The main task of this book is to deliver an in-depth analysis of the idea of the state in the reflection of Robert von Mohl (1799-1875). This German liberal scholar and politician developed comprehensive theory of the state, which combined both absolutist and liberal trendencies. In the book, Von Mohl's political philosophy is depicted against the backdrop of the sociopolitical situation of German states in the nineteenth century.The main focus of the book is one of von Mohl's most important intelectual achievements, namely - the concept of Rechstaat. In conclusion, the author draws similarities between various von Mohl's ideas and the situation of contemporary legal institutions in Germany and Poland.

This book reexamines the origins and growth of the medieval inquisition which provided a framework for the large-scale operations against religious dissidents. In the last quarter of the twelfth century, the papacy launched concerted efforts to hunt out heretics, mostly Cathars and Waldensians, and directed operations against them all across Latin Christendom. The bull of Pope Lucius III Ad abolendam of 1184 became a turning point in the formation of the inquisitorial system which made both the clergy and the laity responsible for suppressing any religious dissent. From a comparative perspective, the study analyzes political, social and religious developments which in the High Middle Ages gave birth to the mechanism of repression and religious violence supervised by the papacy and operated by bishops and, starting from the 1230s, papal inquisitors, extraordinary judges delegate staffed mostly by Dominican and Franciscan friars.

This is a book about impending catastrophe. The metaphorical insane "run" ends with the outbreak of the First World War. The book focuses on European culture of the late nineteenth century and the Polish contribution to it. The word "dark" used to describe modernity is understood as a metaphor of gradual and permanent devaluation of the idea of progress, as a fading hope for the future of Europe as bright, predictable, prosperous, and safe. The "darkening" also receives a literal sense. At the end of the nineteenth century, darkness found its way back to the public space - in the theaters, panoramas, dioramas, and "love tunnels", which awaited the visitors of American and European amusement parks.