Abstract
Even for a frequent reviewer of scholarly publications, it is a rare pleasure to be able to write about a book that one knows instantly will become a field-defining classic. Nikolay Koposov’s study of memory laws is such a case. Its sweeping geographic scope, impressively broad and nuanced coverage of sources and secondary literature, and pluridisciplinary analytical depth will surely make this the main reference work on European memory laws and their historical and political context for years to come. Based in part on his earlier Russian-language book on memory politics (Koposov 2011), this new study expands his perspective far beyond the Russian case, providing a beneficial distance from the fray that gave rise to the previous book. DOI: 10.25285/2078-1938-2019-11-1-186-190
Highlights
This double definition introduces a first distinction that is fundamental to Koposov’s analysis: the diachronic one between modern memory laws, properly speaking, and their legislative antecedents—most importantly Western laws banning fascist movements and symbols starting in the 1940s, as well as the first deCommunization laws in early 1990s Eastern Europe
This observation is related to the other key distinction that underlies his comparative analysis: that between historical concepts that function like proper names, referencing specific individuals, collectivities, or events, and those that are used as general names, aspiring to universal validity
Koposov reviews the many East European memory laws modeled on the Polish precedent as well as the less numerous ones inspired by the Gayssot Act or its later EU offshoots
Summary
This double definition introduces a first distinction that is fundamental to Koposov’s analysis: the diachronic one between modern memory laws, properly speaking, and their legislative antecedents—most importantly Western laws banning fascist movements and symbols starting in the 1940s, as well as the first deCommunization laws in early 1990s Eastern Europe.
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