''Novi Plamen'' ( en, New Flame) was a
left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
journal
A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to:
*Bullet journal, a method of personal organization
*Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period
*Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...
for political, social and cultural issues primarily aimed at intellectual audiences in the former
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
and the related diaspora. It was a leading publication of its kind in the region, covering the entire post-Yugoslav space. It was published by the ''Demokratska misao'' ( en, Democratic Thought) publishing company based in
Zagreb
Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...
and largely sold at kiosks. Its editors-in-chief were Mladen Jakopović (pseudonym Daniel Jakopovich), Ivica Mladenović and Professor Goran Marković.
Profile
The journal centred on politics, culture, peace and social justice studies, and on the obstacles and potentials for political, economic and social democratisation. It has "established itself as the only left-wing journal covering the entire ex-Yugoslav territory, managing to gather some of the pre-eminent intellectuals from all the ex-Yugoslav republics. In so doing it has become a factor which contributes to the re-unification of the scattered gems of the South Slavic intelligentsia around, simply put, the idea of a more humane civilisation".
''Novi Plamen'' was also one of the first publications in the region that helped to inaugurate the advocacy of
animal rights
Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...
and animal liberation.
The well-known Croatian writer and journalist
Đermano Ćićo Senjanović noted the extensive and inter-disciplinary character of ''Novi Plamen's'' issues: "The comrades sent me ''Novi Plamen'' the other day and it makes one's head spin. Sociology, philosophy, demographics, history, statistics, international relations... Everything is there. If our Television discussed just one article in prime time each day, there would be work for the entire year". The 2013 issue was published on 342 pages.
The journal has an Advisory Board consisting of well-known international left-wing figures such as
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is ...
, philosopher
Slavoj Žižek
Slavoj Žižek (, ; ; born 21 March 1949) is a Slovenian philosopher, cultural theorist and public intellectual. He is international director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities at the University of London, visiting professor at New Y ...
,
Ken Coates
Kenneth Sidney Coates (16 September 1930 – 27 June 2010) was a British politician and writer. He chaired the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation and edited ''The Spokesman'', the BRPF magazine launched in March 1970. He was a Labour Party Mem ...
MEP,
John McDonnell MP,
Michael Löwy
Michael Löwy (born 6 May 1938) is a French-Brazilian Marxist sociologist and philosopher. He is emeritus research director in social sciences at the CNRS (French National Center of Scientific Research) and lectures at the ''École des ha ...
and
Jean Ziegler
Jean Ziegler (; born Hans Ziegler, 19 April 1934) is a Swiss former professor of sociology at the University of Geneva and the Sorbonne, Paris, and former vice-president of the Advisory Committee to the United Nations Human Rights Council. He ...
, as well as leading intellectuals and public figures from
South East Europe
Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (al ...
, including the
Deputy Prime Minister
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...
of the Croatian government
Slobodan Uzelac
Slobodan Uzelac ( sr-Cyrl, Слободан Узелац; born 9 August 1947) is a Croatian Serb politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia for Regional Development, Reconstruction and Return in the second cabinet of Prime Minist ...
, former Croatian Minister of Economy
Ljubo Jurčić
Ljubo Jurčić (; born 20 March 1954) is a Croatian economist, current president of the Croatian Association of Economists since 2006 and former Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts (Croatia), Minister of Economy from 2002 to 2003.
...
MP, former Croatian Minister of Culture
Antun Vujić
Antun Vujić (born 14 July 1945) is a Croatian politician, philosopher, political analyst, lexicographer and author serving as a director of the Miroslav Krleža Institute of Lexicography since 2012. He was a member of Croatian Parliament and Mini ...
MP, Croatian MP
Milorad Pupovac
Milorad Pupovac (; born 5 November 1955) is a Croatian politician and linguist. He is a member of the Sabor, the former president of the Serb National Council, and the president of the Independent Democratic Serb Party. He was also an observer ...
, president of the ''Croatian Writers' Association''
Velimir Visković
Velimir ( sr-cyr, Велимир) is a Serbo-Croatian masculine given name and sometimes a surname, a Slavic name derived from elements ''vele'' "great" and ''mir'' "peace, prestige". It may refer to:
* Velimir Ilić (born 1951), politician
* Vel ...
, President of the ''Croatian PEN Club''
Nadežda Čačinovič
Nadežda Čačinovič (born 1 April 1947) is a Croatian philosopher, sociologist and author.
She was born to Slovene parents in Budapest in 1947 where her father Rudolf Čačinovič was serving as a military attache.
She graduated in philosoph ...
, politician and historian
Latinka Perović
Latinka Perović ( sr-Cyrl, Латинка Перовић; 4 October 1933 – 12 December 2022) was a Yugoslav communist leader, historian and politician. During the existence of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Perović was a secre ...
, Serbian sociologist and philosopher
Zagorka Golubović
Zagorka Golubović (8 March 1930 – 13 March 2019) was a Serbian philosopher, anthropologist and sociologist.
Golubović was among the group of eight university professors, members of the Praxis school (Mihailo Marković, Ljubomir Tadić, Sve ...
, writers
Slobodan Šnajder
Slobodan Šnajder (; born 8 July 1948) is a Croatian writer and publicist.
Šnajder was born in 1948 in Zagreb, where he graduated in philosophy and English studies from the Faculty of Philosophy. He was co-founder and editor of the theatre jour ...
,
Filip Erceg
Filip Erceg (born 1979) is a Croatian writer, journalist and political scientist.
Erceg was born in Slavonski Brod, but lived his childhood in Bjelovar. He graduated in politology at the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Zagreb. As a ...
,
Igor Štiks
Igor Štiks (born 17 September 1977 in Sarajevo) is a novelist and scholar. His novels ''The Judgment of Richard Richter'' and ''A Castle in Romagna'' have earned him multiple awards; the former has been translated into 15 languages.
Biography
...
and
Predrag Matvejević
Predrag Matvejević (7 October 1932 – 2 February 2017) was a Bosnian and Croatian writer and scholar. A literature scholar who taught at universities in Zagreb, Paris and Rome, he is best known for his 1987 non-fiction book ''Mediterranean: A ...
(Vice-President of the International PEN Centre), former
Bosnian Minister for Multiculturalism
Marko Oršolić and former Minister for Foreign Trade
Dragoljub Stojanov
Dragoljub ( sr-cyr, Драгољуб) is a Serbian masculine given name, derived from Slavic '' drag-'' ("dear, beloved") and ''ljub'' ("love, to like"), both very common in Slavic dithematic names. It roughly means "dear love". It may refer to:
* ...
, sociologist and politician
Slavo Kukić, professor and politician
Bogdan Denitch Bogdan Denitch (born Bogdan Denis Denić, sr-Cyrl, Богдан Денис Денић; August 9, 1929 – March 28, 2016) was an American sociologist of Serb origin. He was a leading authority on the political sociology of the former Yugoslavia, an ...
, actor
Josip Pejaković
Josip Pejaković (born 5 March 1948) is a Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian actor and writer born in Travnik, Bosnia. At one time he was the lead singer for the Travnik-based rock group Veziri. He was also an antiwar activist at the start of the Bo ...
, professor
Ljubomir Cuculovski, the Canadian academician
Darko Suvin
Darko Ronald Suvin (born Darko Šlesinger) is a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav-born academic, writer and critic who became a professor (now emeritusDavid JohnstonConvocation: Honorary degrees and emeritus professorships McGill Reporter, Volume 33, No. 05, ...
and others. Contributors to the magazine have also included the President of Croatia
Ivo Josipović
Ivo Josipović (; born 28 August 1957) is a Croatian academic, jurist, and politician who served as President of Croatia from 2010 to 2015.
Josipović entered politics as a member of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (SKJ), and played a key ...
, the Nobel laureate for Literature
Dario Fo
Dario Luigi Angelo Fo (; 24 March 1926 – 13 October 2016) was an Italian playwright, actor, theatre director, stage designer, songwriter, political campaigner for the Italian left wing and the recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Literature. I ...
,
Slavoj Žižek
Slavoj Žižek (, ; ; born 21 March 1949) is a Slovenian philosopher, cultural theorist and public intellectual. He is international director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities at the University of London, visiting professor at New Y ...
, Sir
Richard Jolly, prominent Dutch politician and UN diplomat
Jan Pronk
Johannes Pieter "Jan" Pronk Jr. (; born 16 March 1940) is a retired Dutch politician and diplomat of the Labour Party (PvdA) and activist.
Pronk studied Economics at the Rotterdam School of Economics obtaining a Master of Economics degree and ...
, the British academic and politician
Stuart Holland
Stuart Kingsley Holland (born 25 March 1940) is a British economist and former politician.
As a Member of Parliament for the Labour Party, Holland represented the Vauxhall constituency in Lambeth, London, from 1979 until 1989, when he resign ...
,
Igor Mandić,
Todor Kuljić,
Drago Pilsel,
Ljubo Jurčić
Ljubo Jurčić (; born 20 March 1954) is a Croatian economist, current president of the Croatian Association of Economists since 2006 and former Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts (Croatia), Minister of Economy from 2002 to 2003.
...
MP,
Biljana Borzan
Biljana Borzan (; born 29 November 1971) is a Croatian physician and politician who has been member of the European Parliament for Croatia since 1 July 2013, having been elected to the position at the 2013 European Parliament election in Croatia, ...
MP,
Marin Jurjević MP,
Srećko Pulig,
Rastko Močnik
Rastko Močnik (born 27 August 1944) is a Slovenian sociologist, psychoanalyst, literary theorist, translator and political activist. Together with Slavoj Žižek and Mladen Dolar, he is considered one of the co-founders of the Ljubljana sch ...
,
Sonja Lokar,
Antun Vujić
Antun Vujić (born 14 July 1945) is a Croatian politician, philosopher, political analyst, lexicographer and author serving as a director of the Miroslav Krleža Institute of Lexicography since 2012. He was a member of Croatian Parliament and Mini ...
MP,
Dušan Pajović and
Inoslav Bešker. Novi Plamen was co-financed with the aid of the Croatian Ministry of Culture.
Activities and miscellanea
''Novi Plamen'' and the ''Demokratska misao'' publishing company co-organized an international scientific conference titled ''Participation, Self-management, Democracy'' held in
Zagreb
Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...
in November 2007, along with the ''Left International Forum'' of the
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
Left Party. The progressive Belgrade-based politics and economics think-tank ''Laboratorija progresivnih ideja Dimitrije Tucović'' is closely associated with the journal, and the majority of its materials are texts re-published from ''Novi Plamen''.
The journal was the first to publish a list of political prisoners interned on the
Goli Otok labour camp in the 1950s, which provoked much interest in the mass media throughout the region. The journal is an initiative of people whose political socialisation occurred after the fall of former Yugoslavia, and the journal's disagreement with the repressive and undemocratic currents of the "old Left" has been repeatedly covered and emphasised in the mass media.
The name ''Novi Plamen'' (''The New Flame'') is an allusion to the distinguished magazine ''Plamen'' which was published in 1919 and edited by
Miroslav Krleža
Miroslav Krleža (; 7 July 1893 – 29 December 1981) was a Yugoslav and Croatian writer who is widely considered to be the greatest Croatian writer of the 20th century. He wrote notable works in all the literary genres, including poetry (''Ba ...
and
August Cesarec
August Cesarec (4 December 1893 – 16 July 1941) was a Croatian writer and communist activist from the interwar period.
Cesarec was born in Zagreb, then part of Austria-Hungary. He was the son of a carpenter who was a member of the Socialdemocr ...
. It also alludes to
Karl Kraus' ''Die Fackel''.
References
Sources
* Trencsényi, B., Kopeček, M., Gabrijelčič, L. L., Falina, M., Baár, M. and Janowski, M., (2018). ''A History of Modern Political Thought in East Central Europe: Volume II: Negotiating Modernity in the 'Short Twentieth Century' and Beyond, Part II: 1968-2018''. Oxford University Press. {{ISBN, 978-0-19-882960-7
External links
''Ex-Yugoslavia: A New Progressive Voice'', by Daniel Jakopovich''Novi Plamen'' official website''Novi Plamen'' blog''Novi Plamen journal'' memorial webpage on the website of the Democratic Thought Publishing House
2007 establishments in Croatia
Biannual magazines
Defunct magazines published in Croatia
Croatian-language magazines
Cultural magazines
Defunct literary magazines published in Europe
Magazines established in 2007
Mass media in Zagreb
Political magazines published in Croatia
Socialist magazines
Magazines disestablished in 2015
2015 disestablishments in Croatia