Memory and South East Europe: Global currents of activism and contestation

Speakers:

• Ana Milošević, KU Leuven
• Jelena Đureinović, Humanitarian Law Center (Belgrade)/University of Vienna
• Jasmin Mujanović, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and co-host of Sarajevo Calling (podcast)

Memory has always been a contentious topic in South East Europe, and recent events fit in a much longer process of memory contestation. In May, there was outrage and protest in response to a Mass held in Sarajevo for the Bleiberg commemoration, while in June human rights organisations expressed concern about a Croatian Court ruling which stated that singer Marko Perković Thompson did not violate public order by chanting a controversial nationalist World War II slogan at a concert. Furthermore, memory and its contestation have global currents. While regional commentators have remarked on the continuities in discourse between regional nationalisms and the European Far-Right, there are also countless examples of transnational solidarity with counter-hegemonic movements. This roundtable will discuss contemporary memory politics, its contestation, and memory activism within the region, as well as examine its global interconnections.

Questions:

• In what ways have silence, denial and its contestation been manifest?
• How and why have particular actors shaped and influenced memory politics?
• In what ways are memories contested? And by whom?
• What global and/or transnational connections can we draw between memory politics and activism in the region?

Registration will close two hours before the event start time.