Verovšek, P.J. (2016) Collective memory, politics, and the influence of the past: the politics of memory as a research paradigm. Politics Groups and Identities, 4 (3). pp. 529-543. ISSN 2156-5503
Abstract
Politicians frequently make use of mythologized understandings of the past to mobilize memory as an instrument of politics in the present. Despite the postwar “memory boom”, collective remembrance remains a slippery concept. In politics, collective memory exerts its influence both from the bottom up, as interpretations of the past affect the identities and understandings of political elites, as well as from the top down, as statements by public figures place certain events into the national consciousness while silencing or forgetting others. In addition to summarizing the existing literature, this integrative review proposes a discursive conception of the politics of memory. I argue that research into political memory should focus on (1) the substantive content of collective memory as expressed by actors within state institutions and (2) on the interactive channels through which ideas about the past are conveyed, disputed, silenced, and negotiated outside these formal settings. I substantiate this argument – and demonstrate the relevance of collective remembrance to politics – by drawing examples of the role that memories of World War II continue to play Italian and Slovenian internal politics, as well as in their relations with each other.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2016 Western Political Science Association. This is an author-produced version of a paper subsequently published in Politics, Groups and Identities. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | collective memory; conceptual analysis; narrative; politics of memory; memory boom; research program |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Politics and International Relations (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 05 Aug 2019 14:17 |
Last Modified: | 05 Aug 2019 15:31 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Taylor & Francis |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1080/21565503.2016.1167094 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:147981 |