Collective Memory Formation and International Relations

Abstract

Forgotten Genocides: Oblivion, Denial, and Memory. By Rene Lemarchand (Ed.). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011. 200 pp., $49.95 hardback (ISBN-13: 978-0-812-24335-2). Accounting for Violence: Marketing Memory in Latin America. By Ksenija Bilbija, Leigh A. Payne (Eds.). Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2011. 405 pp., $24.95 paperback (ISBN-13: 978-0-822-35042-2). Power of the Past: Collective Memory and International Relations. By Eric Langenbacher, Yossi Shain (Eds.). Washington DC: Georgetown University Press, 2010. 240 pp., $29.95 paperback (ISBN-13: 978-1-589-01640-8). Each of these works engages the growing body of literature in collective memory studies. Collective memory research looks at how the past is remembered or represented in the present, how those representations change over time, and how political life is shaped by these forces. This literature has developed primarily outside of political science and thus International Relations, with most of the scholars coming from the humanities and other social sciences. Indeed, the majority of the authors in these three edited volumes are not political scientists. The lack of engagement by political scientists in this area of research is regrettable as they have perspectives that could contribute to this field of research, but it is a field of study that demands area-specific knowledge and deep cultural sensitivity, and perhaps fits best within the culturalist tradition of research (Ross 2009). These three works will hopefully encourage those working in International Relations to reflect on what can be gained from engaging this field of research. Why do narratives or collective memories about some mass crimes continue to circulate in domestic and international society for years after the events, while others appear to slip into oblivion? This question appears again and again throughout these three works, which to differing degrees touch upon International Relations or focus primarily on domestic politics. Taken as a whole, they cover every continent, although each work has a clear regional orientation and historical time frame. The authors in Power of the Past are the most explicit in their engagement with the International Relations literature and specifically the constructivist approach. Most of the chapters deal with either the United States or European countries, although there are two chapters that deal with Japan, China, and East Asia. The works are mostly orientated toward the role of sovereign states and foreign policy …