The Importance of Academic Efforts to overcome Historical Stereotypes in the International Relations

The Importance of Academic Efforts to overcome Historical Stereotypes in the International Relationship Ivan Fedyk, Proceedings of History Faculty of Lviv University Many causes of mutual misunderstanding in the political, cultural, economic and scientific relations of different peoples and countries are related to historical stereotypes. The wars and political confrontations that have taken place over the centuries have created a number of stereotypes that lead to mutual humiliation and become an obstacle to comprehensive cooperation. Moreover, the existence of historical stereotypes can lead to the closure of many mutually beneficial joint projects and missions. On the other hand, there is a constant danger of using historical stereotypes by the third force to create new conflicts or exacerbate existing misunderstandings. Today, many nations are in the process of overcoming historical prejudices. The academic community is a force that is able to most actively participate in overcoming such stereotypes.

If we take into account the ability of universities and colleges to disseminate factual material that denies or destroys stereotypes, it is clear that the academic community has the most powerful tools to eradicate prejudice in the societies of both nations. University circles of the humanities have the opportunity to create and apply methods of overcoming historical stereotypes and at the same time lay the foundation for a scientific justification for getting rid of misunderstandings. Thus, scientists and scholars are able to serve society as an integration factor.

The system of overcoming stereotypes that academic circles are able to create can be integrated into all spheres of society, including politics, economics, culture and social relations. This may lead to the elimination of the very basis of the intolerant attitude of one people towards another, caused by historical events. On the other hand, the humanitarian community has the opportunity to implement the results of the systematic fight against misunderstandings in the educational and scientific process. The basis of such a struggle is joint academic projects which may include scientific programs, conferences, seminars, joint

research, educational plans, methodological systems and other types of bilateral scientific and economic cooperation. These methods are able to unite different social, political and ethnic groups in discussion efforts and in the development of new similar projects.

Modern relations between Ukrainians and Poles can be taken as an example of a successful process of overcoming prejudices. The elimination of historical stereotypes in the relations between these two nations can be a model of successful organization of the process. Due to the special complexity of historical relations, the liquidation of prejudices that exist in the social environments of Ukraine and Poland is a particularly difficult task. Wars, uprisings and political hostility have given rise to numerous stereotypes which in turn have given rise to confrontation.

After the loss of independence by both peoples, historical stereotypes were used by different empires to deepen hostility between Ukraine and Poland. However, after gaining independence and overthrowing the communist regime, both nations did much to renounce prejudice. Since the collapse of the communist system, many representatives of both nations have taken part in the fight against historical stereotypes and the establishment of a system for cooperation. A special place among these people belongs to the academic community. It was in the early 1990s that scientists and scholars laid the groundwork for cooperation in history, anthropology, social sciences, and other humanities. Universities played a particularly important role in this process. Due to the fact that the Second World War brought a lot of hatred in the relations between the two nations, it is the topic of numerous joint conferences, seminars, projects and educational programs.

In 1992, representatives of the cultural and scientific communities launched a project called Ukrainian-Polish Studies. Within the framework of this project, scholars from both countries held a large number of meetings, panel discussions, joint projects, the results of which were published in many collections under the general title "Ukraine-Poland: historical heritage, public consciousness and statehood." (Україна-Польща: історична спадщина і суспільна свідомість. – Київ: Либідь, 1993.) Ukrainian and Polish scientific societies, the Union of Ukrainian Scientists, the South-Eastern Scientific Institute, the Institute of Ukrainian Studies of the National Academy of Sciences, Ivan Franko National University, Taras Shevchenko

National University of Kyiv, Krakow and Warsaw universities were the organizers of this project.

A particularly important project is “Ukraine-Poland: Difficult Issues”, which was launched in 1998 (Україна-Польща: важкі питання. – Варшава: Tyrsa, 1998.). Its organizers are representatives of humanitarian educational institutions and various search groups from both Poland and Ukraine. The organizers of the project published a number of collections that revealed the period of the Ukrainian-Polish confrontation and provided an understanding of the importance of overcoming the cause of this confrontation.

One of the largest cooperation projects was "Ukraine, Poland and Germany in Europe", founded in 2001 (Україна, Польща, Німеччина в Європі. – Львів, 2007.). In 2007, representatives of Russia and Hungary joined the project. The organizers of this project were Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Yuriy Fedkovych National University of Chernivtsi, Rzeszow University, and the European Institute of Germany. From 2001 to 2011, the organizers of the project held 9 scientific conferences, which discussed issues of common history, cooperation and scientific feasibility of expanding such activities. There are many such examples of joint approaches to common history over the last 30 years. Moreover, Ukrainian-Polish cooperation in this area has been particularly active for the last 7 years, due to the fact that both countries have common foreign threats that have manifested themselves due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Thus, the current level of contacts and cooperation between peoples and scientific groups makes it possible to create a system of approaches and understandings that are able to overcome historical prejudices and misunderstandings among peoples. The scientific community and humanities education have a wide range of ideas that can block the creation of new stereotypes, ruin existing prejudices and change national cultural and political manifestations of intolerance in relations between states and peoples.