Terroryzm a legitymizacja władzy. Z Zygmuntem Baumanem rozmawiają Sławomir Czapnik i Tomasz Krawczyk

Sławomir Czapnik; Tomasz Krawczyk

doi:10.25167/sk.5864

Published: 2025-05-17

No. 13 (2025)

Terrorism and legitimization of power. Interview with Zygmunt Bauman conducted by Slawomir Czapnik and Tomasz Krawczyk

Sławomir Czapnik , Tomasz Krawczyk

Studia Krytyczne/Critical Studies

Section: Critical Dialogues

https://doi.org/10.25167/sk.5864

Abstract

In September 2010, two Polish scholars, Slawomir Czapnik and Krzysztof Krawczyk, conducted an interview with Zygmunt Bauman at his residence in Leeds. The dialogue in Polish was recorded, but it appears that the files containing it were inadvertently deleted. It was not until 2023 that Slawomir Czapnik located the audio files and elected to publish the conversation. The present volume provides insight into the views of one of the most important – albeit controversial – contemporary sociologists, who died in 2017. The conversation is a document of its time, the turn of the first and second decades of the present century, the international reality of the so-called war on terror. However, it still raises important questions about the legitimacy of political power in the modern world. The author demonstrates the transition from a preoccupation with security – the domain of social security that is characteristic of the welfare state and permanent modernity – to safety, which is the domain of personal security and is indicative of the neoliberal, fluid phase of modernity. In light of the prevailing global challenges, including the ongoing crisis caused by the pandemic of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), the ongoing Russian aggression in Ukraine, the escalating tensions in the Middle East, and the looming threat of right-wing populism, Bauman's reflections assume particular significance. These reflections address critical international issues, the erosion of the nation-state, and the inability to effectively address global challenges (including fundamental issues such as social security) on a local scale. In response to this challenge, states experiencing weakening have adopted heightened surveillance measures to exert control over their populations. Moreover, Bauman's thought prompts reflection on fundamental questions concerning the nature of a just society and the imperative for action in the struggle against injustice. From his perspective, the sociological imagination should address the functionality of power and its consequences for both freedom and moral responsibility.

Keywords:

Zygmunt Bauman, liquid modernity, power, legitimisation, terrorism

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Czapnik, S., & Krawczyk, T. (2025). Terrorism and legitimization of power. Interview with Zygmunt Bauman conducted by Slawomir Czapnik and Tomasz Krawczyk. Studia Krytyczne/Critical Studies, (13), 10–29. https://doi.org/10.25167/sk.5864

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Sławomir Czapnik

Affiliation:

Opole University Poland

Tomasz Krawczyk

Affiliation:

Wrocław University Poland