Contested Memories of Political Violence: Efforts to Achieve Transitional Justice and The Resurgence of Nationalism

Political scientists have studied how different political actors remember and interpret the same historical events in conflicting ways. In particular, different perspectives on political violence often bring about an intense struggle over memory. This struggle involves assessing the legacies of war, genocide, and state violence, identifying who the perpetrators and victims are, and determining whose version of history becomes officially recognized. While most memory struggles focus on achieving transitional justice and reconciliation, the recent revival of nationalism by far-right authoritarian leaders has reshaped, sometimes distorting, these struggles' key issues and objectives. In this context, this panel explores diverse cases presenting contested memories of political violence. Through these cases, we examine how remembrance and commemoration of historical political violence serve as tools for either transitional justice or the strengthening of statism. For instance, South Korea shows how marginalized memories have diversified narratives of political violence against the state’s monopoly of collective memory. Juyeon Bae analyzes the documentary <1980 Sabuk>, which portrays contested memories of multilayered conflicts and state violence during the Sabuk uprising under the former South Korean dictatorship. Yejin Kwon compares different narratives of the Vietnam War, displayed by the War Memorial in Yongsan, the Hwacheon Vietnam Veterans’ Meeting Place, and the Han-Viet Foundation Online Archives in South Korea. On the contrary, some states attempt to consolidate their power over society by emphasizing selective or distorted memories of political violence. Minju Lee examines the Israeli government’s attempt to politicize Yad Vashem and its Holocaust narratives and the resistance of historians and Jewish communities. Dongeun Shin investigates how South Korea has strengthened its power by discriminating between national commemorative ceremonies for the fallen soldiers of the Korean War and the victims of state violence during the Jeju Uprising. Dowon Yun explores how Russia has legitimized the invasion of Ukraine by incorporating Ukraine’s history into Russian national identity and eliminating alternative memories. Through these diverse historical cases, this panel aims to provide a deeper understanding of how collective memories of political violence are constructed, politicized, and modified across time and space.