Collective Memory and National Identity

Abstract

This chapter analyzes the important functions of historical memory in collective identity formation. Ethnic, national, or religious identities are built on historical myths that define who a group member is, what it means to be a group member, and typically, who the group’s enemies are. This chapter provides a few frameworks to understand how historical memory can serve as a constitutive, relational, and purposive content for group identity. Each of these types of identity content implies an alternate causal pathway between this collective identity and policy behaviors or practices. Understanding a group of people’s collective memory can help us to better understand their national interests and political actions.