Memories and Narratives of War: Public Opinion and Grassroots Interpretation of Violence in Authoritarian Settings

Session Submission Type: Panel

Brief Description

International military crises and experiences of militarized violence are known to act as catalysts for new narrative emergence. However, much less is known about the mechanisms, pathways, and variations in the popular reactions–especially in localities (in)directly affected by the crises. The papers prepared for this panel draw from multi-disciplinary literature in politics, history, and sociology to further this line of inquiry in comparative perspective across time and space, whilst addressing the following questions: What narratives are being formed on the grassroot levels in imperial and nation-state peripheries? What memories of violence are invoked and how does the nature of violence –past or ongoing– influence them? How does the context of authoritarianism inform shape public opinion about violence? Jane Kitaevich tackles the question of varying perceptions and reactions to incidents of violence in the modern-day context by focusing on the conflict-impacted rural locales in Armenia. Yevhen Yashchuk examines information flows and memory narratives that appeared in two provincial imperial cities of Kyiv and Lviv in response to the Great Eastern Crisis of 1875-1878. Duncan MacLean Eaton traces the contestation of political narratives in interwar Slovakia, and the impact these debates had on the preferences for authoritarian policies. Andrey Davydov analyzes how pro-regime media platforms in Russia vary in their use of radical right and ethnic nationalist rhetoric, using evidence from talk shows, television news, official speeches, and Telegram channels.

Sub Unit

• Politics/Law

Chair

• Seonhee Kim, Seoul National U (South Korea)

Papers

• Public Opinion and Support for Democracy in the Shadow of Militarized Violence: The Case of Armenia - Jane Kitaevich, U of Michigan

• Divergence in Radical Right Rhetoric by Pro-Regime Platform in Russia - Andrey Davydov, McGill U (Canada)

• Cultivating Translocal Memory of the International Crisis: The Cases of Kyiv and Lviv in the late 19th Century - Yevhen Yashchuk, U of Oxford (UK)

• Towards Self-Government: Nationalist Narratives in Interwar Slovak Agrarian Politics - Duncan MacLean Eaton, Cornell U

Discussant

• Seonhee Kim, Seoul National U (South Korea)