Call for Papers: Comparative Authoritarianism and Memory in Eastern Europe and Beyond
The Department of History (University of Tirana) and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Albania are organizing a conference on Comparative Authoritarianism and Memory in Eastern Europe and Beyond
Date: May 5-6, 2025
Venue: Faculty of History and Philology, Rr. Elbasanit 2, Tirana 1019, Albania.
Deadline for Application: March 31, 2025
Contact: dep.histori@fhf.edu.al
This conference invites scholars to explore the enduring legacies of authoritarian regimes, focusing on how memories of the past are shaped, contested, and politically instrumentalized across different national contexts. Contributions should engage with key theoretical frameworks in comparative authoritarianism, including Juan Linz’s (2000) distinction between totalitarian and authoritarian regimes, Levitsky and Way’s (2010) concept of competitive authoritarianism, and Reinhart Koselleck’s (2004) insights on historical experience and expectation. Koselleck’s theory of semantic history will help explain how authoritarian regimes shape public memory through language and political discourse, while other approaches, such as Teitel’s(2000) work on transitional justice and Todorova’s (2009) studies on post-communist memory, will provide further perspectives on the dynamics of memory in transitioning societies. We welcome discussions that incorporate collective memory theories, such as Aleida Assmann’s distinction between cultural and communicative memory and the concept of mnemonic regimes by Jeffrey Olick and Joyce Robbins. Additionally, we encourage the inclusion of Tony Judt reflections emphasizing the interplay between personal and collective memory, the fragility of remembering, and the impact of individual experiences on societal narratives.
The conference aims to explore how these theoretical lenses can explain the persistence and reinterpretation of authoritarian legacies, focusing on state-controlled memory politics, transitional justice, and the role of historical narratives about fascism, Nazism, and communism in contemporary political discourse.
Potential Topics for Discussion:
1. Comparative Authoritarianism and Memory Politics
o The impact of fascist, Nazi, and communist regimes on state-controlled narratives and collective memory.
o The role of propaganda in shaping collective memory and its implications for post-authoritarian societies.
2. History and Memory in Eastern and East-Central Europe
o Continuity and discontinuity between fascist and communist regimes through official memory.
o The significance of archives from totalitarian regimes.
3. Authoritarian Legacies and Transitional Justice
o Variations in transitional justice mechanisms addressing the legacies of fascist, Nazi, and communist regimes.
o The effects of lustration policies, archival access, and truth commissions.
4. Sites of Memory and Commemoration
o Transformation of former sites of repression into memorials and their cultural implications.
o The role of grassroots and counter-memory movements in challenging official commemorations.
5. Mnemonic Regimes and Historical Reinterpretation
o How education and media reinterpret the histories of authoritarian regimes in post-authoritarian societies.
o The influence of historical revisionism on contemporary political discourse.
6. Multivocal Memory and Contestation
o The challenge posed by marginalized voices and social movements to dominant narratives.
o The role of diverse perspectives in shaping collective identity.
7. Comparative Approaches to Authoritarian Memory
o Commonalities and differences in memory politics among countries with fascist, Nazi, and communist legacies.
o The influence of historical experiences on current political landscapes in post-authoritarian societies.
8. Nostalgia for Authoritarian Regimes
o Politically leveraging nostalgia for fascist, Nazi, or communist regimes in contemporary discourse.
o The interplay between memory and the framing of authoritarian pasts in current political movements.
We welcome theoretical, empirical, and comparative contributions that address these intersections.
Further see: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19n8TH649e/