The power of memory and memories of power: the cultural parameters of German foreign policy-making since 1945

Berger, Thomas U.

doi:10.1017/cbo9780511491580.004

Cited by 32 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The second part of scholarly work, which is situated within the positivist approach paradigm, aims at explaining state behaviour with memory by resorting to the analysis of foreign policy decisions. Here we can mention Thomas Berger (2002) and Peter Katzenstein (1996), who evaluated how cultural narratives shape actors' policies. An important research in this regard was conducted by Yuen Foong Khong (1992), who theorised how historical analogies are employed in foreign policy decision-making, and Ernest May (1975), who exhibited how history is (mis)used in American foreign policy.…”

Section: Collective Memory In International Relationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Collective Memory and an Interpretative Approach

Kočan

2020

Polit. misao (Online)

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Contrary to the common understanding that collective memory functions as a driver for fostering domestic peace, stability, a common national identity, and serves as a cornerstone for the realisation of specific national goals, our aim is to show how collective memory is understood as a constitutive element of foreign policy narratives and how memory can influence foreign policy choices (Anderson, 1983; Gillis, 199 4; Hobsbawm and Ranger, 1983; Bodnar, 1992; Schudson, 1993; Dian, 2017). Building on the work of Müller (2002), Bell (2010), Langenbacher and Shain (2010), Resende and Budryte (2014), Dian (2017) and Bachleitner (2018), we will argue that Serbia’s foreign policy choice in 2013 to sign the agreement with Kosovo is best understood with the help of an interpretative approach to foreign policy, as this issue de facto reflected the continuation of the role of sacrifice within Serbian collective memory. A narrative of victimisation was used to efficiently bridge the ‘guilt’ and tie it to the notion of great powers’ intervention. This article also examines the paradox of Serbia’s endeavours to hold on to Kosovo by looking into how the struggle over the nation’s past provides the fundamental ideational background for contemporary foreign policy choices.

show abstract

Section: Collective Memory In International Relationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Collective Memory and an Interpretative Approach

Kočan

2020

Polit. misao (Online)

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Government decisions for or against participating in multilateral military missions are the focal point of a broader debate on change and continuity in German foreign policy since unification. On the one hand, the reluctance of German decision makers to commit to the use of military force has been seen as confirmation of the civilian power role concept (Harnisch 2001;Maull 2001;Risse 2004) and the continued relevance of the Federal Republic's culture of military restraint (Berger 2002;Longhurst 2004;Malici 2006). On the other hand, post-unification Germany's enhanced role in multilateral military interventions is given as evidence for the "normalization" of German foreign policy which is being portrayed as evermore power-conscious, assertive, and self-confident (Sch€ ollgen 2000 ;Wagener 2004;Hellmann, Weber, and Sauer 2007).…”

Section: University Of Sussexmentioning

confidence: 99%

Counterfactual Reasoning in Foreign Policy Analysis: The Case of German Nonparticipation in the Libya Intervention of 2011

Hansel

Oppermann

2014

Foreign Policy Anal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In 67 He brought these insights to bear in a major comparative study of how Germany, Japan and Austria have come to terms with their wartime pasts, in the process arguing that 'instead of fading with time' the memory of the Second World War is now 'more contentiousand more potent -than ever'. 68 Similarly, Richard Ned Lebow has written extensively on the subject, not least through co-editing an important collection on European memories of the Second World War in which he asserted that 'the politics of memory will be a salient feature of the European landscape for many decades to come'.…”

Section: Engaging Memorymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Ubiquitous Presence of the Past? Collective Memory and International History

Finney¹

2013

The International History Review

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Forthcoming online September 2013This article explores the relationship between international history and memory studies. It argues that collective memory demands to be taken much more seriously than it has been by international historians to date and clarifies what this might involve. It comprises four sections. The first provides an overview of the growth of memory studies, identifying some recent trends and conceptual issues. The second explores how international historians have engaged with it hitherto, revealing that while memory has emerged onto the agenda of the discipline, analysis of it still remains rather patchy and underdeveloped. It also contextualises a putative turn to memory against the on-going ?cultural turn? in international history. The third lays out a research agenda by identifying some of the core topics to be differentiated in the study of memory within international history, exploring the conceptual issues these entail and pointing to relevant resources from within the memory-studies literature that speak to them. A final section anticipates and discusses some potential objections to the argument of the article. It concludes that taking the challenge of memory studies seriously may demand a thoroughgoing reorientation of our practice.preprintPeer reviewe

show abstract

The power of memory and memories of power: the cultural parameters of German foreign policy-making since 1945

Cited by 32 publications

References 0 publications

Collective Memory and an Interpretative Approach

Collective Memory and an Interpretative Approach

Counterfactual Reasoning in Foreign Policy Analysis: The Case of German Nonparticipation in the Libya Intervention of 2011

The Ubiquitous Presence of the Past? Collective Memory and International History

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About