scientifique et vision policière de l'histoire », ''Le Monde'', 21 Septembre 2000, p. 32 (Fr).

References

{{reflist, 2 Publications established in 1982 History journals Communism Political science journals French-language journals Area studies journals 1982 establishments in France

History

Description

Evolution

Departures

See also

References