Peter Verovšek on Memory Politics in Western and Eastern Europe

Peter Verovšek, Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at the University of Sheffield, gave an online class on 5 May for students of the courses European Values and Politics of Memory of the Faculty of History at the University of Antwerp. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the planned public lecture in the series European Values, Citizenship and Belonging had to be postponed until 21 October. He presented his thesis about the difference between memory politics in Western and Eastern Europe as an explanation for diverging views on democracy and reactions to crises, as witnessed with the 2015 refugee crisis. Collective memory is crucial for societal integration and ruptures offer opportunities for new (shared or oppositional) narratives to emerge. The key rupture for Western Europe was provoked by fascism in 1945 and led to the view that nationalism forms a danger for peace. For Central and Eastern Europe 1989 formed a breakpoint that incited the repudiation of external influence in domes