Projects / Programmes
Freedom of speech and press; its restriction in Slovenia (1945-1991)
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 6.01.00 |
Humanities |
Historiography |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| H250 |
Humanities |
Contemporary history (since 1914) |
| H271 |
Humanities |
Political history |
freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of expession, censorship, Socialism, Communism, Slovenia, Yugoslavia, political history
Researchers (6)
Organisations (4)
Abstract
The purpose of the project is systematic research into the concept of freedom of speech and the press in the period of Socialism and historical reconstruction of the system of political censorship in Slovenia from the creation of Socialist Yugoslavia in 1945 to its collapse. The focus of the research will be on forms and methods of political censorship in the fields of culture, science and the media. The proposed theme has not to date been systematically studied, so the project will fill a major gap in knowledge and understanding of Slovene history in the period of Socialism. The research will embrace the relation of Slovene (Yugoslav) authorities to freedom of speech and the press on both normative and declarative levels, as well as on the actual level, and at the same time comparative analyses will be carried out on the basis of relevant literature. Because of the lack of research into the proposed theme, the central and most extensive part of the project will be systematic analysis of cases of political censorship, through which, taking account of the wider historical context, light will be shed on the actual level of freedom of expression and forms of its restriction in Slovenia through the entire period of Socialism. The level of freedom of speech and press, namely, over a prolonged time period, also oscillates within authoritarian and totalitarian systems, and it is not possible to identify elements, which caused raising and lowering of the threshold of tolerance of the Communist authorities, without taking into account the wider historical circumstances. The research work will be based on contemporary historical and sociological scientific methods, and predominantly on critical analysis and interpretation of historical sources, in particular archive material. The results of the research will be brought together in scientific texts, which will be of direct use both in historiography and for numerous other scientific fields.
Significance for science
Within the project framework a systematic investigation was carried out into the practices of censorship and the conception of freedom of expression in Slovenia, spanning the period from the creation of socialist Yugoslavia in 1945 until its collapse. The project focused on political censorship of the media, culture and science. Thereby, the project filled a major gap in the study of censorship in contemporary Slovene history – historical researches had before dealt with this theme extremely rarely and explicitly partially. The majority of research into Slovene post-war history had been directed into the period immediately after 1945, thus to the time of the take-over of power by the Communists, while there had been almost no systematic research through the entire period of Socialism. The project also contributed to the development of Slovene historical science from the methodological aspect, through the use of up-to-date methodological approaches, especially the combination of historical and sociological scientific methods and comparative analyses, which are more the exception than the rule in Slovene historiography. Researchers from the fields of history and sociology, employed in various research institutions and higher education institutions, were cooperating in the project. Thereby, the project introduced interdisciplinary and inter-institutional cooperation in the spheres of humanistics and social sciences, which is not yet suitably established in Slovenia, and also linked research and higher education activities.
Significance for the country
The project primarily belongs in the sphere of contemporary Slovene history, which was one of the priority fields of research and development specified in the Resolution on the National Research and Development Programme 2006-2010. The project contributed to preserving the national identity and recognition, and through historical research of the freedom of expression as one of the fundamental human rights, to the establishment of democratic values and the development and legitimisation of a democratic political arrangement. The results of the project thus contribute to the creation of an open, democratic society, which will be capable of confronting the negative experiences and deviations of the past, without succumbing to current political abuse of history.
Most important scientific results
Annual report
2008,
2009,
final report,
complete report on dLib.si
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Annual report
2008,
2009,
final report,
complete report on dLib.si
