In recent years, there has been a noticeable turn towards the “local” in both the practice and academic study of transitional justice, exemplified by a belief that local transitional justice processes (LTJPs) are superior because they are rooted in cultural practices and closer to the communities and people seeking justice. However, this assumption, and the existing literature on these local initiatives, pays insufficient attention to asymmetric power relations between national and local actors and to the unseen domestic political interests that shape local transitional justice processes on the ground. By taking these factors into account, this dissertation contends that LTJPs can be used paradoxically to deflect justice in ways that allow ruling parties to avoid human rights accountability and that obscure the truth about wartime events. The dissertation further argues that the principal means by which justice is deflected is not through overt manipulation by ruling parties, but rather, through more indirect processes of “distortional framing” that ruling parties use to establish discursive limits around discussions of the past and to conceal their own human rights abuses. The cases of Cambodia and Mozambique are examined in detail to reveal and to trace the processes by which distortional framing has been employed as a tactic to deflect justice. This dissertation contributes to the study of transitional justice, not only by challenging the prevailing assumption that LTJPs are inherently preferable because they are more “authentic” or closer to the people, but by providing a novel explanation of how these processes can be manipulated to subvert their own stated goal of advancing the cause of justice, and by providing a detailed account of these distortionary processes at work in two post-conflict countries located on two different continents.

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The purpose of this research is to shed light on the formation of historical myths in Post-Soviet secondary school history classrooms from 1991 to 2010. Specifically, this thesis provides insight into how Russian high school teachers and textbook authors shaped historical interpretations of the perestroika era under the leadership of Mikhail S. Gorbachev and the dissolution of the Soviet Union. This case study of the teaching of the historical time period of 1985 to 1991 illuminates the ways in which Russians reinterpreted the final years of communist rule, as well as the dominant factors influencing those assessments, including memory and the state. The historical narratives taught in post-Soviet Russian classrooms, serve as an indicator of the evolution of democratic processes, national identity and historical consciousness in Russia.<p> In addition to a survey of secondary source literature, my methodology includes the evaluation of interviews and surveys I conducted in 2009 and 2010 from over thirty secondary school history teachers in six Russian localities (in the Novosibirsk region, Moscow and St. Petersburg). I also assess the chapter contents of 15 widely-used high school history textbooks from the period of 1988 to 2009.<p> In the newly democratic Russian state, the government (including the Ministry of Education) played a central role in the reform agenda of schools. During these formative decades, the process took a revolutionary pattern, with a radical, more liberal, stage of reform occurring in the early 1990s and a more conservative, traditional retreat taking place from the mid-1990s onwards. In response to societys widespread discontent over the changes which took place in Russian schools in the 1990s, President Vladimir V. Putin took a more active role in education reform than his predecessor, Boris N. Yeltsin, especially in the realm of history education. Putins more centralized approach resulted in stricter controls on curriculum and textbook publication. Accordingly, history education was employed as a tool of the state to shape patriotic citizens through the restricting of various historical interpretations.<p> Gorbachev as leader, perestroika and the end of the Soviet Union are controversial historical topics in Russia due to the social and economic upheaval that took place during and after these years. Textbook analysis of this period often reflected dominant political discourses in Russia. In the 1990s the interpretations were quite varied as Russians were unsure of how to assess such recent history. In the 2000s the textbook interpretations became more streamlined, and Gorbachev became a scapegoat for many subsequent state problems. In contrast, history teachers opinions about the Gorbachev era did not appear to change as markedly. Many factors weigh in on an individuals interpretation of this historical period, but memory plays an especially prominent role in the teaching of the topic. Nevertheless, history teachers and textbook authors, reflecting Russian society at large, used historical myths in the teaching of the Gorbachev era, and this thesis documents these myths and sheds light on which were most prevalent and which lost favour.

The purpose of this research is to shed light on the formation of historical myths in Post-Soviet secondary school history classrooms from 1991 to 2010. Specifically, this thesis provides insight into how Russian high school teachers and textbook authors shaped historical interpretations of the perestroika era under the leadership of Mikhail S. Gorbachev and the dissolution of the Soviet Union. This case study of the teaching of the historical time period of 1985 to 1991 illuminates the ways in which Russians reinterpreted the final years of communist rule, as well as the dominant factors influencing those assessments, including memory and the state. The historical narratives taught in post-Soviet Russian classrooms, serve as an indicator of the evolution of democratic processes, national identity and historical consciousness in Russia.<p> In addition to a survey of secondary source literature, my methodology includes the evaluation of interviews and surveys I conducted in 2009 and 2010 from over thirty secondary school history teachers in six Russian localities (in the Novosibirsk region, Moscow and St. Petersburg). I also assess the chapter contents of 15 widely-used high school history textbooks from the period of 1988 to 2009.<p> In the newly democratic Russian state, the government (including the Ministry of Education) played a central role in the reform agenda of schools. During these formative decades, the process took a revolutionary pattern, with a radical, more liberal, stage of reform occurring in the early 1990s and a more conservative, traditional retreat taking place from the mid-1990s onwards. In response to societys widespread discontent over the changes which took place in Russian schools in the 1990s, President Vladimir V. Putin took a more active role in education reform than his predecessor, Boris N. Yeltsin, especially in the realm of history education. Putins more centralized approach resulted in stricter controls on curriculum and textbook publication. Accordingly, history education was employed as a tool of the state to shape patriotic citizens through the restricting of various historical interpretations.<p> Gorbachev as leader, perestroika and the end of the Soviet Union are controversial historical topics in Russia due to the social and economic upheaval that took place during and after these years. Textbook analysis of this period often reflected dominant political discourses in Russia. In the 1990s the interpretations were quite varied as Russians were unsure of how to assess such recent history. In the 2000s the textbook interpretations became more streamlined, and Gorbachev became a scapegoat for many subsequent state problems. In contrast, history teachers opinions about the Gorbachev era did not appear to change as markedly. Many factors weigh in on an individuals interpretation of this historical period, but memory plays an especially prominent role in the teaching of the topic. Nevertheless, history teachers and textbook authors, reflecting Russian society at large, used historical myths in the teaching of the Gorbachev era, and this thesis documents these myths and sheds light on which were most prevalent and which lost favour.

Jakob Marcks Master's Thesis Budapest versus Brussels: Viktor Orbán's Politics of Memory Against the European Union Abstract Since Viktor Orbán came to power in 2010, disputes between Hungary and the European Union have increased. Among the contested issues are legislative changes, Hungary's new constitution as well as the so-called refugee crisis. While the European Commission criticizes violations of EU law and EU principles, Orbán accuses "Brussels" of illegitimate interferences with domestic affairs. In this context Orbán frequently uses historicizing arguments, which means that he invokes Hungarian history in order to explain present-day politics. Orbán paints a picture of brave Hungarians who repeatedly fought for freedom in the past, and who repeatedly became the victims of foreign Empires. Today, he claims, Hungarians are in a similar situation again, yet this time they have to defend their freedom against the European Union. While doing so, Orbán often blurs the line between past and present and creates a strict antagonism of "us against them". Historically, "us against them" refers to freedom fighters against communists. Today, "us" refers to a Christian Hungary that values work, family and national sovereignty, and "them" refers to a global liberal elite, represented by the European Union and...

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O objetivo desta pesquisa é analisar o sentido dos lugares de memória relacionados à repressão e à resistência à ditadura militar em São Paulo e das mobilizações pela sua identificação, preservação e/ou memorialização em um contexto marcado por intensas transformações do espaço e, ao mesmo tempo, políticas públicas deficientes de preservação e afirmação das memórias relacionadas às violações ocorridas no período. Articulamos a noção de Pierre Nora às contribuições da categoria geográfica de lugar para entendê-los como pontos que condensam contraditoriamente tanto as memórias das violações e da repressão, quanto as ligadas à luta e resistência à ditadura, configurando-se como marcos de referência deste passado recente hoje em risco na metrópole. Diante disso, mapeamos os lugares inventariados pelo Memorial da Resistência de São Paulo na região metropolitana e analisamos intervenções e experiências que, mesmo pontuais, contrariam estes processos de apagamento por meio de iniciativas de memorialização nestes lugares. As homenagens anuais ao operário Santo Dias da Silva no local onde ele foi assassinado, por sua vez, permitiram aprofundar o debate sobre o problema de investigação tratando as experiências atreladas à sua memória como elos para pensar as iniciativas de memorialização tanto a partir da teoria da produção do espaço como de lugar e lugar de memória. / The aim of this research is to analyze the purpose of memory places related to repression and resistance to military dictatorship in São Paulo and the mobilizations to identify, preserve, and/or memorialize in a context marked by intense space transformations and at the same time, deficient public preservation and affirmation politics about memory related to violations happened at that time. We articulated Pierre Nora´s concept with contributions of the geographic category of place to understand this points that contradictorily condense, not only the memory of violations and repression, but also the ones related to resistance to dictatorship, being formed as reference frames of this recent past, at risk in the metropolis. We mapped the places listed by Memorial da Resistência de São Paulo in the metropolitan area of this city and analyzed the interventions and experiences that oppose to this abolition process through memorialization initiatives at this places. The each year´s tributes to the worker Santo Dias da Silva in the place where he was assassinated allows us to go deeper in the debate about the topic researched, treating the experiences harnessed to his memory as links to think about memorialization initiatives from production of urban space theory and also as place, and memory place.

O objetivo desta pesquisa é analisar o sentido dos lugares de memória relacionados à repressão e à resistência à ditadura militar em São Paulo e das mobilizações pela sua identificação, preservação e/ou memorialização em um contexto marcado por intensas transformações do espaço e, ao mesmo tempo, políticas públicas deficientes de preservação e afirmação das memórias relacionadas às violações ocorridas no período. Articulamos a noção de Pierre Nora às contribuições da categoria geográfica de lugar para entendê-los como pontos que condensam contraditoriamente tanto as memórias das violações e da repressão, quanto as ligadas à luta e resistência à ditadura, configurando-se como marcos de referência deste passado recente hoje em risco na metrópole. Diante disso, mapeamos os lugares inventariados pelo Memorial da Resistência de São Paulo na região metropolitana e analisamos intervenções e experiências que, mesmo pontuais, contrariam estes processos de apagamento por meio de iniciativas de memorialização nestes lugares. As homenagens anuais ao operário Santo Dias da Silva no local onde ele foi assassinado, por sua vez, permitiram aprofundar o debate sobre o problema de investigação tratando as experiências atreladas à sua memória como elos para pensar as iniciativas de memorialização tanto a partir da teoria da produção do espaço como de lugar e lugar de memória. / The aim of this research is to analyze the purpose of memory places related to repression and resistance to military dictatorship in São Paulo and the mobilizations to identify, preserve, and/or memorialize in a context marked by intense space transformations and at the same time, deficient public preservation and affirmation politics about memory related to violations happened at that time. We articulated Pierre Nora´s concept with contributions of the geographic category of place to understand this points that contradictorily condense, not only the memory of violations and repression, but also the ones related to resistance to dictatorship, being formed as reference frames of this recent past, at risk in the metropolis. We mapped the places listed by Memorial da Resistência de São Paulo in the metropolitan area of this city and analyzed the interventions and experiences that oppose to this abolition process through memorialization initiatives at this places. The each year´s tributes to the worker Santo Dias da Silva in the place where he was assassinated allows us to go deeper in the debate about the topic researched, treating the experiences harnessed to his memory as links to think about memorialization initiatives from production of urban space theory and also as place, and memory place.

This master's thesis examines the shaping of the collective Yugoslavian identity after World War II, utilizing the construction of post-war socialist monuments. The thesis outlines the relationship between monuments and memory politics of the state, focusing on the critical period of modernist memorial construction in the 1960s and 70s. At that time, the monuments were part of an ideological program that sought to create an official interpretation of war events to gain control over society. The thesis includes the historical context, which describes the development in the construction of monuments from the end of World War II to the disintegration of Yugoslavia. It examines the extent to which the monuments were linked to tourism, leisure, and spirituality, as well as the role of the veteran organization S(U)BNOR. Part of the research is devoted to places that did not resonate with the official narrative. All of the above is then demonstrated on specific examples in Serbia: Kragujevac, Niš, Kruševac, Kosmaj and Kadinjača.

This thesis deals with the issue of memory and remembering in the post-communist area. In particular, it examines the form, extent and success of the Holocaust reflection and coping with the past on the example of the speeches of Czech and Polish presidents from 1993 (Václav Havel), or 1995 (Aleksander Kwaśniewski) until the access to the European Union in 2004. Author of the thesis assumes that the fall of Communism and the restoration of the democratic establishment represented a significant impetus for the countries in question to deal with their past. At the same time, they try to prove that the Holocaust memory politics of key political representatives of the Czech Republic and Poland has been one of the important factors in the creation of their post-communist democratic identity - and not only with respect to an unofficial demand of the unifying Europe to cope with the heritage of the past. Through the analysis of selected presidential speeches, the thesis identifies and evaluates the image of Holocaust created by the Czech and Polish presidents on the one hand and the weaknesses in the Holocaust memory politics of both actors on the other. After theoretical and conceptual introduction (chapter one), the experience with the Holocaust in Poland and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, and...