Joint project “Book Review”

The absence of systematic reviews of academic and analytical publications has been repeatedly noted by Belarusian intellectuals and analysts. In state-run publications, reviewing functions as a ritual. Independent information resources partly correct this situation; nevertheless, most books and articles remain unreviewed. The same applies to works on Belarus published outside the country. The problem remains and requires a solution, specifically through joint efforts.
In this connection, on 4 March the Political Sphere Institute, together with the Centre for European Studies in Minsk, is launching the “Book Review” project.

The project will become a new stage in the reviewing activity carried out by the Political Sphere Institute in 2011–2012 as part of the “Review of Research and Analytical Publications”. The “Book Review” project will be implemented through the publication of short critical reviews on the websites www.palityka.org, http://eurocenter.by and http://n-europe.eu, indicating the main strengths and weaknesses of each publication. Extended reviews of the most significant publications will be prepared for the journal “Political Sphere”.

The review process will focus primarily on Belarusian publications (research, analytical and intellectual works), as well as publications about Belarus and the Central and Eastern European region, regardless of language or country of publication. Thematic priorities include politics, culture, history and society. As a rule, publications no more than two years old will be reviewed.

Reviews will be published at least once a week, on Wednesdays.

Respectfully, the teams of the Political Sphere Institute and the Centre for European Studies