Politics of Memory Laws

Uladzislau Belavusau is Senior Researcher in European Law at the T.M.C. Asser Institute, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.Aleksandra Gliszczynska-Grabias is Professor at the Institute of Law Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland.Maria Mälksoo is Professor of International Relations at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.Angelika Nußerger is Professor at Cologne University, Germany.

In an impressive collective effort, the authors show how legislative battles over versions of historical truth and pseudo-historical mythology are translating into today's large-scale human tragedy and shaking the foundations of international order. When are "memory laws" part of the problem of abuse and manipulation of history and how can they become part of the solution? This insightful volume will provide invaluable and much-needed food for thought.

• Acknowledgments Introduction - Shadows of History: Memory Laws in Europe in the Context of the Russo-Ukrainian War, Uladzislau Belavusau, Aleksandra Gliszczynska-Grabias, Maria Mälksoo, and Angelika NußbergerPart One: Memory Laws and Policies in Russia1. The Politics of Memory and Legislative Discourse on Rehabilitation of Nazism in Russia in the 1990s and 2000s, Andrii Nekoliak and Paul Primbs2. Memory Laws and Policies in Russia After the Annexation of Crimea and Occupation of Donbas, Ilya Nuzov3. Putin’s Memory Policies in the Context of Military Aggression in Ukraine, Gleb BogushPart Two: Memory Laws and Policies in Ukraine4. Ukrainian Memory Laws and Policy Before 2014: Overcoming the Past, Alina Cherviatsova5. Ukrainian Memory Laws and Decommunization Policies from the Euromaidan to the Full-Scale Russian Invasion, Tatiana Zhurzhenko6. Ukrainian Memory Laws and Policies in the Context of 2022 Russian Aggression, Andrii NekoliakPart Three: Neighbours Actively Involved in the Regional Memory Wars7. Wounds Unhealed: Polish-Ukrainian and Polish-Russian Memory Wars Before 2022, Aleksandra Gliszczynska-Grabias8. Memory Laws and Policies in Belarus in the Context of the Russo-Ukrainian War, Uladzislau Belavusau9. “Critical Situations” and Mnemonic Legislation: Memory Politics in the Baltic States and Russia’s War Against Ukraine, Dovile Budryte10. The Transformation of Russia in Hungary’s Memory Governance, Marina Bán11. Finnish-Russian Memory Conflicts Before and After the Russo-Ukrainian War, Tuomas ForsbergPart Four: Shaping European Law and Politics in the Context of Memory Wars12. German Prototype for Memory Laws and Policies in Europe in the Context of Putin’s Instrumentalisation of Denazification, Paula Rhein-Fischer13. Memory Narratives and Policies in the EU and the Council of Europe in the Context of Russian Military Aggression from 2014 to 2023, Anna Wójcik14. The Regulation of Historical Memory in the Council of Europe: The European Court of Human Rights Before and After 2022, Dovile Sagatiene15. The Looking Glass War: Russian Aggression Against Ukraine and the Lessons of World War II in International Memory Politics, Maria Mälksoo16. Epilogue: The Battle for the Past: War and Memory in the Post-Soviet Space, David R. Marples