Periodic Reporting for period 1 - We-R (Illusions of eternity: the Constitution as a lieu de mémoire and the problem of collective remembrance in the WesteRn Balkans)
Reporting period: 2021-07-01 to 2023-06-30
We-R (Illusions of eternity: the Constitution as a lieu de mémoire and the problem of collective remembrance in the Western Balkans) focuses on the complex relationship between collective memory and national identity by introducing a novel perspective: a study of the Constitution as a lieu de mémoire. The main aims of the project are to better understand how and to what extent contemporary Constitutions may be used as tools for bringing the past into the present and to analyze the ways in which configurations of memory and identity through the Constitution can obstruct reconciliation and democratization processes in culturally heterogeneous societies. In addressing this topic, We-R uses as a case study the Western Balkans (including Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, and Kosovo), an innovative interdisciplinary approach that puts into dialogue comparative constitutional law, memory studies, and nationalism studies, and a multi-method approach that combines comparative analysis with empirical research. We-R is important because it aims to contribute to the democratic integration of multicultural societies after violent conflicts which remains one of the major global challenges not only as an objective but also as a strategy. In addressing this global challenge, We-R further contributes to the EU’s priorities under Horizon 2020 “Societal Challenges: Europe in a changing world – Inclusive, Innovative and reflective societies, ” and to the EU strategic orientation “Creating a more resilient, inclusive and democratic European society” under the Horizon Europe strategic plan and work programme. The overall objectives of the project are to develop a new theory of constitutional interpretation that takes into account the meaning of components of collective memory in Constitutions; establish the extent to which constitutional memory can obstruct democratization and reconciliation processes in post-conflict deeply divided societies, and elaborate a new practical strategy for dealing with the legacy of violent conflicts and non-democratic past, especially in culturally heterogenous societies by developing the “Practical Guidelines for Democratic Memory Construction” (DeMeCon) – an innovative series of guidelines of good practices and recommendations for democratic memory construction with a great potential to be practically implemented by national, supranational and international policy-makers.
In the outgoing phase of the fellowship (24 months), the work performed at the Harriman Institute, Columbia University included both training-related and research-related activities together with the dissemination and communication of available results. The training-related activities consisted of world-class interdisciplinary training in Balkan studies with the aim of reinforcing my research skills in this area, and the training in discourse analyses with the goal of acquiring new empirical research skills. This included my integration into the Balkan Study group; individualized consultations with experts in Balkan history, politics, and cultural studies, and experts in nationalism studies, memory studies, and discourse analysis; attendance of conferences, seminars, lectures, and workshops, on Central, Eastern, and Southeastern European history, politics, and culture, and historical dialogue and online events organized by The Language and Social Interaction Working Group at Columbia University’s Teaching College. The research-related activities were focused on investigating a series of topics, including the relationship between Constitutions and collective memory (in general and in the Western Balkans in particular), memory laws and quasi-memory laws (by focusing on the emergence of this type of legislation in Western and Eastern Europe and its identification in the Western Balkans); the role of Western Balkans Constitutional Courts in deciding on issues related to memorialization processes; the relationship between gender, nation, and nationalism through the lens of genocide and wartime sexual violence; collection of political discourses (written/audio texts), and YouTube videos for discourse analysis; background check of selected material; coding of data; analysis of audio-visual and textual elements. The results achieved so far include 1) the development of a new theoretical framework through which to study collective memory through Constitutions; 2) the identification of different modes of dealing with the past on the constitutional level in general and in the Western Balkans in particular; 3) the identification of negative consequences the nationalist myth-making and symbol-engineering can create through Constitutions; 4) the development of a new theory of constitutional interpretation; 5) the development of a series of recommendations on dealing with genocidal sexual violence in armed conflicts. These research results have been enclosed in scientific publications (1 published article, 2 published book chapters, and 3 papers), 1 blog post, and 1 policy memo, and have been presented to a scientific community and/or general public at international conferences, through interviews, social media and project's website, lecture at international summer school, and the online lecture series “Law and Memory."
The nexus between Constitutions, collective memory, and national identity has been rarely and only recently explored. While the French historian Pierre Nora (1984) lists the Constitution among the places of memory, South African constitutional experts have compared the Constitution to monuments and memorials (Snyman 1998, du Plessis 2000). Karin van Marle (2016) further compared the Constitution to the archive. These writings largely focus on German and South African Constitutions as instruments aimed at facilitating the unification and/or reconciliation of society. More recent attempts to study collective memory through Constitutions have focused on Central and Eastern Europe within the context of illiberal memory politics (e.g. Belavusau 2022). With respect to the existing literature, We-R introduces several novelties: 1) it proposes a systematic theoretical framework to study collective memory in Constitutions; 2) explores the main components of constitutional memory (founding myths and symbols) and shows, by using the Western Balkans as a case study, the ways in which nationalist interpretations of history can be incorporated into constitutional documents; 3) explains that Constitutions in dealing with collective memory and national identity are not necessarily reconciliatory instruments, but may also serve as tools for creating regimes of exclusions and ethnic divisions; 4) establishes the impact that nationalistic constitutional memory may have on legislation, politics, and society in the Western Balkans. The expected results until the end of the project include the integration of empirical research into the comparative law methodology and the development of DeMeCon – the first existing guidelines for democratic memory construction through Constitutions with the aim to help democratization and reconciliation through memory work and have a watchdog function against illiberal-nationalist practices in collective memory construction. It is thus expected that the final results will have a high impact on academic circles, will attain good citation rates, and will be of great interest to relevant stakeholders.