Kathrin Bachleitner
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- April 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780192895363
- eISBN:
- 9780191916182
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780192895363.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This chapter locates the origins of collective memory in international strategy. To that end it first looks at existing sociological and political works which situate collective memory’s beginnings ...
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This chapter locates the origins of collective memory in international strategy. To that end it first looks at existing sociological and political works which situate collective memory’s beginnings in the domestic sphere. However, in the immediate aftermath of an often-traumatic event to be remembered, publics remain predominantly silent, leaving policymakers with little to gain from making politics with memory, at least at home. In the international sphere, incentive structures, on the other hand, are different. As such, this chapter moves the emerging struggle over the formation of collective memory from the domestic to the international sphere; and with it, away from its origins in a country’s public and into the hands of its foreign policy officials. The new assumptions on collective memory’s beginnings are then demonstrated in the cases of West Germany and Austria. The empirical study illustrates that the two successor states to the Third Reich started to confront their Nazi legacy first in the international, post-war environment. The question of reparation payments to the State of Israel in 1952 forms the ‘critical situation’ for qualitative analysis and demonstrates how West German and Austrian officials initially constructed collective memory as a political strategy directed at an international audience.Less
This chapter locates the origins of collective memory in international strategy. To that end it first looks at existing sociological and political works which situate collective memory’s beginnings in the domestic sphere. However, in the immediate aftermath of an often-traumatic event to be remembered, publics remain predominantly silent, leaving policymakers with little to gain from making politics with memory, at least at home. In the international sphere, incentive structures, on the other hand, are different. As such, this chapter moves the emerging struggle over the formation of collective memory from the domestic to the international sphere; and with it, away from its origins in a country’s public and into the hands of its foreign policy officials. The new assumptions on collective memory’s beginnings are then demonstrated in the cases of West Germany and Austria. The empirical study illustrates that the two successor states to the Third Reich started to confront their Nazi legacy first in the international, post-war environment. The question of reparation payments to the State of Israel in 1952 forms the ‘critical situation’ for qualitative analysis and demonstrates how West German and Austrian officials initially constructed collective memory as a political strategy directed at an international audience.
Kathrin Bachleitner
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- April 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780192895363
- eISBN:
- 9780191916182
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780192895363.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This book traces the influence of collective memory in international relations (IR). It inquires where a country’s memory first emerges and how it guides states through time in world politics. It ...
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This book traces the influence of collective memory in international relations (IR). It inquires where a country’s memory first emerges and how it guides states through time in world politics. It locates the origins of national memory in political strategies within the international environment. The study then turns to the domestic landscape, where among a country’s public, it finds memory to be the carrier of national identity over time. From there, however, the analysis reverts to the international sphere: in the medium term, collective memory begins to channel international state behaviour, whereas, in the long run, it circumvents a country’s normative horizons. In this book, collective memory is thus assumed to become manifest in world politics in four varying forms: as a country’s political strategy, as its public identity, as underwriting its international state behaviour, and finally, as a source for its national values. All four theorized manifestations of memory are tested in a comparative study of (West) Germany and Austria and the impact their diverse post-war interpretations of the Nazi legacy had on their international policies over time. With the illustrative help of the empirical cases, the book not only explores whether collective memory has an influence on political outcomes but how and why it matters for IR.Less
This book traces the influence of collective memory in international relations (IR). It inquires where a country’s memory first emerges and how it guides states through time in world politics. It locates the origins of national memory in political strategies within the international environment. The study then turns to the domestic landscape, where among a country’s public, it finds memory to be the carrier of national identity over time. From there, however, the analysis reverts to the international sphere: in the medium term, collective memory begins to channel international state behaviour, whereas, in the long run, it circumvents a country’s normative horizons. In this book, collective memory is thus assumed to become manifest in world politics in four varying forms: as a country’s political strategy, as its public identity, as underwriting its international state behaviour, and finally, as a source for its national values. All four theorized manifestations of memory are tested in a comparative study of (West) Germany and Austria and the impact their diverse post-war interpretations of the Nazi legacy had on their international policies over time. With the illustrative help of the empirical cases, the book not only explores whether collective memory has an influence on political outcomes but how and why it matters for IR.
Richard Ned Lebow and Feng Zhang
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- July 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780197521946
- eISBN:
- 9780197521984
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780197521946.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics, International Relations and Politics
Competition between America and China has intensified since 2009, creating even greater risks of conflict. Why is this so, and what can be done about it? Feng Zhang and Ned Lebow identify the ...
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Competition between America and China has intensified since 2009, creating even greater risks of conflict. Why is this so, and what can be done about it? Feng Zhang and Ned Lebow identify the mistakes China and America made in their mutual relations and explain their causes and consequences. Drawing on international relations theory and historical lessons they develop a holistic approach to conflict management and resolution based on a sophisticated staging of deterrence, reassurance, and diplomacy. Minimal deterrence combined with multiple forms of reassurance and sustained diplomatic efforts to reduce or finesse key areas of conflict offer a promising pathway for America and China to enhance their security and buttress their self-esteem.Less
Competition between America and China has intensified since 2009, creating even greater risks of conflict. Why is this so, and what can be done about it? Feng Zhang and Ned Lebow identify the mistakes China and America made in their mutual relations and explain their causes and consequences. Drawing on international relations theory and historical lessons they develop a holistic approach to conflict management and resolution based on a sophisticated staging of deterrence, reassurance, and diplomacy. Minimal deterrence combined with multiple forms of reassurance and sustained diplomatic efforts to reduce or finesse key areas of conflict offer a promising pathway for America and China to enhance their security and buttress their self-esteem.
