Luisa Tousova (Charles University)
The work explores the legacies of Václav Havel and Lech Wałęsa as symbols of democracy on both national and transnational levels. The two dissidents pioneered civil resistance solidarity movements that led to their democratic election into office and the collapse of Soviet regimes. As a result, they emerged as symbols of democratic ideals and transformed into cultural icons within collective national memory. Drawing on Rigney’s notion of ‘cultural memory’ alongside Pitkin’s framework of symbolic representation, this research examines their enduring legacies. The analysis highlights the memorialisation processes occurring at the institutional level and the cultural level through an investigation of public discourse and the mass popularisation of the two dissidents. The exploration focuses on processes of romanticisation, reification, and appropriation. At the transnational level, emphasis is placed on international democratic movements, like the Charter 08, and the commemoration of the two leaders within the West. Ultimately, the research aims to underscore how these symbols are reinterpreted in the renegotiation of history and collective memory, and the emotional resonance they continue to hold.