In person icon Contested Memories and Transitional Justice: The Politics of Remembering and Forgetting

Abstract

The role of memory in post-conflict societies is deeply intertwined with the pursuit of recognition, accountability, justice and political stability. This panel explores how collective memory—whether institutionalized through official narratives or contested by bottom-up actors—shapes transitional justice processes and the broader political landscape. By examining cases from Nepal, Brazil, the Balkans, and Germany-Czechia, the papers in this panel analyse the impact of political elites, civil society actors, and populist rhetoric in framing, reinforcing, or erasing historical narratives. The panel will investigate how memory laws, commemorations, and education policies influence the post-conflict political order, as well as the conditions under which the absence of official memory emerges as a form of strategic silence. It addresses the role of populist leaders in reshaping public attitudes toward past authoritarianism and transitional justice, demonstrating how revisionist narratives challenge accountability efforts. Finally, it examines the role of transnational memory activism in overcoming mnemonic security dilemmas, illustrating how non-state actors can facilitate reconciliation when political authorities fail to do so. By bringing together diverse case studies and theoretical perspectives, this panel aims to deepen our understanding of the intersection between memory politics and transitional justice. It sheds light on the tensions between top-down and bottom-up memory actors, the risks of revisionism in transitional democracies, and the potential for memory activism to transform conflict narratives and foster dialogue.

Title	Details
What Explains the Absence of Official Memory in Post-Conflict States? Narrative Rivalry in Nepal, 2006–2024	View Paper Details
The Bolsonaro Effect. Attitudes Towards Transitional Justice and the Dictatorship in Brazil Before and After Bolsonaro	View Paper Details
Overcoming the Mnemonic Security Dilemma: How Transnational Activists in Czechia and Germany Disarmed the Past	View Paper Details
Constrictive Memory: A New Measuring Tool for Socio-Political Instability in Protracted Conflicts	View Paper Details