Kirjahaku

Collective memory carries the past into the present. This book traces the influence of collective memory in international relations (IR). It locates the origins of a country's memory within the international environment and inquires how memory guides states through time in world politics. Collective memory, as such, not only shapes countries and their international interactions, but the international sphere also plays an essential role in how countries approach the past. Through in-depth examinations of both domestic and international landscapes in empirical cases, the book explores four ways in which collective memory can manifest in IR: as a country's political strategy; as its public identity; as its international state behaviour; and finally, as a source for its national values. A comparative case study of (West) Germany and Austria illustrates how significantly differing interpretations of the Nazi legacy impacted their respective international policies over time. Taken together, this book investigates whether collective memory influences global outcomes and how and why it matters for IR.

Legacies of War explores how war transforms societies. It argues that such legacies originate in people's minds: in their narratives of war, their views of nation, and their visions for the future. To map these legacies, the study focuses on three populations currently living through war and conflict: Ukrainians, Syrians, and Palestinians. The three empirical sections of the book present survey data on, first, people's stories about conflict events and the parties involved; second, their feelings of national attachment to their countries; and third, their visions of a peaceful future. Together, these components constitute a war legacy: by coming to terms with war, processing collective emotions, and imagining the future, new political and social visions emerge that outline a possible horizon for peace.