Political Science – Memory Place and Power

Please choose ONE of the following questions to answer. To receive credit, responses must be a minimum of 200 words long and must answer the question with explicit reference to the reading(s). You do not need to include citations, footnotes, or a bibliography, but be sure that you knowledgeably discuss the readings in your answer as indicated.

1) Do you agree with Light and Young that commemorative sites and practices should be considered an integral part of the transitional justice process? Why or why not? Discuss with reference to specific examples from the post-communist world.

2) According to Kubik and Bernhard, what is a “memory regime”? What key factors determine the form that a memory regime takes, and why? Discuss with reference to specific examples from the post-communist world.

3) Under what conditions are post-communist governments most likely to co-opt rather than remove communist-era monuments and why? Discuss with reference to specific examples from Russia and at least one other country in the post-communist world.

4) How and why has nostalgia for the communist era manifested itself in the post-communist world? What is the relationship between nostalgia and aspiration? Discuss with reference to specific examples from the post-communist world.