Metamorfozy Europy w świetle teorii imperiów-cywilizacji
The metamorphosis of Europe in the light of the empires-civilizations theory

Summary/Abstract: This article attempts to explain the history of Europe in the light of the concept of empires-civilizations which shape world history. They have three dimensions: cultural, material and political, and life cycles called here dynamics. It consists of the phases of emergence, expansion, crisis and decline. The decline of empires-civilizations usually concerned the political dimension, leaving elements of cultural and material legacy and memory, which then acted as a substrate from which new empires could grow. The metamorphoses of Europe are an example of such growth of new empires-civilizations out of the "old soil". In the history of Europe there have been successive empirescivilizations: 1) Rome, 2) the Christian empire (Civitas Dei), 3) modern Europe as a civilization of empires, 4) post-imperial Europe-condominium, and 5) post-Cold War Europe searching for identity and place among the world civilizations.

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