Collective Memory in International Relations

Abstract

This book traces the influence of collective memory in international relations (IR). It inquires where a country’s memory first emerges and how it guides states through time in world politics. It locates the origins of national memory in political strategies within the international environment. The study then turns to the domestic landscape, where among a country’s public, it finds memory to be the carrier of national identity over time. From there, however, the analysis reverts to the international sphere: in the medium term, collective memory begins to channel international state behaviour, whereas, in the long run, it circumvents a country’s normative horizons. In this book, collective memory is thus assumed to become manifest in world politics in four varying forms: as a country’s political strategy, as its public identity, as underwriting its international state behaviour, and finally, as a source for its national values. All four theorized manifestations of memory are tested in a comparative study of (West) Germany and Austria and the impact their diverse post-war interpretations of the Nazi legacy had on their international policies over time. With the illustrative help of the empirical cases, the book not only explores whether collective memory has an influence on political outcomes but how and why it matters for IR.

The Memory of Asian-African Conference as a Public Diplomacy

“…Bachleitner (2021) after memory turns into part of a country's identity, it starts to affect the country's attitude toward the outside world, including the country's foreign policy. Therefore utilizing this memory will provide enormous benefits for Indonesia (Bachleitner, 2021). This memory was presented in the form of photographs, dioramas, original items used at that time, as well as the location where the event took place.…”

From Realpolitik to Gefühlspolitik : strategically narrating the European Union at the national level

“…One particularly efficient way to make a narrative affective is to emphasize the more emotional aspects of the shared history of a group, especially of trauma, and their implications for contemporary politics (Bachleitner, 2021;Hutchison, 2016;Kinnvall, 2004;Zehfuss, 2007). Invocations of collective memory and their affective attachments constitute the 'opportunity to influence decision-making and limit the potential critical scope for action' (Campbell, 2020, p. 127), and referring to emotional events from the past is a way to make people emotional about the present in a similar way (Ross, 2014).…”

“…Strategically narrating European integration: the case of Germany during the migration crisis Amongst the different narratives about the EU, one resonates significantly in the German context: the peace narrative. Germany's particular history has farreaching political implications as the way it is remembered has to this day a strong influence on its policymaking (Bachleitner, 2021;Zehfuss, 2007). Because 'the end of WW2 and becoming part of European integration have entailed a sudden and radical rupture with [Germany's] Nazi past' (Rumelili, 2018, p. 290), the European Union's foundational narrative resonates with Germany's collective memory as European integration has provided Germany not only with economic benefits and reconstruction in the aftermath of WWII but with the perceived possibility of reconstructing its image (see Diez Medrano, 2003).…”

Avrupa Birliği’nin Kaygı, Uyumsuzluk ve Emperyal Unutkanlığı

“…Silence can be an early response to traumatic events, as was the case with the Holocaust in Germany and Israel, but it can also grow into a more permanent feature of memory politics. 23 In this paper, I posit that collective amnesia is a distinct, previously under-theorised, form of anxiety-driven avoidance mechanism in world politics. It is very similar to the above-mentioned phenomena but still could be analytically distinguished from them.…”