Memory and World Politics

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Although the study of memory has been very popular in the social sciences since the 1980s, scholars studying world politics started paying attention to memory politics only relatively recently, during the past two decades. Initially, scholars working at the “margins” of the discipline of international relations (IR), in the fields of post-structuralism and political sociology, integrated the concept of memory into their studies. They acknowledged that traumatic memory is essential for the formation and functioning of political communities. Collective traumas, like crises in world politics, can mark new beginnings for political life when new discourses and new identities are formed. Later questions related to identity formation attracted the attention of constructivists. With the rise of the constructivist paradigm in IR, the study of memory politics and especially the relationship between memory and foreign policy attracted more scholars. These scholars became interested in the creation of official historical narratives, state apologies, and reconciliation. Most recently, scholars working in the fast-growing field of ontological security (OS) have started to engage questions related to political memory in their analyses. These scholars are particularly interested in the ways in which states create their biographical narratives to make sense of the world to themselves and engage other states. Memory plays a major role in the creation of these narratives, and thus it is of crucial importance to those who try to understand OS. This article offers an overview of the major works on memory and world politics, most of which have been written by scholars in political science and IR. However, occasionally works from other disciplines were included if they engaged themes that are essential for understanding the role of memory in global politics. These themes include trauma and memory. Memories of war play a major role in “shaking up” political communities, producing new narratives and reshaping identities. Political transitions play a similar role. During political transitions, historical memories are instrumentalized to legitimate new political orders. Consequently, the study of memory cannot be separated from the processes of democratization and democratic consolidation. Furthermore, both democratic and non-democratic states practice intervention in memory practices, outlawing certain practices of memory and silencing others. The rise of memory laws is another theme reflected in this essay. This essay also includes works attempting to imagine “ideal” memory politics when different versions of the past are coexisting and when states adopt a critical gaze into their dark pasts.