Videos by Vladimir Petrovic
The lecture examines the discourse of cleansing in the context of mass violence fueled by politic... more The lecture examines the discourse of cleansing in the context of mass violence fueled by political, religious and ethnic fanaticism. 7 views
The lecture provides an overview into perpetration of war crimes during the Yugoslav wars of 1990... more The lecture provides an overview into perpetration of war crimes during the Yugoslav wars of 1990s and into dynamics of their prosecution. 40 views
A lecture held at Boston University in November 2022 examines the life of Karl Marx, origin and i... more A lecture held at Boston University in November 2022 examines the life of Karl Marx, origin and impact of his ideas and their importance for the contemporary world. 24 views
Dr. Petrovic delivered the keynote lecture at the 2019 Summer School in Comparative Conflict Stud... more Dr. Petrovic delivered the keynote lecture at the 2019 Summer School in Comparative Conflict Studies titled "History on Trial: The Courts, Transitional Justice and Beyond." 24 views
Books by Vladimir Petrovic
Arhipelag/Institut za savremenu istoriju, 2019
Ethnic Cleansing - Origins of the Concept:
Do you know the origins of the term "ethnic cleansing... more Ethnic Cleansing - Origins of the Concept:
Do you know the origins of the term "ethnic cleansing"? Contrary to entrenched beliefs, this expression was not coined during the Yugoslav wars. The violent removal of opponents and entire communities has been called cleansing since biblical times. This book analyzes the religious, class, and racial aspects of the dangerous metaphor of cleansing. The concept of cleansing was gradually ethnicized by the end of 19th century within academic circles. By the interwar period, it had evolved into the political projects of creating “ethnically pure” territories and performing “ethnic cleansing” of their populations. These plans were set in motion during the Second World War and the term “ethnic cleansing” appeared in the Balkans. Sidelined in the postwar period, this ethnopolitical jargon returned to the fore in Yugoslavia during the 1990s, whereas the practice continues to this day around the world.
Routledge, 2017
This book scrutinizes the emergence of historical forensic contribution in some of the most impor... more This book scrutinizes the emergence of historical forensic contribution in some of the most important national and international legal ventures of the last century. It aims to advance the debate from discussions on whether his- torians should testify or not toward nuanced understanding of the history of the practice and making the best out of its performance in the future.
Institut za savremenu istoriju, 2010
Knjiga se bavi ulogom Josipa Broza Tita u formulisanju i sprovođenju spoljne politike socijalisti... more Knjiga se bavi ulogom Josipa Broza Tita u formulisanju i sprovođenju spoljne politike socijalističke Jugoslavije. Geneza jugoslovenske diplomatije se prati od perioda posleratne staljinizacije, raskida sa Informbiroom i prvih otvaranja prema Zapadu do razvijanja politike balansiranja između blokova i stvaranja doktrine nesvrstanosti. U svim ovim fazama, jugoslovenskom spoljnom politikom dominirala je ličnost šefa države, koji je bio njen osnovni nosilac.
Institut za savremenu istoriju, 2007
Knjiga se bavi prvim posleratnim kontaktima između socijalističke Jugoslavije i bliskositočnih ze... more Knjiga se bavi prvim posleratnim kontaktima između socijalističke Jugoslavije i bliskositočnih zemlja. Od podele Palestine, prvog izraelsko-arapskog rata, otklona Jugoslavije od Svojetskog Saveza i potrage za novim partnerima. Manevrišući izmežu interesa super-sila, kolonijalnih država i lokalnih faktora poput egipatskog premijera Nasera sa kojima je gradila saradnju, knjiga prati stasavanje jedne Titove regionalne politike koja se isklaila tokom Suecke krize da bi postala važna komponenta u daljoj izgradnji jugoslovenske doktrine nesvrstansoti.
Institut za savremenu istoriju, 2008
Contributions of this edited volume are focusing on different aspects of consolidation of power o... more Contributions of this edited volume are focusing on different aspects of consolidation of power of Slobodan Milošević in the end of 1980s in Serbia and its effects on the development of Yugoslav crisis.
Articles by Vladimir Petrovic
Journal of Political Power, 2022
Looking behind the chaotic facade of the atrocious Yugoslav conflict, this article examines the n... more Looking behind the chaotic facade of the atrocious Yugoslav conflict, this article examines the nexus between the organized crime in Serbia and its security apparatus. Path dependency in the mismanagement of violence, ethnopolitical mobilization and abrupt socioeconomic transformation during international isolation contributed to blurring the distinction between the state institutions and the criminal elements in Serbia during the reign of Slobodan Milošević. By showcasing the rise and the fall of a paradigmatic representative, Željko Ražnatović Arkan, the article examines the roots, dynamics and effects of this failed attempt toward sponsoring state mafia.
Годишњак за друштвену историју , 2002
This article analyses preparations of British and Yugoslav diplomacy for the visit of
Josip Broz... more This article analyses preparations of British and Yugoslav diplomacy for the visit of
Josip Broz Tito to Great Britain in March 1953, with an emphasis оп the occurring organizational and protocolar baпiers. Mutпal wish of the counterparts to gain а maximum political
score on this visit was undennined Ьу misunderstandings deriving from the basic differences
of ideological and social nature. Improvement in Anglo-Yugoslav Ielations was way quickeJ
than the capacity ofthe individuals and institutions ofFPRY and Great Britain to overcome
the social gap. This discrepancy waged burden on the process of adjustment and on the
quality of diplomatic communication
International Criminal Justice Review, 2018
The purpose of this contribution is to shed light on the literary output of persons indicted or s... more The purpose of this contribution is to shed light on the literary output of persons indicted or sentenced for war crimes in the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Over one hundred books-autobiographies, studies, collections of documents, and even novels and poetry have been generated by no less than 22 persons in the detention unit of the ICTY in The Hague since 1993. Although some of these works did cause an occasional stir, as of yet there is no detailed overview of the entirety of this literary output. In order to fill this gap, this article assembles a full collection of works produced by ICTY inmates and analyzes this genre, the motivations of its authors, and the implications of their work. Examined as sources, these works can be used to study the collapse of the former Yugoslavia, the work of the ICTY, and its perception by the accused. I conclude by examining the corrosive role these works play in the process of coming to terms with the troubled past of the region. Keywords prison literature, ICTY, war criminals, wars in the former Yugoslavia Academic work on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) rightfully notes the richness of literature on the ICTY. In contrast, works that emerged in the ICTY, more precisely at its detention unit, have not been the subject of detailed scrutiny. It is therefore not a matter of public knowledge that at least 119 books were written by indicted or convicted war criminals detained there and in other prisons where they serve time. Although this or that book written behind the ICTY bars made a splash, the extent of their production evades even most of the specialists interested in the ICTY. Therefore, an investigation into these works is in order to determine its scope, genre, and content. They are also examined as historical sources, both for the war in the former Yugoslavia and for the trials over the crimes committed during the hostilities. Lastly, as motivation of their authors is analyzed, their impact on flawed process of societal ...
Istorija 20.veka, 2020
APSTRAKT: Članak se bavi genezom, oblicima i perspektivama razvo-ja digitalne istorije, nove nauč... more APSTRAKT: Članak se bavi genezom, oblicima i perspektivama razvo-ja digitalne istorije, nove naučne discipline nastale primenom informacionih tehnologija u istraživanju prošlosti. Tokom poslednjih 25 godina, digitalna istorija se razvila u prepoznatljivu, mada ne i jasno definisanu disciplinu, koja transformiše istorijsku nauku. Razmatraju se promene koje digitalizacija dono-si, od strukture istorijskih izvora, njihovog prikupljanja i obrade, do analize sadržaja, tehnike istorijskih istraživanja i predstavljanja njihovih rezultata. Dinamičan, ali i nejednak razvoj u ovoj oblasti ilustruje se nizom primera, uz nastojanje da se kritički sagledaju mogućnosti i ograničenja digitalne istorije, ali pre svega da se doprinese njenom ovladavanju. KLJUČNE REČI: digitalna istorija, internet, istoriografija, digitalizaci-ja, digitalna humanistika Istorijska nauka u digitalnoj epohi Pandemija koronavirusa 2020. godine izbacila je iz koloseka čitav svet, pa tako i istorijsku nauku. Preseljeni iz biblioteka i arhiva u virtuelne učionice i priko-vani za personalne računare, pravi je trenutak da preispitamo šta znači baviti se ovom profesijom u 21. veku. 1 Ona do sada nije bila na listama zanimanja za koja se 1 Zahvaljujemo se recenzentima na veoma korisnim sugestijama, kao i Dragani Grbić Nikolić, Adamu Sofronijeviću, Dragani Milunović, Ivanu Obradoviću, Radetu Ristanoviću, Slobodanu Mandiću i Arsenu Milašinoviću na komentarima kojima je rukopis unapređen. Sve dalje reakcije koji nam se upute na lične adrese ili disi@isi.co.rs, upotrebićemo radi proširivanja ovog članka, koji će do kraja 2020. biti dostupan u elektronskoj verziji na sajtu Digitalnog centra Instituta za savremenu istori-ju, https://isi.co.rs/digitalni-centar/ (pristupljeno 25. 4. 2020).
Istorija 20.veka, 2018
Članak se bavi uticajem raspada saveznog nivoa vlasti u SFRJ na prerastanje jugoslovenske krize u... more Članak se bavi uticajem raspada saveznog nivoa vlasti u SFRJ na prerastanje jugoslovenske krize u oružani sukob. Izdvajaju se glavni akteri i ključne etape ovog procesa tokom prve polovine 1991, obeležene pode- lama unutar Predsedništva SFRJ, marginalizacijom Savezne skupštine i njenog Izvršnog veća, kao i rastućom autonomijom republičkih rukovodstava i vojnog vrha. Na osnovu memoara protagonista i dostupnog arhivskog materijala prati se blokada u radu saveznih institucija koja je onemogućavala rešavanje pro- blema političkim putem i prerastala u paralizu tokom koje su se umnožavali oružani incidenti. Uzajamno podeljeni, nosioci savezne vlasti su abdicirali pred republičkim rukovodstvima, ili su suprotstavljenim akcijama otvorili put poslednjoj etapi jugoslovenske agonije.
Istorija 20.veka, 2015
Članak se bavi prerastanjem jugoslovenske krize u paralizu najavljenu prekidom poslednjeg kongre... more Članak se bavi prerastanjem jugoslovenske krize u paralizu najavljenu prekidom poslednjeg kongresa SKJ i pregrupisavanjem političkih snaga tokom 1990. Razlaz republičkih rukovodstava praćen rascepom Predsedništva SFRJ, te raskorak između Predsedništva, Saveznog izvršnog veća i vojnog vrha, pra-ti se kroz neuspešna nastojanja da se zaustavi erozija bezbednosne situ-acije u SFRJ krajem 1990. i početkom 1991. Kroz dokumentarni mate-rijal, medijske izvore i sećanja protagonista analiziraju se aktivnost i uzajamni odnosi ključnih aktera ovih procesa.
Hereticus 2017
Prilog analizira koncept prevladavanja prošlosti, defi niše glavne aspekte i skicira osnovnu dina... more Prilog analizira koncept prevladavanja prošlosti, defi niše glavne aspekte i skicira osnovnu dinamiku ovog procesa. Posebno se insistira na važnosti prerastanja zagovaranja suočavanja sa prošlošću, čiji je nosilac građansko društvo, u jasnu politiku tranzicione pravde, čiji je nosilac država. Ova tranzicija se sagledava na primeru Savezne Republike Nemačke, koji karakterišu veliki pomaci u ovoj oblasti, kao i simptomatični propusti. Ističu se specifi čnost sa kojima se u ovoj oblasti suočavaju postjugoslovenska društva, sa posebnim osvrtom na probleme koji u Srbiji sputavaju takav razvoj.
International Journal for Transitional Justice, 2015
The wars in the former Yugoslavia coincided with both the rise of international transitional just... more The wars in the former Yugoslavia coincided with both the rise of international transitional justice discourses and with a revolution in visual recording, resulting in an abundance of visuals documenting extreme violence. This article investigates the conditions behind the creation of such visual material, as well as the impact of its circulation on the delivery of justice in the former Yugoslavia. The visual record of unpunished crimes is examined in one of the most infamous wartime photographs, taken in the Bosnian city of Bijeljina in the spring of 1992. In it, a young, armed man in a military uniform, sunglasses on his head, cigarette in his hand, attempts to hold his balance while kicking a dead woman. This photo became one of the quintessential representations of war in Bosnia. The circumstances of its creation, circulation and contestation are paradigmatic of the troubled process of coming to terms with the criminal past in Serbia, with wider ramifications for the use of visuals in other regions affected by mass violence.
Zeitgeschichte, 2017
The paper investigates the attitudes regarding war crimes and their prosecution held by people bo... more The paper investigates the attitudes regarding war crimes and their prosecution held by people born shortly before or during the war and the International Crimi- nal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a main condition for Serbia’s EU accession for most of their formative years. Although their knowledge is mediated through social encounters and the media, they do have an opportunity to look at the past anew, as they are perceived as generationally uninvolved in the wartime events. What do these young people know about the ICTY, about the wars in the 1990s, about war crimes and the prosecution of war crimes? How do they perceive the work of the Tribunal, how do they evaluate its legitimacy and its contribution to the process of dealing with the past?
Filozofija i društvo, 2007
Apstrakt: Tema rada su veštačenja društvenih naučnika u procesima vođenim pred Haškim tribunalom,... more Apstrakt: Tema rada su veštačenja društvenih naučnika u procesima vođenim pred Haškim tribunalom, čiji se doprinos sagledava u svetlu dugog razvoja ove prakse. Šire diskusije o sudskoj upotrebi naučnog znanja ukazuju na niz problema u regulisanju veštačenja. Analiziraju se mehanizmi kojima se u različitim pravnim kontekstima obezbeđuje naučna pouzdanost i procesna relevantnost veštačenja, kao i primenljivost tih mehanizama na forenzičke doprinose različitih društvenih nauka. Regulisanje veštaèenja u Haškom tribunalu se posmatra kao osobeno rešenje čije se posledice prate kroz učešće veštaka u postupcima i kroz javnu percepciju angažmana društvenih naučnika u tom svojstvu. Cilj ovakvog pristupa je nijansiranje dominantnih predstava o ulozi društvenih nauènika u Haškom tribunalu i stvaranje preduslova za razumevanje specifičnog karaktera njihove veštačke uloge. Ključne reči: Haški tribunal, veštačenje, suđenje Slobodanu Miloševiću, metodologija društvenih nauka
ANNALES · Ser. hist. sociol. , 2014
The article scrutinizes the dynamics of Yugoslav summit diplomacy from the end of the Second Worl... more The article scrutinizes the dynamics of Yugoslav summit diplomacy from the end of the Second World War until the First Conference of Heads of Governments of the Non-Aligned Countries (1961), in order to outline the evolution of a paramount role that Josip Broz Tito played in shaping Yugoslav foreign policy.
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Videos by Vladimir Petrovic
Books by Vladimir Petrovic
Do you know the origins of the term "ethnic cleansing"? Contrary to entrenched beliefs, this expression was not coined during the Yugoslav wars. The violent removal of opponents and entire communities has been called cleansing since biblical times. This book analyzes the religious, class, and racial aspects of the dangerous metaphor of cleansing. The concept of cleansing was gradually ethnicized by the end of 19th century within academic circles. By the interwar period, it had evolved into the political projects of creating “ethnically pure” territories and performing “ethnic cleansing” of their populations. These plans were set in motion during the Second World War and the term “ethnic cleansing” appeared in the Balkans. Sidelined in the postwar period, this ethnopolitical jargon returned to the fore in Yugoslavia during the 1990s, whereas the practice continues to this day around the world.
Articles by Vladimir Petrovic
Josip Broz Tito to Great Britain in March 1953, with an emphasis оп the occurring organizational and protocolar baпiers. Mutпal wish of the counterparts to gain а maximum political
score on this visit was undennined Ьу misunderstandings deriving from the basic differences
of ideological and social nature. Improvement in Anglo-Yugoslav Ielations was way quickeJ
than the capacity ofthe individuals and institutions ofFPRY and Great Britain to overcome
the social gap. This discrepancy waged burden on the process of adjustment and on the
quality of diplomatic communication
Do you know the origins of the term "ethnic cleansing"? Contrary to entrenched beliefs, this expression was not coined during the Yugoslav wars. The violent removal of opponents and entire communities has been called cleansing since biblical times. This book analyzes the religious, class, and racial aspects of the dangerous metaphor of cleansing. The concept of cleansing was gradually ethnicized by the end of 19th century within academic circles. By the interwar period, it had evolved into the political projects of creating “ethnically pure” territories and performing “ethnic cleansing” of their populations. These plans were set in motion during the Second World War and the term “ethnic cleansing” appeared in the Balkans. Sidelined in the postwar period, this ethnopolitical jargon returned to the fore in Yugoslavia during the 1990s, whereas the practice continues to this day around the world.
Josip Broz Tito to Great Britain in March 1953, with an emphasis оп the occurring organizational and protocolar baпiers. Mutпal wish of the counterparts to gain а maximum political
score on this visit was undennined Ьу misunderstandings deriving from the basic differences
of ideological and social nature. Improvement in Anglo-Yugoslav Ielations was way quickeJ
than the capacity ofthe individuals and institutions ofFPRY and Great Britain to overcome
the social gap. This discrepancy waged burden on the process of adjustment and on the
quality of diplomatic communication
titeta tokom zadnjeg perioda postojanja jugoslovenske države. Posebno seističu promene u odnosu intelektualne elite, političke nomenklature ijavnog mnjenja prema jugoslovenskoj zajednici i položaju srpskog naroda u njoj. Nagoveštena ustavnim amandmanima, a zakrovljena donošenjem i primenom Ustava iz 1974. godine, decentralizacija zemlje je efektivnu kontrolu Beograda ograničila na područje „uže Srbije”. Doživljaj svođenja na Beogradski pašaluk poljuljao je srpsku ontološku sigurnost u Jugoslaviji. Srpsko pitanje je bezuspešno otvoreno Plavom knjigom 1977. godine. Pobuna na Kosovu 1981. godine i opadanje srpskog prisustva u ovoj pokrajini doprineli su prerastanju osećanja ugroženosti u stanje etničke panike, koja je zahvatila kako političke i kulturne činioce, tako i javnost. Kriza jugoslovenskedržave, njena disfunkcionalnost u ekonomskoj sferi, smanjen značaj u međunarodnim odnosima i nesposobnost da reši nagomilane društvene probleme uticali su na prerastanje srpskog pitanja u istinsku nacionalnu mobilizaciju krajem osamdesetih godina. Ona je kulminirala učvršćenjem režima Slobodana Miloševića, koji je u prvi plan stavio rešavanje srpskog pitanja, i to po svaku cenu.
of Yugoslavia, in an attempt to outline the main stages of this process and identify its points of no return. To that end, it considers the dissolution of the country and the emergence of the armed conflict separately, posits that those separate but interlinked processes were not
unavoidable, and identifies the structural elements and key personalities which gradually turned both processes from barely imaginable to almost inevitable.
prone to fortify dominant political narratives through whitewashing,
scapegoating or revanchism, or at best, they function under significant constraints (Simpson 1997; Rousso 2002; Pendas 2006). This distrust increases if the case is launched in a politically charged atmosphere and framedaround highly perspectivist charges, such as treason or libel. However, the debate could benefit from counter-examples, to which end this contribution scrutinizesdidactic aspects of proceedings against Major General Otto Ernst Remer (1912–1997) held in 1952 in Braunschweig. Well researched in Germany
(Fröhlich 2006, pp. 31–128; Burghardt 2012, pp. 47–92; Searle 2016,
pp. 97–128), but largely sidetracked otherwise, this case contains many of the aforementioned elements, yet it represents a successfully conducted liberal show trial, if there ever was one.
element in the transitional justice processes
in former Yugoslavia. The legitimacy of the ICTY is much disputed, in particular in Serbia,
as comparative surveys of the Belgrade Center for Human Rights in the region show. However, the perspective of becoming a member of the European Union has put the Serbian
leadership under political pressure to cooperate
with the Tribunal since the European Union has insisted on the extradition of suspected
war criminals. The research project examined how the three most popular Serb TV channels (RTS, RTV Pink and B92) have reported on six selected ICTY trials (Gotovina et al., Haradinaj
et al., Milutinović et al., Orić, Perišić, Stanišić & Simatović) across the time span of more than ten years. The multimodal discourse analysis was complemented by conducting focus groups interviews with students in Serbia and by expert interviews with human rights activists,
journalists, political foundations, legal professionals and ICTY staff in The Hague and Belgrade.
There is hardly any research on the role of audio-visual material in transitional justice and in Peace and Conflict Studies in general. This project thus developed a new theoretical and methodological framework. The visual presentation
of the Serb accused in TV news was based on iconic images of the accused combined with symbolic images of the state and its power, with nearly complete absence of visuals of atrocities and victims. In contrast, the visual presentation of the Croatian, Bosniak and Albanian defendants
draws meaning mainly from sequences of images displaying victims, war destruction or attacks as “palpable” proof of crimes. This supports
a sentiment of collective victimhood of the Serb population and creates the impression of the indicted persons’ guilt even after their acquittals
by the ICTY. Since the research project has been limited to three Serb TV channels, comparative work on TV media in other states of former Yugoslavia would be required in order to assess how ’special’ the case of Serbia is regarding
these visual strategies.
The much disputed legitimacy of the ICTY and the important role of media have also become obvious in focus groups interviews with students
in Serbia: The students displayed a striking
lack of knowledge about war crimes; nonetheless,
they strongly rejected the ICTY as a biased
institution. At the same time, they were perceptive of new facts and interpretations, showing that they have a genuine need to understand the past and obtain objective information.
A major problem is that in their perception
there are few, if any, objective, neutral institutions which to put trust in.
The expert interviews, conducted in Belgrade and The Hague, underlined the critical state of mainstream TV media in Serbia: They were assessed
as not really independent, driven by entertainment
formats, suspect to governmental pressure and failing in their watchdog functions.
The interviewees also expressed a widespread
disappointment about the state of affairs
of transitional justice in Serbia. They underlined
the rather instrumental or superficial nature
of many transitional justice measures in former Yugoslavia – satisfying the European Union’s demands seems to be more important than fulfilling genuine needs for reconciliation or dealing with the past. The declining interest of international actors in supporting (and funding)
transitional justice processes, lack of governmental
initiative and diminished home-grown pressure in that direction are perceived as greatest obstacles in this area, providing the background of our research into its visual presentation.
[Contributing authors: Ąžuolas Bagdonas, Onur Bakiner, Tomas Balkelis, Denise Bentrovato, Berber Bevernage, Luigi Cajani, José Gabriel Cristancho Altuzarra, Kurt W. Clausen, Rommel A. Curaming, Violeta Davoliūtė, Antoon De Baets, Pierre-Olivier de Broux, Ramses Delafontaine, Francesca Dominello, Lawrence Douglas, Cornelia Eisler, Oz Frankel, Idesbald Goddeeris, Richard J. Golsan, Nasia Hadjigeorgiou, Martha Cecilia Herrera Cortés; Gisele Iecker de Almeida; Matt James; Michael Karabinos; Alexander Karn; Dora Komnenović , Stiina Löytömäki, Lynn Lemisko, Seiko Mimaki, Gotelind Müller-Saini, Ewa Ochman, Carol Pertuz-Bedoya, Trudy Huskamp Peterson, Vladimir Petrović, Eva-Clarita Pettai, Gertjan Plets, Ilaria Porciani, Lutz Raphael, Erna Rijsdijk, Achim Rohde, Stephan Scheuzger, Nina Schneider, Peter Seixas, Dorothea Staes, Pietro Sullo, Shanti Sumartojo, Patrizia Violi, Torsten Weber, Ben Wellings, Niké Wentholt, Christian Wicke, Eric Wiebelhaus-Brahm, Nico Wouters]
Date: 1 January 2017 - 31 December 2021
Goal: Transnational study of national practices, with a connection to the evolution of international criminal law.
The program (funded by the French Research Agency - ANR) will enlarge the geographic and chronological scope of earlier research and explores possibly singular aspects of the political and social framework of the public trials in East Europe and their symbolic dimensions. It will analyze for the first time the long period of 1943-1991 with an eye on Western cases. At the same time it will focus on the mutual influence of conceptual frames of references and of Western and Eastern understandings of jurisdiction.
SUMMARY: The Nuremberg trials of 1945–1946 stimulated innovation in criminal law. The jurisprudence has been intensely studied in the framework of the history of international law, of the Second World War as well as of the Holocaust. In the last three decades, the historical research on the postwar purges of actual and suspected collaborationists in Western countries significantly transformed thanks to combining methods to study national, regional and continental issues and exploring the legal, political and socio-cultural dimensions of the purge trials. Despite the opening of East European archives in the 1990s and the publication of several works, our knowledge of the global phenomenon of punishing Western and Eastern European quislings suffers of a learning gap.
This research program (funded by the French Research Agency - ANR) is founded on a broad range of sources including records of government and law enforcement agencies, archival documents of institutions of various hierarchies, and material from the written and audiovisual media.
The project's aim is to bring complements to the literature of accountability for war crimes and genocide committed in 1939-45, until very recently dominated by a focus on Western Europe and on the Nuremberg tribunal. The project also studies the transnational circulation of ideas and practices. This way, it will broaden the geographic and chronological scope of earlier research and explores possibly singular aspects of the political and social framework of the public trials in Easernt Europe, as well as their symbolic dimensions. It will analyze for the first time the long period of 1943-1991 with an eye on Western cases.
The priority given to public trials or to cases featured in the media leads to the examination of legal, political and social background and consequences and to the study of the memory of the purges. The approach is particularly useful for the evaluation of the trials as instruments of international relations. It implies specific attention to the heterogeneity of the actors who play a role in the judicial process without necessarily belonging to the judiciary and elaborate and spread narratives. The environment of the trials will not be neglected. The team will question the concept of "media event" which is often invoked in relation with political trials and make a point of the specificity of particularly notorious trials of presumed war criminals.
To do so the team will first of all investigate the changing political and judicial conjunctures of public war crimes trials in Eastern Europe. This part of the program will address the relations between the political issues at stake, on one hand, the legal principles and judicial practices on the other; notably, it will draw the first pan-(East-)European analysis of the forms and ways in which each of these States did or did not integrate the principles of international law in their national codes, from Nuremberg to 1989. From this perspective, special attention will be given to the period between 1958 (renewal of prosecutions in FRG with the « Ulm trial » and foundation of the «Zentrale Stelle der Landesjustizverwaltungen zur Aufklärung nationalsozialistischer Verbrechen»; new public trials in Eastern Europe, first in Poland, then in Soviet Union and elsewhere) and 1969 when was organized the International Conference on Nazi criminals prosecution in Moscow. This decade, far less studied that the post-war years, is rich of events related to the issue of Nazi war criminals.
Then it will focus on the coverage itself in order to explore the social, political and cultural dimensions of the production and reception of information on the trials. The team shall analyze the elaboration of the different narratives about the war and the ways they were transmitted to the multitude of actors who operate in different spheres with different ranges of action.
The last step of the work will concentrate on the relationship between the question of the war criminals and international relations. The project shall write a history of the circulation of people, documents, practices and representations within the former Eastern Bloc and between East Europe and the rest of the world. The program therefore allows an innovative analysis of the political uses of the war experience in international relations.
Active members
Anne Kropotkine (Microsillons), Irina Tcherneva (CERCEC), Eric Le Bourhis (INALCO), Emilia Koustova (Université de Strasbourg), Audrey Kichelewski (Université de Strasbourg), Nadège Ragaru (CNRS-Sciences Po), Jasmin Söhner (Heidelberg University), Maté Zombory (Hungarian Academy of Sciences),
Victor Barbat (Université Paris 1),
Alexander Friedman (Universität des Saarlandes),
Irina Gridan (INALCO),
Vladimir Petrovic (Boston University),
Roman Podkur (Kiev Academy of Sciences),
Fabien Théofilakis (Université Paris 1)
www.lmu.de/discoursesofmassviolence