The Past as Resource – Memory and Emotions in the Ukraine Crisis

Negative historical images making reference to Europe’s cultural heritage of war and conflict have abounded since the onset of the European (economic) crisis in 2008. Historical memory and its emotional baggage is used increasingly by political actors to push forward specific domestic interests and to revive old schismatic relationships between European states. The recognition that the choice of a suitable historical comparison is at the heart of many crisis decision-making-processes, is probably nowadays truer than ever (Heer et al 2008; Lebow, Kansteiner & Fogu 2006). This is of course not a new development as such, the political use and abuse of collective memory and emotions is as old as nationhood and struggles of interpretation have always been part and parcel of the development of a common historical narrative. What is new though are two elements: a) the fact that those memory struggles are increasingly being uploaded to the European level and b) the impact this has on political decisions taken in the context of what is being perceived as moments of crisis. The memory of the past evidently provides an inexhaustible repertoire of framing devices for understanding and politicising current perceived crises. The proposed paper aims to analyse this development by asking the following questions: To what extent is there political usage of historical memory and emotions in the context of EU policy-making? Under which conditions does the memory of the past get mobilized and how does it acquire salience? How do interpretations of the past and the deployment of emotions influence political decision-making in the present? Using the Ukraine crisis as a case study, the paper analyses two moments in time: the invasion of Crimea in 2014 and the outbreak of war in 2022. By examining the framing devices and analogies used in political speeches, resolutions and press releases by the EP, it analyses where, how by whom and to which effect historical analogies are being taken up as tools of interpretation and as a mobilization technique. The aim is to study the cultural heritage of war and conflict as related to political mobilization of contested memory in the present.