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The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Peace and Conflict Studies pp 1–17Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Memorials and Transitional Justice

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Synonyms

Commemoration; Dealing with the past; Memory politics; Symbolic reparations

Definition

Memorials are objects, structures, or (real or virtual) places that serve to focus the memory of conflict related violence. By pinning memory to a location, they fix it in place. Memorials serve as vessels for information in a metaphorical but also in a highly material way, for they are archives of facts and artifacts, storage spaces for documents, images, and sometimes also human remains. Memorials, in addition, are sites to learn about past atrocities, both cognitively and emotionally, and educate visitors through images, metaphors, and symbols as well as, in many cases, texts, videos, and guided tours. In transitional justice processes, memorialization serves as a means of symbolic reparation, thus expanding the scope of dealing with the legacy of violent conflicts and repression from tribunals, truth commissions, and monetary reparations to memorials and commemorations.

Introduction

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Conflict Studies, Philipps University Marburg, Marburg, Germany

    Susanne Buckley-Zistel

Authors
  1. Susanne Buckley-Zistel
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Susanne Buckley-Zistel .

Section Editor information

  1. The Swedish Institute of International Affairs, Stockholm, Sweden

    Johanna Mannergren Selimovic

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Buckley-Zistel, S. (2020). Memorials and Transitional Justice. In: The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Peace and Conflict Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11795-5_13-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11795-5_13-1

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-11795-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-11795-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Political Science and International StudiesReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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