Abstract
This article examines the dynamic relationship between the two major dimensions of memory and justice in the context of post-communist countries: truth-telling and retroactive justice. This interdependent and uneasy relationship is illustrated by recent attempts at constructing a new historical narrative of the communist past in Romania in the wake of the de-secretization of the files of both the Communist Party and the communist secret police (Securitate). A systematic analysis of the activity of institutions that have been directly involved in research and public education about the recent past – the National Archives, the National Council for the Study of Securitate's Archives, and the Institute for the Investigation of Crimes of Communism – is undertaken. The work of these three institutional actors shows a direct relationship between truth-telling in its various forms (access to archives, opening the files and exhumations) and any subsequent retroactive justice and restitution. The main argument of the paper is that while deep-seated dichotomies between former communist and anti-communists in addressing the past still persist, a more nuanced way of seeing the regime that explores the ambiguous line that divides outright repression from cooptation is emerging.
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Subject
Political Science and International Relations,History,Geography, Planning and Development
Reference58 articles.
1. Nora distinguishes between material, symbolic and functional lieux de memoire (Nora 14).
2. Intellectuals and public figures who endorsed Oprea's position expressed their opinions in the February and March issues of the weekly Observatorul Cultural (www.observatorulcultural.ro). The views of those who voiced their disapproval of Oprea's attacks against Tismăneanu and defended the latter were mostly published in the February and March issues of the weekly Revista 22 (www.revista22.ro).
Cited by
11 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献