Who Cares for Families? Narrative(s) of Return in Postsocialist Europe

Abstract

The introduction to the special section “Who Cares for Families? Narrative(s) of Return in Postsocialist Europe” identifies and analyzes its core concept—the narrative of return. Families of today are talked about differently, and how they are narrativized matters. The narrative that stresses that family is under threat and in need of defense or a special form of care, figuring care as restitution of natural, traditional, or family proper, is termed the narrative of return. The trope of return is strongly normative and non-descriptive, as it relies on mythical temporalities that ought to be restored in our present. The article first defines the choice of concepts—narrative, return, care, and threat. Second, it applies this conceptual frame in the transnational context, particularly within the transnational anti-gender campaigns in the populist moment. Third, it focuses on the postsocialist part of Europe, where, as the entire special section aims to demonstrate, the narrative of return gained particular currency. In Eastern Europe, these narratives are integral to larger projects of restoration of national agenda and serve as a tool of double emancipation: from the Soviet past and from the European Union present. Political actors using narrative(s) of return advocate and successfully push through fundamental changes in the political frameworks and value systems of the postsocialist countries. In sum, the article aims to demonstrate the conceptual background of a political tool.