Tracy Adams, Ph.D., is a Research affiliate at the Center for Cultural Sociology, Yale University. Her Ph.D. from the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, focused on 'traveling’ collective memory and the many ways in which memory is mobilized in political rhetoric. Her research interests include the intersection of memory, conflict, and politics and how meaning is constructed through interactive processes of negotiation. Supervisors: Prof. Jeffrey Alexander Phone: 4758372470 Address: New Haven, CT, USA
In different countries across the world, various public memory initiatives attempted to memoriali... more In different countries across the world, various public memory initiatives attempted to memorialize the current COVID-19 crisis, to 'remember' the pandemic, while it is still ongoing. Such initiatives raise the compelling question of how this worldwide crisis will be remembered in the future. They also embody within them pressing issues of dynamics of archiving and memorialization practices. Accordingly, this research set out to explore how is a historical ongoing event in-the-making memorialized and archived, and what is the relationship between memory initiatives of the past and memory initiatives of the present?
This article introduces the special issue "Sites of Tension - Transformations of Holocaust Memory... more This article introduces the special issue "Sites of Tension - Transformations of Holocaust Memory in Light of Contemporary European Anxieties". The paper discusses the dynamic and evolving nature of Holocaust memory in Europe, focusing on how historical recollections are reinterpreted in light of current events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of nationalist parties. The article highlights the diverse ways in which Holocaust memory is enacted across political, educational, and social media domains, revealing the complex interplay between global and local narratives, the influence of political ideologies on Holocaust memory, and the ubiquity, as well as contentious nature, of Holocaust comparisons.
In this article, we reconceptualize how contemporary Holocaust memory functions through the metap... more In this article, we reconceptualize how contemporary Holocaust memory functions through the metaphors of common currency and ‘zombie memory.’ As currency, Holocaust memory is a medium of exchange that is perceived as a commodity produced to satisfy political wants or needs. For the most part, however, Holocaust memory lays dormant until triggered into life by specific events with particular characteristics that associate in the popular imaginary with the Holocaust–a mode of operation we call ‘zombie memory.’ We illustrate this dynamic of Holocaust memory by analyzing how the Holocaust has been referred to and discussed in light of current developments such as COVID-19,the rise of VOX in Spain, and political discourse in England about past and present mass atrocities. We demonstrate how the Holocaust is evoked in discursive occasions beyond those commemorative moments wherein it is by definition the focus of attention: how it is analogically utilized to express concerns, to push towards a specific policy goal, or to politically criticize others. As such, we underline how Holocaust memory can be converted within and between cultures, contributing to understanding and justification of domestic political actions. Situated in Holocaust studies, memory studies, and public discourse analysis, this research attests to the ongoing social process of negotiation over meaning-making.
In April 2020 Historic England (HE), UK’s statutory adviser on historic environment, called out t... more In April 2020 Historic England (HE), UK’s statutory adviser on historic environment, called out to citizens to share their lockdown experiences. Positioning the Second World War as a reference point, the call-out created a parallel in the enormity of the crisis and archiving efforts. Using the Picturing Lockdown collection as a case study, we ask: how is a historical event in-the-making memorialized and archived, and what is the relationship between past and present memory initiatives?
Combining visual and textual analysis with in-depth interviews, this research compared the HE’s official Picturing Lockdown collection, the Instagram collection via #PicturingLockdown, and the HE National Buildings Record in the Second World War. Findings demonstrate a shift in memory dynamics. First, agents of memory are no longer only political and institutional actors, but also the public at large, introducing new possibilities for publics to assume the power of collective story-telling. Second, social media presents novel ways of archiving, specifically from a representation of the past to documentation of the present. The combination of COVID-19, a worldwide crisis that transcends cultural specificities and space, set in an age of social media, wherein any individual can contribute to archiving practices, shapes and creates new ways of memorialization.
Dé-commémoration Quand le monde déboulonne des statues et renomme des rues, 2023
Le tout dernier mouvement mondial de dé-commémoration, qu’il prenne la forme de destructions, dém... more Le tout dernier mouvement mondial de dé-commémoration, qu’il prenne la forme de destructions, démolitions ou démantèlements d’icônes jusque-là acceptées, semble avoir épargné Israël. On n’y renverse pas les statues, pas plus qu’on ne démolit ou détruit les monuments. La mémoire collective et les pratiques commémoratives étant des caractéristiques premières de la culture israélienne, cette absence de renégociation des legs du passé par la destruction de l’héritage culturel requiert notre attention, de même que les rares réécritures matérielles du passé qui y existent méritent d’être explorées. La dé-commémoration intervient en Israël dans trois paysages mnémoniques, typiquement sous forme de tags et de graffitis : lieux d’inhumation, espaces où sont commémorés des personnalités et des événements en lien avec l’armée et espaces physiques qui représentent la mémoire de l’Holocauste. En Israël, les pratiques de dé-commémoration prennent donc la forme d’une profanation. Alors qu’ailleurs dans le monde, elles critiquent le passé et donnent corps à des énoncés politiques sur le présent, là, elles sont avant tout instrumentales. Le passé est ciblé afin de protester contre l’ordre politique actuel.
This research focuses on the proposed UK National Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre as a vib... more This research focuses on the proposed UK National Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre as a vibrant site of discursive contestation, investigating the heated public and political debate on this memory initiative that took place between 2019 and 2022 through a twofold analysis of elite intention and public reception. Findings demonstrate that Holocaust memory in the UK is infused with ambivalence and contradictory understandings of what the meanings of the past hold for the present. Bursting from the sphere-specific boundaries of memory, however, the debate soon turns into a social problem, one that illuminates broader societal issues that the contemporary British collective struggles with. Insofar as British Holocaust memory, in cultural terms, is bound within a sacralizing discourse, identified and characterized as linked to values such as freedom, democracy and equality, the proposed memory initiative breaks open a Pandora’s box that illuminates and underlines polluting qualities such as ambivalence, intolerance and inequality. The critical discussion currently going on in the UK around the memory initiative is so much more than merely a problem of commemoration or location; rather, it embodies the broader identity crisis that affects many in the British public nowadays. Contributing to memory studies and cultural sociology, this research demonstrates how a collective’s narrative of self is constantly negotiated, mediated through public discourse in ways that could potentially pave the way to civil repair.
Reminiscing during foreign state visits serves as a discursive means for building interstate rela... more Reminiscing during foreign state visits serves as a discursive means for building interstate relationships. When political leaders strategically narrate their states’ historical legacies, they construct a collective memory that serves as a resource for creating and sustaining amicable relations between states. Studying evocations of past events in 455 speeches delivered during foreign state visits between 2010 and 2020, we demonstrate the prevalence and significance of the practice of reminiscing in interstate politics. We suggest bonding narratives as a device through which a connection is generated between two collectives to create and sustain positive relations. Despite the unique nature of bonding narratives, the constructed collective memory mostly relies on shared memories of wars, once again underlining the link between nations and violence.
Reminiscing during foreign state visits serves as a discursive means for building int... more Reminiscing during foreign state visits serves as a discursive means for building interstate relationships. When political leaders strategically narrate their states’ historical legacies, they construct a collective memory that serves as a resource for creating and sustaining amicable relations between states. Studying evocations of past events in 455 speeches delivered during foreign state visits between 2010 and 2020, we demonstrate the prevalence and significance of the practice of reminiscing in interstate politics. We suggest bonding narratives as a device through which a connection is generated between two collectives to create and sustain positive relations. Despite the unique nature of bonding narratives, the constructed collective memory mostly relies on shared memories of wars, once again underlining the link between nations and violence.
This research develops a new framework through which to understand vernacular de-commemoration, a... more This research develops a new framework through which to understand vernacular de-commemoration, as one aspect of bottom-up reckoning with the past through material commemoration. The productivity of breaking with the past distances us away from monumentality and toward action. Vernacular de-commemoration is part of a broad bottom-up process that goes beyond the mere withdrawal of uncomfortable reminders of the past from the public space, or even the recontextualization of public markers. Analyzing and comparing two case studies in the United States, and the United Kingdom, this research examines how vernacular de-commemoration is performed. In some instances, following the destruction of the now-contested memory site, new and alternative sites are installed (i.e. “re-memorialization”); other times, there may be a considerable delay, and sometimes nothing new is installed. Seen in this way, re-memorialization is always preceded by de-commemoration, and, in turn, de-commemoration is not always the final word in the constant negotiation about the meaning of the past in the present.
Political leaders construct meanings for current events in support of their existing policy goals... more Political leaders construct meanings for current events in support of their existing policy goals, but the constructed meanings do not change when policy goals change. Consequently, the established narrative of the past becomes part of the policymaking terrain, justifying existing policies and creating criteria for policy success. It must be navigated by leaders seeking to reach their policy objectives. References made by U.S. and Israeli political leaders to the event known as “9/11” from 2002 through 2019 reveal how they renegotiated its meaning as their policy goals evolved. Policy goals at the time of the event shaped the meanings made of the event. As policy goals changed, existing meanings could not be discarded or reshaped at will, nor could 9/11 simply be forgotten. Instead, leaders navigated and amended the inescapable public memory of 9/11 to support varying policy goals over a 20-year time span. For Israel, 9/11 made a chronic problem an international cause célèbre, offering potential to generate international response to a commonly marginalized threat, a narrative prime ministers sought to adapt as their policy goals changed. In the U.S. the George W. Bush Administration’s narrative of 9/11 promoted and sustained the administration’s policies and goals, making it difficult for Barack Obama’s administration to change course unless it could tell a different story. Both cases demonstrate that arguments made for or against policies are contingent upon how the past is narrated. Collective remembrance can affect the contours of public policy, for the remembered past constitutes the terrain of policymaking.
Haifa: The Weiss-Livnat International Center for Holocaust Research and Education., 2023
Holocaust memory in Europe is shifting and diversifying, often in conflicting ways. This report i... more Holocaust memory in Europe is shifting and diversifying, often in conflicting ways. This report is the culmination of a comparative and multidisciplinary study aimed at exploring these contemporary shifts in Holocaust memory in five European countries that played very different roles during the Holocaust, and whose post-WWII histories differed too: Poland, Hungary, Germany, England and Spain. The study took place from 2019-2022 and offers a snapshot of Holocaust memory at the start of the 21st century. In addition to the rise of far-right political parties, antisemitic incidents and crises around immigration and refugees, this period was also overshadowed by the Covid pandemic and its ensuing economic instability. Our central guiding question was: How do experiences of the present relate to the memory of the Holocaust? Do they supersede it, leading to the gradual fading from memory of the mass-murder that shook the twentieth century? Do they reshape it, shedding new light on its lessons? Is the meaning assigned to present-day events shaped by its metaphors and symbols, or perhaps the present and the past engage in multidirectional dialogue over diverse memory platforms? To explore this question and other questions about the extent to which Holocaust memory is present in European public discourses, the circumstances in which it surfaces, and the differences in its expressions in the countries we examined, we focused on three complementary domains that serve as memory sites: the public-political, Holocaust education and social media. We used a between/within analysis matrix of the countries and the domains, to understand how Holocaust memory is expressed in these countries. We found that while the memory of the Holocaust remains alive, in some places it is struggling for relevance. A common memory practice that surfaced across domains was “relationing the Holocaust,” a variant of multidirectional memory. We also found that a distinguishing aspect of Holocaust memory relates to the political left-right identification of subgroups within countries. There were also interactions between domains and countries, for example, in the countries we explored in Western Europe, teachers’ attitudes about the Holocaust corresponded to those of their political establishment, but this was not the case in Central and Eastern Europe. This report is intended for Holocaust and memory scholars, educators, commemorators, policymakers, journalists and anyone interested in deciphering the complex intersections of past and present. The report culminates with a series of recommendations for various policymakers, NGOs, educational organizations and social media moderators.
This essay employs societalization theory to explain the disturbing renewal of publicly antisemit... more This essay employs societalization theory to explain the disturbing renewal of publicly antisemitic beliefs and actions in contemporary Western societies. These new explosions of anti-Jewish hatred are caused, not by increases in antisemitic feelings, but by the weakening of prohibitions against their public expression. Since Western civil spheres introduced such prohibitions in the early nineteenth century, there have been waves of societalization stigmatizing antisemitism and continuous backlash movements against them. The German backlash culminated with the Holocaust and triggered a powerful societalizing movement that allowed massive Jewish incorporation into Western societies. This post-Holocaust societalizing movement, however, was highly variable, both temporally and spatially, and in recent decades the deleterious effects of such incompleteness have been exacerbated by declining Holocaust memory, new symbolizations of Israel, and shifts in progressive ideologies. Utopian hopes for “never again” have been dashed. Yet, even as antisemitic narratives are once again providing cultural fodder for backlash movements, another wave of societalizing protest is gathering force inside Western civil spheres.
British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 2023
The concept of collective memory receives increasing attention in international relations. This b... more The concept of collective memory receives increasing attention in international relations. This burgeoning scholarship, however, mainly centres on its role as a strategic tool in foreign policy, binding it to national context. This research uses collective memory as an analytical framework to gauge identification processes at the international level. Specifically, we examine how states self-present themselves with various collective We’s and against multiple others. Contingent upon exclusive biographical narratives, we show how states transform and present collective memories in ways that resonate with their particular identity combination. Using inductive comparative analysis of speeches delivered by heads of state of Germany, the United States, and Israel during United Nations General Assembly sessions (1991–2017), analysis demonstrates how states evoke the past to narrate who they are, as states. Expanding understanding regarding how historical events are utilised in foreign policy, findings illustrate the dynamic juggling process states perform with various elements of self.
This essay employs societalization theory to explain the disturbing renewal of publicly antisemit... more This essay employs societalization theory to explain the disturbing renewal of publicly antisemitic beliefs and actions in contemporary Western societies. These new explosions of anti-Jewish hatred are caused, not by increases in antisemitic feelings, but by the weakening of prohibitions against their public expression. Since Western civil spheres introduced such prohibitions in the early nineteenth century, there have been waves of societalization stigmatizing antisemitism and continuous backlash movements against them. The German backlash culminated with the Holocaust and triggered a powerful societalizing movement that allowed massive Jewish incorporation into Western societies. This post-Holocaust societalizing movement, however, was highly variable, both temporally and spatially, and in recent decades the deleterious effects of such incompleteness have been exacerbated by declining Holocaust memory, new symbolizations of Israel, and shifts in progressive ideologies. Utopian hopes for “never again” have been dashed. Yet, even as antisemitic narratives are once again providing cultural fodder for backlash movements, another wave of societalizing protest is gathering force inside Western civil spheres.
In recent years, political scientists increasingly have used data-science tools to research polit... more In recent years, political scientists increasingly have used data-science tools to research political processes, positions, and behaviors. Because both domestic and international politics are grounded in oral and written texts, computerized text analysis (CTA)—typically based on natural-language processing—has become one of the most notable applications of data-science tools in political research. This article explores the promises and perils of using CTA methods in political research and, specifically, the study of international relations. We highlight fundamental analytical and methodological gaps that hinder application and review processes. Whereas we acknowledge the significant contribution of CTA to political research, we identify a dual “engagement deficit” that may distance those without prior background in data science: (1) the tendency to prioritize methodological innovation over analytical and theoretical insights; and (2) the scholarly and political costs of requiring hi...
Recognizing that the past does not necessarily pass of its own accord but rather is made to pass ... more Recognizing that the past does not necessarily pass of its own accord but rather is made to pass is crucial for understanding relationships between collective memory, temporality and the past. Analyzing processes of temporal negotiation reveals that changing the ending (or, in some cases creating one at all) requires re-envisioning the entire sequence of events. Thus, the ending (if there is one) depends on the beginning. British prime ministers' references to 9/11 in public addresses demonstrate this process of temporal negotiation about whether and how to create an ending. Tony Blair constructed the attacks as a legacy, thus sustaining the past as part of the present. To unwind this construction and consign 9/11 to the past, Gordon Brown and David Cameron needed to disrupt the flow of contingent incidents in which Blair had embedded 9/11. By redefining the narrative's beginning, they made it possible to bring 9/11 to an end.
Politically grappling with history is a constructive act, one that relies on context, structure, ... more Politically grappling with history is a constructive act, one that relies on context, structure, and agency, and is also directed at the forging of cultural coherence. In light of the growing transnationalization of commemoration practices, political actors not only rely on national past but also appeal to historical foreign events in political domestic speech. This research focuses on Israel as a case study for theoretical expansion of the political encounter with history and the experience of alterity. Qualitative analysis of Israeli political rhetoric since the 2000s demonstrates how Israeli prime ministers primarily rely on domestic collective memories; when used, events of others are intended to create a sense of shared experience through comparison. ‘Importation for comparison’ is thus the apparatus reflecting how Israeli prime ministers comply with current needs put forth by internal and external challenges in a globalized world. Contributing to the ongoing discussion regarding the nature of identity, this research underlines how referencing to events from abroad is one of the prominent ways in which national self is evaluated, discussed, and negotiated, thus providing a better understanding of how Israeli society imagines itself in relation to others.
In recent years, political scientists increasingly have used data-science tools to research polit... more In recent years, political scientists increasingly have used data-science tools to research political processes, positions, and behaviors. Because both domestic and international politics are grounded in oral and written texts, computerized text analysis (CTA)typically based on natural-language processing-has become one of the most notable applications of data-science tools in political research. This article explores the promises and perils of using CTA methods in political research and, specifically, the study of international relations. We highlight fundamental analytical and methodological gaps that hinder application and review processes. Whereas we acknowledge the significant contribution of CTA to political research, we identify a dual "engagement deficit" that may distance those without prior background in data science: (1) the tendency to prioritize methodological innovation over analytical and theoretical insights; and (2) the scholarly and political costs of requiring high proficiency levels and training to comprehend, assess, and use advanced research models.
In light of the incessant passage of ideas, images, cultural products, and people across cultures... more In light of the incessant passage of ideas, images, cultural products, and people across cultures and borders, this research—located in the third wave of memory studies—examines how foreign events are imported and incorporated in national political rhetoric. Examining speeches made by American presidents (1945–2020), this analysis shows that the practice of importing events is affected by time, structure, and meaning-making processes. First, imported events are affected by epochal considerations and attest to the power of the present. Second, imported events are presented during non-commemorative occasions and are evoked together with national past events. Third, whether through legitimization, confirmation, or appropriation, imported events are constructed for the sake of enhancing the American nation and affirming its greatness. Imported events, thus, provide new strategies of nationalism in globalized cultures. At the same time, imported events—by now memories—are sought after and by mere appearance pierce the heart of the nation. With this research, we contribute to core questions in collective memory, tying political, cultural, and social considerations with regard to the continuing transformation of collective memories in a constantly changing world.
In different countries across the world, various public memory initiatives attempted to memoriali... more In different countries across the world, various public memory initiatives attempted to memorialize the current COVID-19 crisis, to 'remember' the pandemic, while it is still ongoing. Such initiatives raise the compelling question of how this worldwide crisis will be remembered in the future. They also embody within them pressing issues of dynamics of archiving and memorialization practices. Accordingly, this research set out to explore how is a historical ongoing event in-the-making memorialized and archived, and what is the relationship between memory initiatives of the past and memory initiatives of the present?
This article introduces the special issue "Sites of Tension - Transformations of Holocaust Memory... more This article introduces the special issue "Sites of Tension - Transformations of Holocaust Memory in Light of Contemporary European Anxieties". The paper discusses the dynamic and evolving nature of Holocaust memory in Europe, focusing on how historical recollections are reinterpreted in light of current events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of nationalist parties. The article highlights the diverse ways in which Holocaust memory is enacted across political, educational, and social media domains, revealing the complex interplay between global and local narratives, the influence of political ideologies on Holocaust memory, and the ubiquity, as well as contentious nature, of Holocaust comparisons.
In this article, we reconceptualize how contemporary Holocaust memory functions through the metap... more In this article, we reconceptualize how contemporary Holocaust memory functions through the metaphors of common currency and ‘zombie memory.’ As currency, Holocaust memory is a medium of exchange that is perceived as a commodity produced to satisfy political wants or needs. For the most part, however, Holocaust memory lays dormant until triggered into life by specific events with particular characteristics that associate in the popular imaginary with the Holocaust–a mode of operation we call ‘zombie memory.’ We illustrate this dynamic of Holocaust memory by analyzing how the Holocaust has been referred to and discussed in light of current developments such as COVID-19,the rise of VOX in Spain, and political discourse in England about past and present mass atrocities. We demonstrate how the Holocaust is evoked in discursive occasions beyond those commemorative moments wherein it is by definition the focus of attention: how it is analogically utilized to express concerns, to push towards a specific policy goal, or to politically criticize others. As such, we underline how Holocaust memory can be converted within and between cultures, contributing to understanding and justification of domestic political actions. Situated in Holocaust studies, memory studies, and public discourse analysis, this research attests to the ongoing social process of negotiation over meaning-making.
In April 2020 Historic England (HE), UK’s statutory adviser on historic environment, called out t... more In April 2020 Historic England (HE), UK’s statutory adviser on historic environment, called out to citizens to share their lockdown experiences. Positioning the Second World War as a reference point, the call-out created a parallel in the enormity of the crisis and archiving efforts. Using the Picturing Lockdown collection as a case study, we ask: how is a historical event in-the-making memorialized and archived, and what is the relationship between past and present memory initiatives?
Combining visual and textual analysis with in-depth interviews, this research compared the HE’s official Picturing Lockdown collection, the Instagram collection via #PicturingLockdown, and the HE National Buildings Record in the Second World War. Findings demonstrate a shift in memory dynamics. First, agents of memory are no longer only political and institutional actors, but also the public at large, introducing new possibilities for publics to assume the power of collective story-telling. Second, social media presents novel ways of archiving, specifically from a representation of the past to documentation of the present. The combination of COVID-19, a worldwide crisis that transcends cultural specificities and space, set in an age of social media, wherein any individual can contribute to archiving practices, shapes and creates new ways of memorialization.
Dé-commémoration Quand le monde déboulonne des statues et renomme des rues, 2023
Le tout dernier mouvement mondial de dé-commémoration, qu’il prenne la forme de destructions, dém... more Le tout dernier mouvement mondial de dé-commémoration, qu’il prenne la forme de destructions, démolitions ou démantèlements d’icônes jusque-là acceptées, semble avoir épargné Israël. On n’y renverse pas les statues, pas plus qu’on ne démolit ou détruit les monuments. La mémoire collective et les pratiques commémoratives étant des caractéristiques premières de la culture israélienne, cette absence de renégociation des legs du passé par la destruction de l’héritage culturel requiert notre attention, de même que les rares réécritures matérielles du passé qui y existent méritent d’être explorées. La dé-commémoration intervient en Israël dans trois paysages mnémoniques, typiquement sous forme de tags et de graffitis : lieux d’inhumation, espaces où sont commémorés des personnalités et des événements en lien avec l’armée et espaces physiques qui représentent la mémoire de l’Holocauste. En Israël, les pratiques de dé-commémoration prennent donc la forme d’une profanation. Alors qu’ailleurs dans le monde, elles critiquent le passé et donnent corps à des énoncés politiques sur le présent, là, elles sont avant tout instrumentales. Le passé est ciblé afin de protester contre l’ordre politique actuel.
This research focuses on the proposed UK National Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre as a vib... more This research focuses on the proposed UK National Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre as a vibrant site of discursive contestation, investigating the heated public and political debate on this memory initiative that took place between 2019 and 2022 through a twofold analysis of elite intention and public reception. Findings demonstrate that Holocaust memory in the UK is infused with ambivalence and contradictory understandings of what the meanings of the past hold for the present. Bursting from the sphere-specific boundaries of memory, however, the debate soon turns into a social problem, one that illuminates broader societal issues that the contemporary British collective struggles with. Insofar as British Holocaust memory, in cultural terms, is bound within a sacralizing discourse, identified and characterized as linked to values such as freedom, democracy and equality, the proposed memory initiative breaks open a Pandora’s box that illuminates and underlines polluting qualities such as ambivalence, intolerance and inequality. The critical discussion currently going on in the UK around the memory initiative is so much more than merely a problem of commemoration or location; rather, it embodies the broader identity crisis that affects many in the British public nowadays. Contributing to memory studies and cultural sociology, this research demonstrates how a collective’s narrative of self is constantly negotiated, mediated through public discourse in ways that could potentially pave the way to civil repair.
Reminiscing during foreign state visits serves as a discursive means for building interstate rela... more Reminiscing during foreign state visits serves as a discursive means for building interstate relationships. When political leaders strategically narrate their states’ historical legacies, they construct a collective memory that serves as a resource for creating and sustaining amicable relations between states. Studying evocations of past events in 455 speeches delivered during foreign state visits between 2010 and 2020, we demonstrate the prevalence and significance of the practice of reminiscing in interstate politics. We suggest bonding narratives as a device through which a connection is generated between two collectives to create and sustain positive relations. Despite the unique nature of bonding narratives, the constructed collective memory mostly relies on shared memories of wars, once again underlining the link between nations and violence.
Reminiscing during foreign state visits serves as a discursive means for building int... more Reminiscing during foreign state visits serves as a discursive means for building interstate relationships. When political leaders strategically narrate their states’ historical legacies, they construct a collective memory that serves as a resource for creating and sustaining amicable relations between states. Studying evocations of past events in 455 speeches delivered during foreign state visits between 2010 and 2020, we demonstrate the prevalence and significance of the practice of reminiscing in interstate politics. We suggest bonding narratives as a device through which a connection is generated between two collectives to create and sustain positive relations. Despite the unique nature of bonding narratives, the constructed collective memory mostly relies on shared memories of wars, once again underlining the link between nations and violence.
This research develops a new framework through which to understand vernacular de-commemoration, a... more This research develops a new framework through which to understand vernacular de-commemoration, as one aspect of bottom-up reckoning with the past through material commemoration. The productivity of breaking with the past distances us away from monumentality and toward action. Vernacular de-commemoration is part of a broad bottom-up process that goes beyond the mere withdrawal of uncomfortable reminders of the past from the public space, or even the recontextualization of public markers. Analyzing and comparing two case studies in the United States, and the United Kingdom, this research examines how vernacular de-commemoration is performed. In some instances, following the destruction of the now-contested memory site, new and alternative sites are installed (i.e. “re-memorialization”); other times, there may be a considerable delay, and sometimes nothing new is installed. Seen in this way, re-memorialization is always preceded by de-commemoration, and, in turn, de-commemoration is not always the final word in the constant negotiation about the meaning of the past in the present.
Political leaders construct meanings for current events in support of their existing policy goals... more Political leaders construct meanings for current events in support of their existing policy goals, but the constructed meanings do not change when policy goals change. Consequently, the established narrative of the past becomes part of the policymaking terrain, justifying existing policies and creating criteria for policy success. It must be navigated by leaders seeking to reach their policy objectives. References made by U.S. and Israeli political leaders to the event known as “9/11” from 2002 through 2019 reveal how they renegotiated its meaning as their policy goals evolved. Policy goals at the time of the event shaped the meanings made of the event. As policy goals changed, existing meanings could not be discarded or reshaped at will, nor could 9/11 simply be forgotten. Instead, leaders navigated and amended the inescapable public memory of 9/11 to support varying policy goals over a 20-year time span. For Israel, 9/11 made a chronic problem an international cause célèbre, offering potential to generate international response to a commonly marginalized threat, a narrative prime ministers sought to adapt as their policy goals changed. In the U.S. the George W. Bush Administration’s narrative of 9/11 promoted and sustained the administration’s policies and goals, making it difficult for Barack Obama’s administration to change course unless it could tell a different story. Both cases demonstrate that arguments made for or against policies are contingent upon how the past is narrated. Collective remembrance can affect the contours of public policy, for the remembered past constitutes the terrain of policymaking.
Haifa: The Weiss-Livnat International Center for Holocaust Research and Education., 2023
Holocaust memory in Europe is shifting and diversifying, often in conflicting ways. This report i... more Holocaust memory in Europe is shifting and diversifying, often in conflicting ways. This report is the culmination of a comparative and multidisciplinary study aimed at exploring these contemporary shifts in Holocaust memory in five European countries that played very different roles during the Holocaust, and whose post-WWII histories differed too: Poland, Hungary, Germany, England and Spain. The study took place from 2019-2022 and offers a snapshot of Holocaust memory at the start of the 21st century. In addition to the rise of far-right political parties, antisemitic incidents and crises around immigration and refugees, this period was also overshadowed by the Covid pandemic and its ensuing economic instability. Our central guiding question was: How do experiences of the present relate to the memory of the Holocaust? Do they supersede it, leading to the gradual fading from memory of the mass-murder that shook the twentieth century? Do they reshape it, shedding new light on its lessons? Is the meaning assigned to present-day events shaped by its metaphors and symbols, or perhaps the present and the past engage in multidirectional dialogue over diverse memory platforms? To explore this question and other questions about the extent to which Holocaust memory is present in European public discourses, the circumstances in which it surfaces, and the differences in its expressions in the countries we examined, we focused on three complementary domains that serve as memory sites: the public-political, Holocaust education and social media. We used a between/within analysis matrix of the countries and the domains, to understand how Holocaust memory is expressed in these countries. We found that while the memory of the Holocaust remains alive, in some places it is struggling for relevance. A common memory practice that surfaced across domains was “relationing the Holocaust,” a variant of multidirectional memory. We also found that a distinguishing aspect of Holocaust memory relates to the political left-right identification of subgroups within countries. There were also interactions between domains and countries, for example, in the countries we explored in Western Europe, teachers’ attitudes about the Holocaust corresponded to those of their political establishment, but this was not the case in Central and Eastern Europe. This report is intended for Holocaust and memory scholars, educators, commemorators, policymakers, journalists and anyone interested in deciphering the complex intersections of past and present. The report culminates with a series of recommendations for various policymakers, NGOs, educational organizations and social media moderators.
This essay employs societalization theory to explain the disturbing renewal of publicly antisemit... more This essay employs societalization theory to explain the disturbing renewal of publicly antisemitic beliefs and actions in contemporary Western societies. These new explosions of anti-Jewish hatred are caused, not by increases in antisemitic feelings, but by the weakening of prohibitions against their public expression. Since Western civil spheres introduced such prohibitions in the early nineteenth century, there have been waves of societalization stigmatizing antisemitism and continuous backlash movements against them. The German backlash culminated with the Holocaust and triggered a powerful societalizing movement that allowed massive Jewish incorporation into Western societies. This post-Holocaust societalizing movement, however, was highly variable, both temporally and spatially, and in recent decades the deleterious effects of such incompleteness have been exacerbated by declining Holocaust memory, new symbolizations of Israel, and shifts in progressive ideologies. Utopian hopes for “never again” have been dashed. Yet, even as antisemitic narratives are once again providing cultural fodder for backlash movements, another wave of societalizing protest is gathering force inside Western civil spheres.
British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 2023
The concept of collective memory receives increasing attention in international relations. This b... more The concept of collective memory receives increasing attention in international relations. This burgeoning scholarship, however, mainly centres on its role as a strategic tool in foreign policy, binding it to national context. This research uses collective memory as an analytical framework to gauge identification processes at the international level. Specifically, we examine how states self-present themselves with various collective We’s and against multiple others. Contingent upon exclusive biographical narratives, we show how states transform and present collective memories in ways that resonate with their particular identity combination. Using inductive comparative analysis of speeches delivered by heads of state of Germany, the United States, and Israel during United Nations General Assembly sessions (1991–2017), analysis demonstrates how states evoke the past to narrate who they are, as states. Expanding understanding regarding how historical events are utilised in foreign policy, findings illustrate the dynamic juggling process states perform with various elements of self.
This essay employs societalization theory to explain the disturbing renewal of publicly antisemit... more This essay employs societalization theory to explain the disturbing renewal of publicly antisemitic beliefs and actions in contemporary Western societies. These new explosions of anti-Jewish hatred are caused, not by increases in antisemitic feelings, but by the weakening of prohibitions against their public expression. Since Western civil spheres introduced such prohibitions in the early nineteenth century, there have been waves of societalization stigmatizing antisemitism and continuous backlash movements against them. The German backlash culminated with the Holocaust and triggered a powerful societalizing movement that allowed massive Jewish incorporation into Western societies. This post-Holocaust societalizing movement, however, was highly variable, both temporally and spatially, and in recent decades the deleterious effects of such incompleteness have been exacerbated by declining Holocaust memory, new symbolizations of Israel, and shifts in progressive ideologies. Utopian hopes for “never again” have been dashed. Yet, even as antisemitic narratives are once again providing cultural fodder for backlash movements, another wave of societalizing protest is gathering force inside Western civil spheres.
In recent years, political scientists increasingly have used data-science tools to research polit... more In recent years, political scientists increasingly have used data-science tools to research political processes, positions, and behaviors. Because both domestic and international politics are grounded in oral and written texts, computerized text analysis (CTA)—typically based on natural-language processing—has become one of the most notable applications of data-science tools in political research. This article explores the promises and perils of using CTA methods in political research and, specifically, the study of international relations. We highlight fundamental analytical and methodological gaps that hinder application and review processes. Whereas we acknowledge the significant contribution of CTA to political research, we identify a dual “engagement deficit” that may distance those without prior background in data science: (1) the tendency to prioritize methodological innovation over analytical and theoretical insights; and (2) the scholarly and political costs of requiring hi...
Recognizing that the past does not necessarily pass of its own accord but rather is made to pass ... more Recognizing that the past does not necessarily pass of its own accord but rather is made to pass is crucial for understanding relationships between collective memory, temporality and the past. Analyzing processes of temporal negotiation reveals that changing the ending (or, in some cases creating one at all) requires re-envisioning the entire sequence of events. Thus, the ending (if there is one) depends on the beginning. British prime ministers' references to 9/11 in public addresses demonstrate this process of temporal negotiation about whether and how to create an ending. Tony Blair constructed the attacks as a legacy, thus sustaining the past as part of the present. To unwind this construction and consign 9/11 to the past, Gordon Brown and David Cameron needed to disrupt the flow of contingent incidents in which Blair had embedded 9/11. By redefining the narrative's beginning, they made it possible to bring 9/11 to an end.
Politically grappling with history is a constructive act, one that relies on context, structure, ... more Politically grappling with history is a constructive act, one that relies on context, structure, and agency, and is also directed at the forging of cultural coherence. In light of the growing transnationalization of commemoration practices, political actors not only rely on national past but also appeal to historical foreign events in political domestic speech. This research focuses on Israel as a case study for theoretical expansion of the political encounter with history and the experience of alterity. Qualitative analysis of Israeli political rhetoric since the 2000s demonstrates how Israeli prime ministers primarily rely on domestic collective memories; when used, events of others are intended to create a sense of shared experience through comparison. ‘Importation for comparison’ is thus the apparatus reflecting how Israeli prime ministers comply with current needs put forth by internal and external challenges in a globalized world. Contributing to the ongoing discussion regarding the nature of identity, this research underlines how referencing to events from abroad is one of the prominent ways in which national self is evaluated, discussed, and negotiated, thus providing a better understanding of how Israeli society imagines itself in relation to others.
In recent years, political scientists increasingly have used data-science tools to research polit... more In recent years, political scientists increasingly have used data-science tools to research political processes, positions, and behaviors. Because both domestic and international politics are grounded in oral and written texts, computerized text analysis (CTA)typically based on natural-language processing-has become one of the most notable applications of data-science tools in political research. This article explores the promises and perils of using CTA methods in political research and, specifically, the study of international relations. We highlight fundamental analytical and methodological gaps that hinder application and review processes. Whereas we acknowledge the significant contribution of CTA to political research, we identify a dual "engagement deficit" that may distance those without prior background in data science: (1) the tendency to prioritize methodological innovation over analytical and theoretical insights; and (2) the scholarly and political costs of requiring high proficiency levels and training to comprehend, assess, and use advanced research models.
In light of the incessant passage of ideas, images, cultural products, and people across cultures... more In light of the incessant passage of ideas, images, cultural products, and people across cultures and borders, this research—located in the third wave of memory studies—examines how foreign events are imported and incorporated in national political rhetoric. Examining speeches made by American presidents (1945–2020), this analysis shows that the practice of importing events is affected by time, structure, and meaning-making processes. First, imported events are affected by epochal considerations and attest to the power of the present. Second, imported events are presented during non-commemorative occasions and are evoked together with national past events. Third, whether through legitimization, confirmation, or appropriation, imported events are constructed for the sake of enhancing the American nation and affirming its greatness. Imported events, thus, provide new strategies of nationalism in globalized cultures. At the same time, imported events—by now memories—are sought after and by mere appearance pierce the heart of the nation. With this research, we contribute to core questions in collective memory, tying political, cultural, and social considerations with regard to the continuing transformation of collective memories in a constantly changing world.
Why is the past so dominant in the present? This book conceptualizes collective memory as currenc... more Why is the past so dominant in the present? This book conceptualizes collective memory as currency, a medium of exchange, a system in common use, and one that is traded between and within nations. Bringing together contemporary case studies and multidisciplinary scholarship, this volume shows how past events are used and perceived as a commodity and a substantially fungible marketable item produced to satisfy wants or needs, their supply or demand being a part of one universal market.
This book provides readers with a broader understanding of the power of the past in the present. Specific past events are incarnated into collective memories that can transform into iconic, almost mythical stories that can be employed to help make sense of the present. Through evoking, constructing and reconstructing, selectively highlighting certain aspects or perspectives of prominent past events, these collective memories become a significant resource that actors and publics turn to in times of need. As currency, these memories provide a service. As currency, they can also relatively easily travel between collectives, since it is commonly understood that the past has value in the present, and that this value is similarly utilized in various countries around the world.
Why is the past so dominant in the present? This book conceptualizes collective memory as currenc... more Why is the past so dominant in the present? This book conceptualizes collective memory as currency, a medium of exchange, a system in common use, and one that is traded between and within nations. Bringing together contemporary case studies and multidisciplinary scholarship, this volume shows how past events are used and perceived as a commodity and a substantially fungible marketable item produced to satisfy wants or needs, their supply or demand being a part of one universal market.
This book provides readers with a broader understanding of the power of the past in the present. Specific past events are incarnated into collective memories that can transform into iconic, almost mythical stories that can be employed to help make sense of the present. Through evoking, constructing and reconstructing, selectively highlighting certain aspects or perspectives of prominent past events, these collective memories become a significant resource that actors and publics turn to in times of need. As currency, these memories provide a service. As currency, they can also relatively easily travel between collectives, since it is commonly understood that the past has value in the present, and that this value is similarly utilized in various countries around the world.
In this chapter, we explore the phenomenon of de-commemoration in Israeli society, contrasting it... more In this chapter, we explore the phenomenon of de-commemoration in Israeli society, contrasting it with global trends. Unlike widespread iconoclastic movements elsewhere, Israel's de-commemoration primarily involves targeted vandalism and desecration of memorials, reflecting political protest rather than a renegotiation of history. This chapter examines three types of Israeli mnemonic landscapes—burial sites, military-related memorials, and Holocaust memorial sites—where such acts occur. It highlights how these acts, while targeting the past, mainly serve as instruments of contemporary political dissent. This unique approach to de-commemoration in Israel underscores the intricate interplay between memory, identity, and politics in a society characterized by deep historical and cultural complexities.
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Combining visual and textual analysis with in-depth interviews, this research compared the HE’s official Picturing Lockdown collection, the Instagram collection via #PicturingLockdown, and the HE National Buildings Record in the Second World War. Findings demonstrate a shift in memory dynamics. First, agents of memory are no longer only political and institutional actors, but also the public at large, introducing new possibilities for publics to assume the power of collective story-telling. Second, social media presents novel ways of archiving, specifically from a representation of the past to documentation of the present. The combination of COVID-19, a worldwide crisis that transcends cultural specificities and space, set in an age of social media, wherein any individual can contribute to archiving practices, shapes and creates new ways of memorialization.
La dé-commémoration intervient en Israël dans trois paysages mnémoniques, typiquement sous forme de tags et de graffitis : lieux d’inhumation, espaces où sont commémorés des personnalités et des événements en lien avec l’armée et espaces physiques qui représentent la mémoire de l’Holocauste. En Israël, les pratiques de dé-commémoration prennent donc la forme d’une profanation. Alors qu’ailleurs dans le monde, elles critiquent le passé et donnent corps à des énoncés politiques sur le présent, là, elles sont avant tout instrumentales. Le passé est ciblé afin de protester contre l’ordre politique actuel.
been waves of societalization stigmatizing antisemitism and continuous backlash movements against them. The German backlash culminated with the Holocaust and triggered a powerful societalizing movement that allowed massive Jewish incorporation into Western societies. This post-Holocaust societalizing movement, however, was highly variable, both temporally and spatially, and in recent decades the deleterious effects of such incompleteness have been exacerbated by declining Holocaust
memory, new symbolizations of Israel, and shifts in progressive ideologies. Utopian hopes for “never again” have been dashed. Yet, even as antisemitic narratives are once again providing cultural fodder for backlash movements, another wave of societalizing protest is gathering force inside Western civil spheres.
Combining visual and textual analysis with in-depth interviews, this research compared the HE’s official Picturing Lockdown collection, the Instagram collection via #PicturingLockdown, and the HE National Buildings Record in the Second World War. Findings demonstrate a shift in memory dynamics. First, agents of memory are no longer only political and institutional actors, but also the public at large, introducing new possibilities for publics to assume the power of collective story-telling. Second, social media presents novel ways of archiving, specifically from a representation of the past to documentation of the present. The combination of COVID-19, a worldwide crisis that transcends cultural specificities and space, set in an age of social media, wherein any individual can contribute to archiving practices, shapes and creates new ways of memorialization.
La dé-commémoration intervient en Israël dans trois paysages mnémoniques, typiquement sous forme de tags et de graffitis : lieux d’inhumation, espaces où sont commémorés des personnalités et des événements en lien avec l’armée et espaces physiques qui représentent la mémoire de l’Holocauste. En Israël, les pratiques de dé-commémoration prennent donc la forme d’une profanation. Alors qu’ailleurs dans le monde, elles critiquent le passé et donnent corps à des énoncés politiques sur le présent, là, elles sont avant tout instrumentales. Le passé est ciblé afin de protester contre l’ordre politique actuel.
been waves of societalization stigmatizing antisemitism and continuous backlash movements against them. The German backlash culminated with the Holocaust and triggered a powerful societalizing movement that allowed massive Jewish incorporation into Western societies. This post-Holocaust societalizing movement, however, was highly variable, both temporally and spatially, and in recent decades the deleterious effects of such incompleteness have been exacerbated by declining Holocaust
memory, new symbolizations of Israel, and shifts in progressive ideologies. Utopian hopes for “never again” have been dashed. Yet, even as antisemitic narratives are once again providing cultural fodder for backlash movements, another wave of societalizing protest is gathering force inside Western civil spheres.
This book provides readers with a broader understanding of the power of the past in the present. Specific past events are incarnated into collective memories that can transform into iconic, almost mythical stories that can be employed to help make sense of the present. Through evoking, constructing and reconstructing, selectively highlighting certain aspects or perspectives of prominent past events, these collective memories become a significant resource that actors and publics turn to in times of need. As currency, these memories provide a service. As currency, they can also relatively easily travel between collectives, since it is commonly understood that the past has value in the present, and that this value is similarly utilized in various countries around the world.
This book provides readers with a broader understanding of the power of the past in the present. Specific past events are incarnated into collective memories that can transform into iconic, almost mythical stories that can be employed to help make sense of the present. Through evoking, constructing and reconstructing, selectively highlighting certain aspects or perspectives of prominent past events, these collective memories become a significant resource that actors and publics turn to in times of need. As currency, these memories provide a service. As currency, they can also relatively easily travel between collectives, since it is commonly understood that the past has value in the present, and that this value is similarly utilized in various countries around the world.