| Discipline | Politics andculture |
|---|---|
| Language | Croatian |
| Edited by | Mladen Jakopović (pseudonym Daniel Jakopovich) Ivica Mladenović Goran Marković |
| Publication details | |
| History | 2007–2015 |
| Publisher | Demokratska misao/Democratic Thought (Croatia) |
| Frequency | Bi-annual |
| Standard abbreviations ISO 4 (alt) · Bluebook (alt) NLM (alt) · MathSciNet (alt  ) | |
| ISO 4 | Novi Plamen |
| Indexing CODEN (alt · alt2) · JSTOR (alt) · LCCN (alt) MIAR · NLM (alt) · Scopus · W&L | |
| ISSN | 1846-386X |
| OCLC no. | 643257497 |
Novi Plamen (transl. "The New Flame") was aleft-wingjournal for political, social and cultural issues primarily aimed at intellectual audiences in theformer Yugoslavia and the related diaspora. It was a leading publication of its kind in the region, covering the entire post-Yugoslav space.[1] It was published by theDemokratska misao (English:Democratic Thought) publishing company based inZagreb and largely sold at kiosks. Its editors-in-chief were Mladen Jakopović (pseudonym Daniel Jakopovich), Ivica Mladenović and Professor Goran Marković.
The name of the journal is an allusion to the distinguished left-wing magazinePlamen [sh] which was published in 1919 and edited byMiroslav Krleža andAugust Cesarec. It also alludes toKarl Kraus'Die Fackel ("The Torch").
The journal centred on politics, culture, peace and social justice studies, and on the obstacles and potentials for political, economic and social democratisation.[2][3] According to the Belgrade newspaper of recordDanas, it has "established itself as the only left-wing journal covering the entire ex-Yugoslav territory, managing to gather some of the pre-eminent intellectuals from all the ex-Yugoslav republics. In so doing it has become a factor which contributes to the re-unification of the scattered gems of the South Slavicintelligentsia around, simply put, the idea of a more humane civilisation".[4]
Novi Plamen was also one of the first publications in the region that helped to inaugurate the advocacy ofanimal rights and animal liberation.[5]
The well-known Croatian writer and journalistĐermano Ćićo Senjanović [sh] noted the extensive and inter-disciplinary character ofNovi Plamen's issues: "The comrades sent meNovi Plamen the other day and it makes one's head spin. Sociology, philosophy, demographics, history, statistics, international relations... Everything is there. If our Television discussed just one article in prime time each day, there would be work for the entire year".[6] The 2013 issue was published on 342 pages.
The journal had an Advisory Board consisting of well-known international left-wing figures such asNoam Chomsky, philosopherSlavoj Žižek,Ken Coates MEP,John McDonnell MP,Michael Löwy andJean Ziegler, as well as leading intellectuals and public figures fromSouth East Europe, including theDeputy Prime Minister of the Croatian governmentSlobodan Uzelac, former Croatian Minister of EconomyLjubo Jurčić MP, former Croatian Minister of CultureAntun Vujić MP, Croatian MPMilorad Pupovac, president of theCroatian Writers' AssociationVelimir Visković, President of theCroatian PEN ClubNadežda Čačinovič, politician and historianLatinka Perović, Serbian sociologist and philosopherZagorka Golubović, writersSlobodan Šnajder,Filip Erceg,Igor Štiks andPredrag Matvejević (Vice-President of the International PEN Centre), formerBosnian Minister for MulticulturalismMarko Oršolić and former Minister for Foreign TradeDragoljub Stojanov, sociologist and politicianSlavo Kukić, professor and politicianBogdan Denitch, actorJosip Pejaković, professorLjubomir Cuculovski, the Canadian academicianDarko Suvin and others.[7] Contributors to the magazine have also included the President of CroatiaIvo Josipović, the Nobel laureate for LiteratureDario Fo,Slavoj Žižek, SirRichard Jolly, prominent Dutch politician and UN diplomatJan Pronk, the British academic and politicianStuart Holland,Igor Mandić,Todor Kuljić,Drago Pilsel,Ljubo Jurčić MP,Biljana Borzan MP,Marin Jurjević MP,Srećko Pulig,Rastko Močnik,Sonja Lokar,Antun Vujić MP,Dušan Pajović andInoslav Bešker.[8]
Novi Plamen was co-financed with the aid of theCroatian Ministry of Culture.[9]
Novi Plamen and theDemokratska misao publishing company co-organized an international scientific conference titledParticipation, Self-management, Democracy held inZagreb in November 2007, along with theLeft International Forum of theSwedishLeft Party. The progressive Belgrade-based politics and economics think-tankLaboratorija progresivnih ideja Dimitrije Tucović ("Laboratory of Progressive Ideas "Dimitrije Tucović"") is closely associated with the journal, and the majority of its materials are texts re-published fromNovi Plamen.[10]
The journal was the first to publish a list of political prisoners interned on theGoli Otok labour camp in the 1950s, which provoked much interest in the mass media throughout the region.[11][12][13] The journal is an initiative of people whose political socialisation occurred after the fall of former Yugoslavia,[14] and the journal's disagreement with the repressive and undemocratic currents of the "Old Left" has been repeatedly covered and emphasised in the mass media.[15][16]