- University of Rijeka
Department of Cultural Studies
Sveučilišna avenija 4
51000 Rijeka
Croatia
Vjeran Pavlakovic
Faculty of Philosophy Rijeka, Cultural studies, Faculty Member
- History, History And Geopolitics In The Balkans, Transitional Justice, History and Memory, International Relations, Cultural Studies, and 14 moreMemory Studies, Cultural Memory, Commemoration and Memory, Yugoslavia, Croatian History, War Crimes, Croatia, Myths, World War Two, Antifascism, Homeland War, Matija Gubec, Bleiburg, and Gotovinaedit
One of the key themes in the three decades after the wars of Yugoslav dissolution has been reconciliation between Croatia and Serbia, two former Yugoslav republics that participated in the bloody fighting between 1991–1995 after Croatia... more
One of the key themes in the three decades after the wars of Yugoslav dissolution has been reconciliation between Croatia and Serbia, two former Yugoslav republics that participated in the bloody fighting between 1991–1995 after Croatia declared independence. The recent inflation of the use of the term reconciliation requires a narrow and precise definition, which enables researchers and practitioners to adapt it to real-world cases and the available empirical evidence. In this article, the authors rely on the main features of the so-called “need-based model of socio-emotional reconciliation”, which was derived from social psychology to examine inter-group processes after violent conflict. They propose several amendments to this model to make it feasible for the analysis of inter-state relations, regarding reconciliation as a process, not a stable result of reconciliatory performances. They adopt this model to bilateral relations between Croatia and Serbia, with a focus on apologies related to the siege of Vukovar (1991) and the aftermath of Operation Storm (1995), and then discuss the model’s suitability for international relations theory.
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For years, the anniversary of Operation Storm (August 1995) was the trigger that would torpedo any efforts at improving relations between Croatia and Serbia, even after progress had been made in the months prior to the... more
For years, the anniversary of Operation Storm (August 1995) was the trigger that would torpedo any efforts at
improving relations between Croatia and Serbia, even after progress had been made in the months prior to the
commemoration/celebration. Inevitably, however, the weeks leading up to 5 August would be filled with media
speculation and political manoeuvring that always boiled over on the unbearably hot streets of Knin. Due to these
diametrically opposed official commemorations there seemed to be little hope for a reconciliatory breakthrough
in memory politics. However, the Croatian government, which included members of the largest Croatian Serb
political party in its ruling coalition, initiated the most reconciliatory commemorative policies in the summer of
2020 since the war ended twenty-five years ago. This contribution analyses the role of the Operation Storm commemoration in Croatia’s collective remembrance and its potential for long-term symbolic reparations, both within Croatia and regarding bilateral relations with neighbouring countries.
improving relations between Croatia and Serbia, even after progress had been made in the months prior to the
commemoration/celebration. Inevitably, however, the weeks leading up to 5 August would be filled with media
speculation and political manoeuvring that always boiled over on the unbearably hot streets of Knin. Due to these
diametrically opposed official commemorations there seemed to be little hope for a reconciliatory breakthrough
in memory politics. However, the Croatian government, which included members of the largest Croatian Serb
political party in its ruling coalition, initiated the most reconciliatory commemorative policies in the summer of
2020 since the war ended twenty-five years ago. This contribution analyses the role of the Operation Storm commemoration in Croatia’s collective remembrance and its potential for long-term symbolic reparations, both within Croatia and regarding bilateral relations with neighbouring countries.
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In the last decade, historical debates on the first Yugoslav state (first the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes and after 1929, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia) do not provoke the kind of polemics among Croatian historians and the broader... more
In the last decade, historical debates on the first Yugoslav state (first the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes and after 1929, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia) do not provoke the kind of polemics among Croatian historians and the broader public to the degree that more recent events, namely World War Two and the Croatian War for Independence (Domovinski rat), tend to do in both academic circles and the media.Although it seems that the interwar period in Croatia has been covered extensively by the country’s historians, in fact it is relatively neglected in comparison to other periods and remains immune to more ambitious scholarly investigations which would move beyond reaffirming the seemingly sacred conclusion that the first Yugoslavia was universally detrimental to the Croatian economy, society, culture, and politics. It is not surprising that Croatian historians continue to disagree with their Serbian colleagues over interpretations of the interwar period, but the important thing is that a dialogue is maintained and that the literature is available for scholars across borders.
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The violent dissolution of Yugoslavia in the 1990s resulted not only in far-reaching transformations of the political and economic systems, but prompted new processes of state- building, identity formation, and cultural memory... more
The violent dissolution of Yugoslavia in the 1990s resulted not only in far-reaching transformations of the political and economic systems, but prompted new processes of state- building, identity formation, and cultural memory construction. In Croatia, the post- communist transition was thus intimately linked with its War of Independence (1991-1995), profoundly affecting memory politics in the last two decades. The political elites in post-communist Croatia reasserted Croatian identity by restoring historic symbols, traditions, holidays, and suppressed collective memories in order to sever the connection with the shared Yugoslav historical and cultural narrative. Similar transformations took place in other European countries that had once been under Soviet influence. However, in Croatia, the new forms of cultural memory did not merely challenge the ideology, communism, of the former regime, but emphasized the appropriate ethno-national identity of the newly independent nation state. In addition to changing street names, erecting new national monuments, revising textbooks, and constructing a new commemorative calendar, the Croatian state sought to enforce the authoritative narratives through the country’s historical museums and memory parks. While other countries in the region have established national museums that address the communist period (for example the Terror House in Budapest, The Museum of Genocide Victims in Vilnius, or the DDR Museum in Berlin), Croatia still lacks a permanent exhibit in the Croatian History Museum to address the communist past. This article critically examines which museums in Croatia deal with the Second World War (Jasenovac Memorial Musuem), Tito’s legacy (Kumrovec, Brijuni), and sites of memory which could serve as future museums of communism (Goli otok).
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This chapter examines how the cultural memory of war, specifically the legacy of World War II, is manifested in public space, the political arena, and conceptions of Croatian statehood. . Moreover, the chapter analyzes official narratives... more
This chapter examines how the cultural memory of war, specifically the legacy of World War II, is manifested in public space, the political arena, and conceptions of Croatian statehood. . Moreover, the chapter analyzes official narratives of the recent past to highlight which institutionalized and collective memories are used in nation-building. For Croatia, this recent past includes not only the legacy of World War II, but also the legacies of the communist regime and the conflict in the 1990s, often resulting in a blurring and overlapping of narratives and meanings. Victims of war, especially victims represented exclusively through national identity, play an important role in nation- building narratives since memory entrepreneurs “endeavor to use them to symbolically connect past, present, and future generations in an image of the nation as an eternal entity.”
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This article provides an overview of some of the most prevalent topics in post-Yugoslav memory politics as well as on some of the scholars working on these issues, focusing on the commemorative practices of the Second World War and the... more
This article provides an overview of some of the most prevalent topics in post-Yugoslav memory politics as well as on some of the scholars working on these issues, focusing on the commemorative practices of the Second World War and the wars of the 1990s. Thirty years after the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia' s disintegration, the discourse of postwar memory politics continues to dominate nearly all of the successor states, even though two of them have seemingly left the past behind to join the European Union. While the wars of the 1990s created an entirely new memoryscape in the region, they also radically transformed the way in which each country commemorated the Second World War. Although the article examines in-depth the collective remembrance of sites of memory, such as Jasenovac, Bleiburg, and Knin, trends across the broader region are also addressed. The work of young scholars, as well as experienced researchers, who have introduced innovative approaches in memory studies in the former Yugoslavia, is highlighted to show how new studies focus on the cultural reproduction of dominant narratives in addition to top-down political discourse.
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Ovaj članak istražuje kako su pobunjeni Srbi u Republici Srpskoj Krajini (RSK) reinterpretirali narative Drugog svjetskog rata ne bi li opravdali svoj ustanak protiv demokratski izabrane hrvatske vlasti 1990. godine i ostvarili do-maći i... more
Ovaj članak istražuje kako su pobunjeni Srbi u Republici Srpskoj Krajini (RSK) reinterpretirali narative Drugog svjetskog rata ne bi li opravdali svoj ustanak protiv demokratski izabrane hrvatske vlasti 1990. godine i ostvarili do-maći i međunarodni legitimitet paradržavne tvorevine Republike Srpske Kraji-ne. Dok su se znanstvenici već bavili uporabom kontroverznih simbola i reha-bilitacijom kolaboratora iz Drugog svjetskog rata u Hrvatskoj kao strategijama kojima se služe nacionalističke elite, o kulturi sjećanja u Republici Srpskoj Krajini malo se pisalo. Na osnovi dokumenata zaplijenjenih nakon sloma Re-publike Srpske Krajine 1995. ovaj članak pokazuje kako nije samo vlada Fra-nje Tuđmana odbacivala partizanske narative o bratstvu i jedinstvu, već se pa-ralelan proces odigravao i u vodstvu Krajine. Konačno, odluka da šovinističku i ekstremističku interpretaciju prošlosti učini povijesnim temeljem svojih poli-tičkih ciljeva rezultirala je kriminaliziranom tvorevinom koja je završila tragič-no i po Srbe i po Hrvate koji su živjeli na teritoriju Republike Srpske Krajine. Ključne riječi: Hrvatska, Republika Srpska Krajina, politički simboli, kultura sjećanja, Drugi svjetski rat Nakon što se 1991. godine Socijalistička Federativna Republika Jugoslavija (SFRJ) nasilno raspala uslijedio je nastanak novih nacionalnih država u postjugoslavenskoj regiji. 1 Međutim, istovremeno je došlo i do dezintegracije zajedničkih povijesnih narativa, simbola i tradicija, koje je trebalo zamijeniti novim (izmišljenim) tradici-1 Ovaj članak nastao je u okviru znanstvenog projekta Strategies of Symbolic Nation-building in West Balkan States (http://www.hf.uio.no/ilos/english/research/projects/nation-w-balkan/) ko-ji financira Norveško istraživačko vijeće, broj projekta: 203356/H30, što je omogućilo prijevod s engleskog. Ranija verzija ovog članka je objavljena pod naslovom " Symbols and the culture of memory in the Republika Srpska Krajina " u Nationalities Papers, 41, 6
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Throughout 1919, Europe continued to be wracked by political instability resulting from the consequences of the Great War, the Spanish Flu pandemic, and revolutions across the continent. Despite all of these dramatic events, the fate of... more
Throughout 1919, Europe continued to be wracked by political instability resulting from the consequences of the Great War, the Spanish Flu pandemic, and revolutions across the continent. Despite all of these dramatic events, the fate of Fiume/Rijeka and the ongoing post-war negotiations in Versailles received extensive coverage not only in regional newspapers directly affected by the final territorial decisions, but also in the international press. Gabriele D’Annunzio’s occupation of Rijeka in September 1919 ensured that the attention would continue, especially as the situation remained unpredictable for the entire fifteen months the warrior-poet was in the city.
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Unlike the rest of Eastern Europe after 1989, Croatia’s and the other former Yugoslav republics’ transition from communism was accompanied by a brutal ethnic conflict and a disintegration of the common state. The collapse of communist... more
Unlike the rest of Eastern Europe after 1989, Croatia’s and the other former Yugoslav republics’ transition from communism was accompanied by a brutal ethnic conflict and a disintegration of the common state. The collapse of communist rule also meant the disappearance of the monopoly over history, resulting in the emergence of a plurality of narratives and suppressed collective memories, especially regarding World War Two and the post-war communist repression. In Croatia, this was primarily expressed by a rehabilitation of the Ustaša regime, which was politicized by the radical right and essentially tolerated by the government. In 1989 and 1990, Croatian society for the first time was able to openly talk about and commemorate the dead from the losing side of the war, previously a taboo theme in Tito’s Yugoslavia. The radical right attempted to mobilize support by associating communist victims with the new victims resulting from the war with Milošević’s Serbia and local Serbs rebelling against the Croatian state. These political forces argued for a Croatian identity based on victimization. Commemorations at sites of memory (lieux de memoire) such as Bleiburg were public rituals with specific political goals. These commemorations continue to act as a platform for nationalists, and the rituals of remembering communist victims serve as a political strategy that blurs the distant past with the more recent memories and narratives of Croatia’s War for Independence (1991–1995). This article examines the shifting meanings and instrumentalization of the Bleiburg commemoration from 1990 until 2009.
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This article provides a short overview of the Independent Democratic Party’s (SDS) position on antifascism, Serb'Croat relations, and democratic solutions to Yugoslavia’s domestic problems from 1936 to 1939. During this period the SDS... more
This article provides a short overview of the Independent Democratic Party’s (SDS)
position on antifascism, Serb'Croat relations, and democratic solutions to Yugoslavia’s
domestic problems from 1936 to 1939. During this period the SDS took a distinctly
different approach on the Spanish Civil War from their coalition partners, the Croatian
Peasant Party (HSS). While both of these parties advocated good relations between Serbs
and Croats, they responded differently to the rise of radical nationalism and fascism in
Europe and in Croatia. Although the SDS was an example of a democratic party with an
antifascist platform, the communist postwar historiography included them with other
passive “bourgeois” interwar parties, contributing to perception in Croatia that equates
antifascism exclusively with communism.
position on antifascism, Serb'Croat relations, and democratic solutions to Yugoslavia’s
domestic problems from 1936 to 1939. During this period the SDS took a distinctly
different approach on the Spanish Civil War from their coalition partners, the Croatian
Peasant Party (HSS). While both of these parties advocated good relations between Serbs
and Croats, they responded differently to the rise of radical nationalism and fascism in
Europe and in Croatia. Although the SDS was an example of a democratic party with an
antifascist platform, the communist postwar historiography included them with other
passive “bourgeois” interwar parties, contributing to perception in Croatia that equates
antifascism exclusively with communism.
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New research in the field of memory studies has shed considerable light on how the World War Two past was distorted and manipulated in order to justify the resurgence of violence after 1991 in the former Yugoslavia, including the... more
New research in the field of memory studies has shed considerable light on
how the World War Two past was distorted and manipulated in order to justify the
resurgence of violence after 1991 in the former Yugoslavia, including the
instrumentalization of commemorations, memorials, collective memories of victims, and
other aspects of the memory culture in this region. Commemorations of the wars in the
1990s threaten to create permanently conflicting narratives of the past and prevent the
post*war reconciliation which will ensure long*term stability in the region. The media,
narrow political interests, and the work of the International Criminal Tribunal for the
former Yugoslavia (ICTY) all play a role in how commemorations of Yugoslavia’s
breakup, and by extension social memory of the recent past, are perceived. This article
examines how the post*communist commemorative culture in Croatia affects Serb*Croat
relations, with a focus on the annual celebrations of the Croatian Army’s most successful
military action during the Homeland War, Operation Storm (Oluja).
how the World War Two past was distorted and manipulated in order to justify the
resurgence of violence after 1991 in the former Yugoslavia, including the
instrumentalization of commemorations, memorials, collective memories of victims, and
other aspects of the memory culture in this region. Commemorations of the wars in the
1990s threaten to create permanently conflicting narratives of the past and prevent the
post*war reconciliation which will ensure long*term stability in the region. The media,
narrow political interests, and the work of the International Criminal Tribunal for the
former Yugoslavia (ICTY) all play a role in how commemorations of Yugoslavia’s
breakup, and by extension social memory of the recent past, are perceived. This article
examines how the post*communist commemorative culture in Croatia affects Serb*Croat
relations, with a focus on the annual celebrations of the Croatian Army’s most successful
military action during the Homeland War, Operation Storm (Oluja).
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"The collapse of the communist system in Eastern Europe the late 1980s created apolitical vacuum that was filled by resurgent nationalist movements, which proved fatalfor a multiethnic country such as Yugoslavia, where the desire for... more
"The collapse of the communist system in Eastern Europe the late 1980s created apolitical vacuum that was filled by resurgent nationalist movements, which proved fatalfor a multiethnic country such as Yugoslavia, where the desire for democratic changewas accompanied by independence efforts in the two northernmost republics, Croatiaand Slovenia. The communist fall from power “breached the dams of memory andcounter-memory, which fundamentally changed the collective identity present in theregion.” In Croatia this was most evident in the renewed debate over World War Two,specifically the vilification of the communist-led, and multiethnic, Partisan resistance andthe rehabilitation of the Ustaše as legitimate Croatian patriots. This “flirting with theUstaše” (koketiranje s ustaštvom
) not only revolted many of Croatia’s potentialinternational allies, but seriously damaged relations with the country’s Serb minority,haunted by memories of Ustaše atrocities against them in the 1940s and already under the influence of Slobodan Milošević’s propaganda apparatus in Belgrade. This article
examines the political context of Croatia in the 1990s which fostered the rehabilitation of the Ustaše as an expression of Croatian nationalism at a time of democratic transitionacross Eastern Europe. While debates over the Ustaša movement have extended intothe spheres of education, monuments and public space, graffiti, symbols,commemorations and public rituals, and even popular culture, this article focuses on therole of this extreme nationalist organization in the political life of post-communist Croatia."
) not only revolted many of Croatia’s potentialinternational allies, but seriously damaged relations with the country’s Serb minority,haunted by memories of Ustaše atrocities against them in the 1940s and already under the influence of Slobodan Milošević’s propaganda apparatus in Belgrade. This article
examines the political context of Croatia in the 1990s which fostered the rehabilitation of the Ustaše as an expression of Croatian nationalism at a time of democratic transitionacross Eastern Europe. While debates over the Ustaša movement have extended intothe spheres of education, monuments and public space, graffiti, symbols,commemorations and public rituals, and even popular culture, this article focuses on therole of this extreme nationalist organization in the political life of post-communist Croatia."
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Page 1. Vladko Macek, the Croatian Peasant Party and the Spanish Civil War VJERAN PAV LAK OV I ´C Abstract In summer 1936 Vladko Macek's priorities lay with rebuilding the Croatian Peasant Party after its six years of illegality ...
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Blowing Up Brotherhood and Unity: The Fate of World War Two Cultural Heritage in Lika Following the widespread destruction and interethnic violence of World War Two, the socialist regime in Yugoslavia initiated a massive reconstruction... more
Blowing Up Brotherhood and Unity:
The Fate of World War Two Cultural Heritage in Lika
Following the widespread destruction and interethnic violence of World War Two, the socialist regime in Yugoslavia initiated a massive reconstruction and modernization project within the framework of a social revolution. Rejecting the interwar Kingdom of Yugoslavia’s attempts at forging a single Yugoslav identity and the radical nationalist extermination agendas from 1941-1945 (particularly by the Ustaša and Četnik movements), the new political elite sought to create a federal state with increasingly autonomous republics that was nonetheless ruled by a single Party. Since the one-party system established by the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (KPJ, renamed the League of Yugoslav Communists in 1952) and its wartime leader, Josip Broz Tito, based its legitimacy on the victory of the Partisan resistance movement, memory politics after 1945 relied heavily on preserving the monopoly over the Party’s narrative of the war. One of the key elements of this narrative, quickly incorporated in all segments of society after the war, was the motto of “brotherhood and unity.” Rather than focus on the internecine bloodletting, the official version of the past emphasized the unified struggle of all of Yugoslavia’s peoples against foreign occupiers and domestic collaborators. Under the motto of brotherhood and unity, the regime allowed individual national identities to flourish in each of the country’s six republics, but used repressive means against any perceived appearance of nationalism or anti-government dissent.
This text offers an introductory overview of the construction and transformation of World War Two cultural heritage in Lika during the socialist era (1945-1991) and then the transformation – oftentimes destruction – during the Croatian War of Independence and the nation-building project of the 1990s. Rather than presenting an exhaustive list of the fate of all monuments in Lika, I have chosen to portray the memory landscape in broad brushstrokes punctuated by more detailed descriptions of several significant sites that remain contested politically.
The Fate of World War Two Cultural Heritage in Lika
Following the widespread destruction and interethnic violence of World War Two, the socialist regime in Yugoslavia initiated a massive reconstruction and modernization project within the framework of a social revolution. Rejecting the interwar Kingdom of Yugoslavia’s attempts at forging a single Yugoslav identity and the radical nationalist extermination agendas from 1941-1945 (particularly by the Ustaša and Četnik movements), the new political elite sought to create a federal state with increasingly autonomous republics that was nonetheless ruled by a single Party. Since the one-party system established by the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (KPJ, renamed the League of Yugoslav Communists in 1952) and its wartime leader, Josip Broz Tito, based its legitimacy on the victory of the Partisan resistance movement, memory politics after 1945 relied heavily on preserving the monopoly over the Party’s narrative of the war. One of the key elements of this narrative, quickly incorporated in all segments of society after the war, was the motto of “brotherhood and unity.” Rather than focus on the internecine bloodletting, the official version of the past emphasized the unified struggle of all of Yugoslavia’s peoples against foreign occupiers and domestic collaborators. Under the motto of brotherhood and unity, the regime allowed individual national identities to flourish in each of the country’s six republics, but used repressive means against any perceived appearance of nationalism or anti-government dissent.
This text offers an introductory overview of the construction and transformation of World War Two cultural heritage in Lika during the socialist era (1945-1991) and then the transformation – oftentimes destruction – during the Croatian War of Independence and the nation-building project of the 1990s. Rather than presenting an exhaustive list of the fate of all monuments in Lika, I have chosen to portray the memory landscape in broad brushstrokes punctuated by more detailed descriptions of several significant sites that remain contested politically.
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How do dominant state narratives innuence commemorative practices in local communities in diierent historical periods? We address this question by carrying out a study of World War Two commemorations in Gospić in two distinct periods of a... more
How do dominant state narratives innuence commemorative practices in local communities in diierent historical periods? We address this question by carrying out a study of World War Two commemorations in Gospić in two distinct periods of a political regime transition. e study is based on the documents from the archive of Gospić, articles from the local paper, existing scholarly publications on this area, as well as reports from state institutions and non-governmental organizations. We also photographed standing monuments and graveyards dating back to World War Two, or collected archival images and documentation of those that were removed or destroyed, in a y-kilometer radius around Gospić. We show how the narratives, symbols, and rituals that formed part of commemorations of World War Two violence changed when competing political actors attempted to establish their political legitimacy or gain political support.
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In this paper we present the results of a study on the influence of the emotional and cognitive dimensions in the mechanism of social memory transmission. The focus is on a controversial concentration camp memorial site and monument in... more
In this paper we present the results of a study on the influence of the emotional and cognitive dimensions in the mechanism of social memory transmission. The focus is on a controversial concentration camp memorial site and monument in Croatia, Jasenovac, related to the Second World War. We are in particular interested in measuring the basic individual stance, as measured by various affect appraisal dimensions, and the level of engagement to the presented narrative, expressed by the difference between non-conceptual and conceptualized representations. Based on results of the FRAMNAT research project, we compare the emotional responses to simple visual image of the memorial and then responses after viewing a variety of commemorative speeches that provide dramatically different narratives of the recent past.
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This article examines the political radicalization and polarization at the University of Zagreb during the period of the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). Although the conditions responsible for the appeal of radical politics were created by... more
This article examines the political radicalization and polarization at the University of Zagreb during the period of the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). Although the conditions responsible for the appeal of radical politics were created by the social and economic grievances felt across Croatia under the authoritarian Yugoslav regime, the conflict in Spain served to channel frustration into tangible causes and movements. It did not directly generate the violence or the political divisions at the University of Zagreb, but it did serve as a focal point for the opposing groups to articulate, and support, their ideological positions. Furthermore, the powerful ideas and concepts stirred up by the war, such as freedom, democracy, interna-tionalism, and antifascism, appealed particularly to young people who had grown up not having experienced those ideas themselves. Other students at the university, influenced by anticommunist ideas and supported by radical Croatian nationalists , engaged in fervent debates with pro-Republican students that eventually led to physical violence and the murder of a student, Krsto Ljubičić, at the university. On 14 April 1937, a group of students at the University of Zagreb, associated with right-wing organizations on campus, ambushed and murdered Krsto Ljubičić, a fourth-year law student and an active communist, as he returned to his dorm room. The killing shocked Zagreb, and prompted Vladko Maček to issue a speech condemning the influence of foreign ideas among students at Croatia's main university. The event was particularly disturbing for the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) because it was not a case of the regime violently repressing Croatian nationalists, which had been common under the royal dictatorship. Instead, Croatian students had fought among themselves. The polarization of Croatian political life had permeated Zagreb's premier institution of higher education, where ideologically antagonistic students had flocked to rival academic clubs and published their own rhetorically charged newspapers. The dynamism of both communism and fascism, two political
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This article provides an overview on some of the key issues related to the Bleiburg commemoration and more broadly the cultural memory of Partisan crimes at the end of the Second World War. Drawing upon four years of fieldwork, media... more
This article provides an overview on some of the key issues related to the Bleiburg commemoration and more broadly the cultural memory of Partisan crimes at the end of the Second World War. Drawing upon four years of fieldwork, media analysis, and recent historiographical debates, the authors take a transnational approach in examining why Bleiburg remains one of the most controversial commemorations not just in Croatia but in the region. The article focuses on historical narratives in the commemorative speeches, the role of space in shaping memory politics, symbols and monuments present at Bleiburg Field, and the broader context of how Austrian politics affects the commemoration and its public perception.
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Focusing primarily on efforts to create public spaces for civilian victims of the defeated side in Croatia, this chapter also analyzes the trends of Homeland War remembrance and the challenges of finding a commemorative culture, which... more
Focusing primarily on efforts to create public spaces for civilian victims of the defeated side in Croatia, this chapter also analyzes the trends of Homeland War remembrance and the challenges of finding a commemorative culture, which facilitates reconciliation rather than exacerbates interethnic tensions. What is the proper balance between enabling a plurality of victims to create public memorials and yet preventing the emergence of a Lost Cause movement, as was the case with the defeated Confederates after the American Civil War? Can opening public space to sites of memory that do not fit into the hegemonic narratives of the 1990s encourage empathy and recognition for all victims, or will they merely perpetuate divisions and provide spoilers of reconciliatory efforts with physical targets? Ultimately if we are to learn from the mistakes of socialist Yugoslavia in dealing with the past, the recognition of victims other than those from the victorious side is an important process of creating societies that promote tolerance, democracy, dialogue, and empathy for others in order to avoid a new cycle of violence in the region.
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In recent years and decades, authoritarian regimes and illiberal democracies have passed and enforced punitive memory laws, intending to ban certain interpretations of past events or sheltering official versions of history against... more
In recent years and decades, authoritarian regimes and illiberal democracies have passed and enforced punitive memory laws, intending to ban certain interpretations of past events or sheltering official versions of history against challenges. This comes with no surprise in countries whose governments undermine pluralism and assume the existence of a historical truth that is stable over time, invariable, and self-explanatory. But why do liberal democracies, committed to political pluralism and open debate, pass laws that penalize challenges to certain interpretations of the past and restrict freedom of speech? This article argues that liberal democracies may do so yielding to bottom–up pressure by courts and to regulate civil law disputes for which existing legislation and jurisprudence may not suffice. Based on case studies from Germany, France, Switzerland, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, Rwanda, and the former Yugoslavia, we also found punitive memory laws in liberal democracies narrower and more precise than in nonliberal states.
Research Interests: Criminal Law, Yugoslavia, Turkey, Memory Studies, Rwanda, and 5 morePoland, Russia, Ukraine, Balkans, and Liberal Democracy
This article provides an overview on some of the key issues related to the Bleiburg commemoration and more broadly the cultural memory of Partisan crimes at the end of the Second World War. Drawing upon four years of fieldwork, media... more
This article provides an overview on some of the key issues related to the Bleiburg commemoration and more broadly the cultural memory of Partisan crimes at the end of the Second World War. Drawing upon four years of fieldwork, media analysis, and recent historiographical debates, the authors take a transnational approach in examining why Bleiburg remains one of the most controversial commemorations not just in Croatia but in the region. The article focuses on historical narratives in the commemorative speeches, the role of space in shaping memory politics, symbols and monuments present at Bleiburg Field, and the broader context of how Austrian politics affects the commemoration and its public perception.
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The Jasenovac Concentration Camp prevails as one of the most potent symbols that continues to fuel ideological and ethno-national divisions in Croatia and neighboring Yugoslav successor states. We argue that mnemonic actors who distort... more
The Jasenovac Concentration Camp prevails as one of the most potent symbols that continues to fuel ideological and ethno-national divisions in Croatia and neighboring Yugoslav successor states. We argue that mnemonic actors who distort the history, memory, and representations of Jasenovac through commemorative speeches, exhibitions, and political discourse are by no means new. The misuses of the Jasenovac tragedy, vividly present during socialist Yugoslavia, continue to the present day. Drawing upon the history of mediating Jasenovac as well as recent examples of commemorative speeches and problematic exhibitions, this article highlights some of the present-day struggles surrounding this former campscape.
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This edited volume is based on the conference proceedings presented and discussed at the international conference Confronting the Past, held on 23 April 2009 at the European House in Zagreb. The study was created within the scope of the... more
This edited volume is based on the conference proceedings presented and discussed at the international conference Confronting the Past, held on 23 April 2009 at the European House in Zagreb. The study was created within the scope of the grant titled "Supporting Scientific Training of Talented Youth at the University of Pecs" (code: SROP-4.2.2/B-10/1-2010-0029).
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Against the backdrop of the 400th anniversary of forced African migration in the United States, in this edition of Wilson Center NOW we speak with Arnaud Kurze, Wilson Center Global Fellow, and Vjeran Pavlakovic, a former Wilson Center... more
Against the backdrop of the 400th anniversary of forced African migration in the United States, in this edition of Wilson Center NOW we speak with Arnaud Kurze, Wilson Center Global Fellow, and Vjeran Pavlakovic, a former Wilson Center Fellow, who reflect on U.S. memory politics and the responsibility to reckon with one of the country’s dark chapters in history. Given their expertise in memory studies and transitional justice, a field that addresses post-conflict and post-authoritarian accountability and reconciliation issues, they provide a comparative perspective by drawing parallels between different global case studies, notably the Balkans and the Middle East and North Africa regions
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An interview with the editors of the edited volume Framing the Nation and Collective Identities: Political Rituals and Cultural Memory of the Twentieth-Century Traumas in Croatia
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The bulk of the articles presented in this special issue were presented at the inter-
This chapter examines how the cultural memory of war, specifically the legacy of World War II, is manifested in public space, the political arena, and conceptions of Croatian statehood. . Moreover, the chapter analyzes official narratives... more
This chapter examines how the cultural memory of war, specifically the legacy of World War II, is manifested in public space, the political arena, and conceptions of Croatian statehood. . Moreover, the chapter analyzes official narratives of the recent past to highlight which institutionalized and collective memories are used in nation-building. For Croatia, this recent past includes not only the legacy of World War II, but also the legacies of the communist regime and the conflict in the 1990s, often resulting in a blurring and overlapping of narratives and meanings. Victims of war, especially victims represented exclusively through national identity, play an important role in nation- building narratives since memory entrepreneurs “endeavor to use them to symbolically connect past, present, and future generations in an image of the nation as an eternal entity.”
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This article provides a short overview of the Independent Democratic Party’s (SDS) position on antifascism, Serb-Croat relations, and democratic solutions to Yugoslavia’s domestic problems from 1936 to 1939. During this period the SDS... more
This article provides a short overview of the Independent Democratic Party’s (SDS) position on antifascism, Serb-Croat relations, and democratic solutions to Yugoslavia’s domestic problems from 1936 to 1939. During this period the SDS took a distinctly different approach on the Spanish Civil War from their coalition partners, the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS). While both of these parties advocated good relations between Serbs and Croats, they responded differently to the rise of radical nationalism and fascism in Europe and in Croatia. Although the SDS was an example of a democratic party with an antifascist platform, the communist postwar historiography included them with other passive “bourgeois” interwar parties, contributing to perception in Croatia that equates antifascism exclusively with communism.
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The violent dissolution of Yugoslavia in the 1990s resulted not only in far-reaching transformations of the political and economic systems, but prompted new processes of state- building, identity formation, and cultural memory... more
The violent dissolution of Yugoslavia in the 1990s resulted not only in far-reaching transformations of the political and economic systems, but prompted new processes of state- building, identity formation, and cultural memory construction. In Croatia, the post- communist transition was thus intimately linked with its War of Independence (1991-1995), profoundly affecting memory politics in the last two decades. The political elites in post-communist Croatia reasserted Croatian identity by restoring historic symbols, traditions, holidays, and suppressed collective memories in order to sever the connection with the shared Yugoslav historical and cultural narrative. Similar transformations took place in other European countries that had once been under Soviet influence. However, in Croatia, the new forms of cultural memory did not merely challenge the ideology, communism, of the former regime, but emphasized the appropriate ethno-national identity of the newly independent nation state. In addition to changing street names, erecting new national monuments, revising textbooks, and constructing a new commemorative calendar, the Croatian state sought to enforce the authoritative narratives through the country’s historical museums and memory parks. While other countries in the region have established national museums that address the communist period (for example the Terror House in Budapest, The Museum of Genocide Victims in Vilnius, or the DDR Museum in Berlin), Croatia still lacks a permanent exhibit in the Croatian History Museum to address the communist past. This article critically examines which museums in Croatia deal with the Second World War (Jasenovac Memorial Musuem), Tito’s legacy (Kumrovec, Brijuni), and sites of memory which could serve as future museums of communism (Goli otok).
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This article examines how rebel Serbs in Croatia reinterpreted narratives of World War Two to justify their uprising against the democratically elected Croatian government in 1990 and gain domestic and international legitimacy for the... more
This article examines how rebel Serbs in Croatia reinterpreted narratives of World War Two to justify their uprising against the democratically elected Croatian government in 1990 and gain domestic and international legitimacy for the Republika Srpska Krajina (RSK) parastate. While scholars have written about the strategies nationalist elites used regarding controversial symbols and the rehabilitation of World War Two collaborators in Croatia and other Yugoslav successor states, the RSK's “culture of memory” has received little attention. Based on documents captured after the RSK's defeat in 1995, this article shows that it was not only the government of Franjo Tudjman that rejected the Partisan narratives of “Brotherhood and Unity,” but a parallel process took place among the leadership in the Krajina. Ultimately the decision to base the historical foundations of the Croatian Serbs’ political goals on a chauvinist and extremist interpretation of the past resulted in a crimi...
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This article provides an overview of some of the most prevalent topics in post-Yugoslav memory politics as well as on some of the scholars working on these issues, focusing on the commemorative practices of the Second World War and the... more
This article provides an overview of some of the most prevalent topics in post-Yugoslav memory politics as well as on some of the scholars working on these issues, focusing on the commemorative practices of the Second World War and the wars of the 1990s. Thirty years after the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia’s disintegration, the discourse of post-war memory politics continues to dominate nearly all of the successor states, even though two of them have seemingly left the past behind to join the European Union. While the wars of the 1990s created an entirely new memoryscape in the region, they also radically transformed the way in which each country commemorated the Second World War. Although the article examines in-depth the collective remembrance of sites of memory, such as Jasenovac, Bleiburg, and Knin, trends across the broader region are also addressed. The work of young scholars, as well as experienced researchers, who have introduced innovative approaches in memory st...
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How do dominant state narratives influence commemorative practices in local communities in different historical periods? We address this question by carrying out a study of World War Two commemorations in Gospić in two distinct periods of... more
How do dominant state narratives influence commemorative practices in local communities in different historical periods? We address this question by carrying out a study of World War Two commemorations in Gospić in two distinct periods of a political regime transition. The study is based on the documents from the archive of Gospić, articles from the local paper, existing scholarly publications on this area, as well as reports from state institutions and non-governmental organizations. We also photographed standing monuments and graveyards dating back to World War Two, or collected archival images and documentation of those that were removed or destroyed, in a fifty-kilometer radius around Gospić. We show how the narratives, symbols, and rituals that formed part of commemorations of World War Two violence changed when competing political actors attempted to establish their political legitimacy or gain political support.
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How do dominant state narratives influence commemorative practices in local communities in different historical periods? We address this question by carrying out a study of World War Two commemorations in Gospić in two distinct periods of... more
How do dominant state narratives influence commemorative practices in local communities in different historical periods? We address this question by carrying out a study of World War Two commemorations in Gospić in two distinct periods of a political regime transition. The study is based on the documents from the archive of Gospić, articles from the local paper, existing scholarly publications on this area, as well as reports from state institutions and non-governmental organizations. We also photographed standing monuments and graveyards dating back to World War Two, or collected archival images and documentation of those that were removed or destroyed, in a fifty-kilometer radius around Gospić. We show how the narratives, symbols, and rituals that formed part of commemorations of World War Two violence changed when competing political actors attempted to establish their political legitimacy or gain political support.
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This article provides an overview of the exhibition on Yugoslav volunteers in the Spanish Civil War that was part of the Rijeka2020 - European Capital of Culture program.
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Croatia’s memoryscape underwent several waves of dramatic transformation during and after the country’s War of Independence (referred to as the Homeland War, or Domovinski rat, 1991-1995). As noted in the growing body of work analyzing... more
Croatia’s memoryscape underwent several waves of dramatic transformation during and after the country’s War of Independence (referred to as the Homeland War, or Domovinski rat, 1991-1995). As noted in the growing body of work analyzing memory politics in the Yugoslav successor states, the monumental heritage related to the Second World War was systematically targeted and partially destroyed, while hundreds of new memorials were erected by a wide array of organizations, veterans’ groups, religious communities, and state actors. This revitalized need for memorialization included not only monuments, plaques, busts, and museums dedicated to the events of the 1990s, but numerous new interpretations of the Second World War. While some memorial spaces sought to reexamine the historical narrative and recognize the victims and fallen soldiers who had been excluded from the collective memory during communist rule in a dignified manner, other monuments were blatant attempts at politicized revisionism that attempt to turn perpetrators into innocent victims. The debates over memorials reflects a broader division in Croatian society about the conflicts in the 20th century, reaching beyond simply historiographical differences and spilling into the political arena, cultural politics, education, and human and minority rights.
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Special issue of the daily Glas Slavonije (Osijek) about WW2 commemorations in Croatia
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Discussion of holidays and commemorations in Croatia related to the Homeland War
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Croatia and the Spanish Civil War
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This edited volume is based on the conference proceedings presented and discussed at the international conference Confronting the Past, held on 23 April 2009 at the European House in Zagreb. This academic conference, organized jointly by... more
This edited volume is based on the conference proceedings presented and discussed at the international conference Confronting the Past, held on 23 April 2009 at the European House in Zagreb. This academic conference, organized jointly by the Political Science Research Centre and the Scientific Forum, gathered researchers from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, the United Kingdom (Northern Ireland), Portugal, Latvia, Belarus, Macedonia, Austria, and Italy. The conference focused on the various experiences and practices of European states and societies in dealing with troubled pasts and often authoritarian legacies in the course of the 20th century.
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Iako kulturno i kolektivno sjećanje nekog društva ovisi o međudjelovanju kako materijalnih, tako i nematerijalnih čimbenika, od spomenika do školskih kurikuluma i kulturnih proizvoda, ova analiza fokusirana je na krajobraze sjećanja... more
Iako kulturno i kolektivno sjećanje nekog društva ovisi o međudjelovanju kako materijalnih, tako i nematerijalnih čimbenika, od spomenika do školskih kurikuluma i kulturnih proizvoda, ova analiza fokusirana je na krajobraze sjećanja povezane sa sukobom iz 1990-ih. Smatram da pojam krajobraz sjećanja obuhvaća fizičke pojavnosti i vizualne prikaze događaja iz prošlosti u obliku spomenika i ostalih spomen-obilježja, javni prostor,
memorijalne muzeje, arhitekturu, imena ulica, simbole i ostale materijalne tragove koji eksplicitno prizivaju neki povijesni period. Iako se to prvenstveno vezuje uz postojeća spomen-obilježja i mjesta sjećanja, krajobraz sjećanja izbrisanih i sa zemljom sravnjenih mjesta može također postojati u arhivima te u fotografijama, crtežima, filmovima i ostalim medijima. Premda se ova definicija može činiti preširokom, posebice u gradovima u kojima urbani okoliš funkcionira kao golemi palimpsest političkih, ideoloških, ekonomskih i kulturnih transformacija tijekom povijesti, koristim ovaj koncept kako bih analizirao ukupnost mjesta sjećanja na određenom teritoriju.
memorijalne muzeje, arhitekturu, imena ulica, simbole i ostale materijalne tragove koji eksplicitno prizivaju neki povijesni period. Iako se to prvenstveno vezuje uz postojeća spomen-obilježja i mjesta sjećanja, krajobraz sjećanja izbrisanih i sa zemljom sravnjenih mjesta može također postojati u arhivima te u fotografijama, crtežima, filmovima i ostalim medijima. Premda se ova definicija može činiti preširokom, posebice u gradovima u kojima urbani okoliš funkcionira kao golemi palimpsest političkih, ideoloških, ekonomskih i kulturnih transformacija tijekom povijesti, koristim ovaj koncept kako bih analizirao ukupnost mjesta sjećanja na određenom teritoriju.
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Although the cultural or collective memory of a society involves the interplay of both material and nonmaterial elements, from monuments to school curriculums and cultural products, this analysis focuses on the memoryscapes related to the... more
Although the cultural or collective memory of a society involves the interplay of both material and nonmaterial elements, from monuments to school curriculums and cultural products, this analysis focuses on the memoryscapes related to the conflict of the 1990s. I consider a memoryscape to encompass the physical manifestations and visual
representations of past events in the form of monuments and other memorials, public space, memorial museums, architecture, street names, symbols, and other material traces explicitly recalling a specific historical period. While this is primarily associated with existing objects and sites of memory, a memoryscape of erased and obliterated sites can also exist within archives and in photographs, drawings, films, and other media.
While this definition can seem overly broad, especially in cities where the urban environment has functioned as a vast palimpsest of political, ideological, economic, and cultural transformations throughout history, I use the concept to analyze the collection of sites of memory in a particular locality.
representations of past events in the form of monuments and other memorials, public space, memorial museums, architecture, street names, symbols, and other material traces explicitly recalling a specific historical period. While this is primarily associated with existing objects and sites of memory, a memoryscape of erased and obliterated sites can also exist within archives and in photographs, drawings, films, and other media.
While this definition can seem overly broad, especially in cities where the urban environment has functioned as a vast palimpsest of political, ideological, economic, and cultural transformations throughout history, I use the concept to analyze the collection of sites of memory in a particular locality.
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This book analyzes top-down and bottom-up strategies of framing the nation and collective identities through commemorative practices relating to events from the Second World War and the 1990s "Homeland War" in Croatia. With attention to... more
This book analyzes top-down and bottom-up strategies of framing the nation and collective identities through commemorative practices relating to events from the Second World War and the 1990s "Homeland War" in Croatia. With attention to media representations of commemorative events and opinion poll data, it draws on interviews and participant observation at commemorative events to focus on the speeches of political elites, together with the speeches of opposition politicians and other social actors (such as the Catholic Church, anti-fascist organizations and war veterans' and victims' organizations) who challenge official narratives. Offering innovative approaches to researching and analyzing commemorative practices in post-conflict societies, this examination of a nation's transition from a Yugoslav republic to an independent state-and now the newest member of the European Union-constitutes a unique case study for scholars of cultural memory and identity politics interested in the production and representation of national identities in official narratives.
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Osamdeset godina nakon što su pobunjeni oficiri započeli ustanak koji je njihovu zemlju uvukao u krvavi sukob, Španjolski građanski rat (1936-1939) i dalje je u žiži rasprava kako u Španiji tako i u svijetu. Ono što se isprva činilo kao... more
Osamdeset godina nakon što su pobunjeni oficiri započeli ustanak koji je njihovu zemlju uvukao u krvavi sukob, Španjolski građanski rat (1936-1939) i dalje je u žiži rasprava kako u Španiji tako i u svijetu. Ono što se isprva činilo kao lokalni sukob na evropskoj periferiji, brzo se proširilo na druge zemlje i postalo ideološki front koji je privukao pažnju svjetske javnosti. Deseci hiljada antifašista_kinja nagrnuli_e su u Španiju da brane Republiku od Francovih nacionalističkih snaga, a mnogi_e među njima pridružili_e su se sad već legendarnim Interbrigadama. Ova publikacija daje pregled učešća gotovo 2.000 Jugoslovena i Jugoslovenki, koji_e su se priključili_e herojskoj borbi naroda Španije protiv fašizma u trenutku dok je Evropa klizila prema još jednom ratu. Obrađujući neobjavljene arhivske dokumente, intervjue, memoare i suvremenu štampu, ova publikacija pripovijeda o opasnom putovanju Jugoslavena_ki do frontova Španije, vojnim i političkim sukobima u koje su se uključivali_e, iskustvo logora u Francuskoj i, naposljetku, povratak u Jugoslaviju i učešće u Narodnooslobodilačkom ratu. Dodatno, publikacija donosi i uvide u kontroverze oko učešća Tita u organiziranju jugoslovenskih dobrovoljaca_ki, pruža pregled posljednjih istraživanja na temu Španjolskog građanskog rata te razmatra pitanje zašto je ovaj rat važan i u današnjim diskusijama.
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Eighty years after rebel army officers began an uprising that plunged their country into a bloody fratricidal conflict, the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) continues to spark passionate debates both in Spain and internationally. What... more
Eighty years after rebel army officers began an uprising that plunged their country into a bloody fratricidal conflict, the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) continues to spark passionate debates both in Spain and internationally. What initially seemed to be a local conflict on Europe's periphery quickly drew in other countries and exploded into an ideological battlefield gripping the world's attention. Tens of thousands of antifascists flocked to defend the Republic against Franco's Nationalists, many of them joining the legendary International Brigades. This publication chronicles the involvement of nearly 2,000 Yugoslav volunteers who joined this heroic struggle to fight fascism in Spain as Europe increasingly slid towards total war. Drawing upon unpublished archival documents, interviews, memoirs, and contemporary newspapers, "Yugoslav Volunteers in the Spanish Civil War" recounts the dangerous journey of Yugoslav volunteers to Spanish battlefields, the military and political conflicts they faced, their experience in French internment camps, and their final return to their homeland to fight in the ranks of Tito’s Partisan forces. Additionally, this report offers insights into controversies surrounding Tito’s role in organizing the Yugoslav volunteers, provides an overview of the latest research on the Spanish Civil War, and reflects on why this conflict still resonates today.
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More than just a bloody internal conflict, the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) was an international struggle between the proponents of democracy, fascism, and communism on the eve of the Second World War. It polarized European societies,... more
More than just a bloody internal conflict, the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) was an international struggle between the proponents of democracy, fascism, and communism on the eve of the Second World War. It polarized European societies, inspired volunteers from over fifty countries to flock to the battlefields, stirred the passions of the most famous artists and writers of the time, and created potent symbols still used by new generations of political activists. This book explores how Croatian society, engrossed in the struggle for political and national rights, drew lessons from the Spanish Civil War in a European atmosphere of instability characterized by the growth of radical politics. Drawing upon unpublished archival documents, interviews, memoirs, and a wealth of contemporary newspapers, The Battle for Spain Is Ours provides an in-depth look at how the various political and social actors in Croatia reacted to the growing crisis over the war in Spain. Appealing to scholars of Spanish, Yugoslav, as well as general European history, this is the first full-length study in English that describes the role of Yugoslav volunteers in the International Brigades and challenges the romanticized communist-era historiography. Controversies such as Tito’s alleged missions in Spain, ongoing memory debates about the Spanish Civil War in the former Yugoslavia, and reflections on the parallels between the International Brigade volunteers and foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq make this a relevant and accessible analysis of an important but unjustly neglected episode of the 20th century.
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About the project The creation of national identities in the Western Balkan states is still a “work in progress”. How, and to what extent, do the citizens of these states respond to their political leaderships’ attempts to create, co-opt... more
About the project
The creation of national identities in the Western Balkan states is still a “work in progress”. How, and to what extent, do the citizens of these states respond to their political leaderships’ attempts to create, co-opt or stimulate symbolic interpretations of the past?
Objectives
The objective of this project is to determine the strategies, strength and effectiveness of symbolic nation-building in the Western Balkans.
In a first step the variations of nation-building activities was mapped in Albania and the new states in the former Yugoslavia, using existing sources of information and data.
In a second step the impact of the various nation-building strategies was measured and compared using new survey data.
The creation of national identities in the Western Balkan states is still a “work in progress”. How, and to what extent, do the citizens of these states respond to their political leaderships’ attempts to create, co-opt or stimulate symbolic interpretations of the past?
Objectives
The objective of this project is to determine the strategies, strength and effectiveness of symbolic nation-building in the Western Balkans.
In a first step the variations of nation-building activities was mapped in Albania and the new states in the former Yugoslavia, using existing sources of information and data.
In a second step the impact of the various nation-building strategies was measured and compared using new survey data.
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FRAMNAT (2014 - 2018) is a project financed by the Croatian Science Foundation (HRZZ) which includes scholars from the University of Rijeka, the University of Dubrovnik, and the University of Graz. The project’s goal is to develop... more
FRAMNAT (2014 - 2018) is a project financed by the Croatian Science Foundation (HRZZ) which includes scholars from the University of Rijeka, the University of Dubrovnik, and the University of Graz. The project’s goal is to develop innovative methodologies for cultural memory research and cognitive linguistics analysis. Team members have been analyzing both top-down and bottom-up strategies of nation framing and collective identities through the study of commemorative practices originating after the wars of the 20th in Croatia. Although the focus is based on the speeches of political elites (specifically the president, prime minister, and speaker of the parliament ), the researchers are also collecting data on the speeches of the political opposition as well as other relevant social actors (religious organisations, Anti-fascist organisations, veteran organisations etc.) which support or discredit official narratives. These discourses are analyzed on three levels: top-down political discourse (elites), media representation and transmission, and the reception of the narratives in Croatian society (bottom-up reactions).Croatia’s commemorative culture regarding the wars of the 20th century serves as a platform for politicians to operate within the nation-building narratives. Our project will analyze both top-down and bottom-up strategies of framing the nation and collective identities through commemorative practices of World War Two and the Homeland War in Croatia. Although the focus will be on the commemorative speeches of Croatia’s political elites (specifically the president and prime minister), the speeches of oppositional politicians and other social actors (Croatian Catholic Church, antifascist organizations, and veterans’ [branitelji] and victims’ organizations) which either support or challenge the official narratives will also be analyzed. These discourses will be analyzed at three levels (described in greater detail below): top-down political discourse (elites), media representation and transmission, and the reception of the narratives in Croatian society (bottom-up reactions).
Seven commemorations related to World War 2 and the Homeland War will be observed and analyzed using corpus-based linguistic analysis and frame analysis. These commemorations include: Jasenovac (mid-April), Bleiburg (mid-May), Brezovica (Antifascist Struggle Day – 22 June), Jazovka (22 June), Srb (the former Uprising Day – 27 July), Knin (Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day – 5 August), and Vukovar (Day of Memory – 18 November).
Seven commemorations related to World War 2 and the Homeland War will be observed and analyzed using corpus-based linguistic analysis and frame analysis. These commemorations include: Jasenovac (mid-April), Bleiburg (mid-May), Brezovica (Antifascist Struggle Day – 22 June), Jazovka (22 June), Srb (the former Uprising Day – 27 July), Knin (Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day – 5 August), and Vukovar (Day of Memory – 18 November).
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In the lead up to the 2020 European Capital of Culture which shall be held by Rijeka, Croatia and Galway, Ireland, a workshop is being convened to explore contact points, historical parallels and comparisons between Ireland and Southeast... more
In the lead up to the 2020 European Capital of Culture which shall be held by Rijeka, Croatia and Galway, Ireland, a workshop is being convened to explore contact points, historical parallels and comparisons between Ireland and Southeast Europe. This two day workshop envisages contributions from history, cultural studies, area studies and other (inter)disciplinary approaches that focus on links between Ireland and Southeast Europe. It takes its cue from the Rijeka 2020 bid “Port of Diversity” and the themes of water, work and migrations and seeks to offer a forum for the development of future scholarly Irish/ SEE collaborations and interventions.