Suchergebnisse

This article critically discusses the permanent celebration and `omnipresence' of the memory of the transition to democracy in Spain, or its power as a referent which makes sense of the present, helps to overcome periods of crisis, and legitimizes policies. It argues that its institution and power as well as the issue of memory and commemorations need to be rethought. Drawing on Laclau and Mouffe's discourse theory, they are reconceptualized as `re-membering' and the transition is accounted for as an `imaginary'. Its power is also illustrated by the fact that the projects which directly challenge it as the sole legitimate framework for the construction of democracy are criticized for threatening democracy itself. Two such projects are on the one hand the initiatives for the `recovery' of the memories of the Civil War and Franco's dictatorship, and on the other the claim for increased regional autonomy. They are called `second transitions'. The article claims that the heated debates over them highlight the complex intertwining of legal, political and ethical dimensions in democratic society's constitution. It then discusses the very possibility of renegotiating the terms of the democratic political association, the issue which the second transitions reopen.

Through various lenses and theoretical approaches, this book explores the contested experiences, meanings, realms, goals, and challenges associated with the construction, preservation, and transmission of the memories of state repression in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay. The book both illuminates and questions the politics of memory that have been unfolding in these countries over the past three decades

This volume sheds new light upon the role of victims in the aftermath of violence. Victims are central actors in transitional justice, the politics of memory and conflict resolution, yet the analysis of their mobilisation and political influence in these processes has been neglected. After introducing and explaining the reasons for this limited interest, the book's chapters focus on a range of settings and draw on different disciplines to offer insights into the interrelated themes of victimhood - victims, their individual and collective identities, and their role in and impact upon post-conflict societies - and the politics of victimhood - meaning how victimhood is defined, negotiated and contested, both socially and politically. Because it outlines a stimulating research agenda and challenges the view that victims are passive or apolitical, this interdisciplinary volume is a significant contribution to the literature and will be of interest to scholars from disciplines such as law, anthropology, political science, human rights, international studies, and to practitioners.