The Politics of War Commemoration in the UK and Russia (Palgrave Macmillan Memory Studies)

This book analyses contemporary war commemoration in Britain and Russia. Focusing on the political aspects of remembrance, it explores the instrumentalisation of memory for managing civil-military relations and garnering public support for conflicts. It explains the nexus between remembrance, militarisation and nationalism in modern societies. "Cover"--"Title" -- "Copyright" -- "Contents" -- "List of Figures and Tables" -- "Preface" -- "Acknowledgements" -- "List of Abbreviations" -- "1 Memory Politics and the Afterlives of Fallen Soldiers" -- "1.1 Fallen soldiers: from the age of nationalism and beyond" -- "1.2 War trauma and communities in grief" -- "1.3 The era of the posts-: war, military and society" -- "1.4 Looking into the reflections of memories" -- "2 Media Commemoration in Britain" -- "2.1 The fallen of the Falklands" -- "2.1.1 The spirit of nationalism" -- "2.1.2 The bodies of the soldiers" -- "2.2 The Gulf War: the irony of a â#x80;#x98;cleanâ#x80;#x99; war" -- "2.2.1 Old myths for a new war" -- "2.2.2 The casualties of friendly fire" -- "2.3 Iraq and Afghanistan: the mediatised deaths" -- "2.3.1 Framing war in the age of uncertainty" -- "2.3.2 The faces of the fallen and remembrance of the best" -- "2.4 Concluding thoughts" -- "3 The Story of War Memorials" -- "3.1 Identity politics in British war memorials" -- "3.1.1 The sacred dead of modern times" -- "3.1.2 Killed while on service" -- "3.2 The National Memorial Arboretum" -- "3.2.1 Forging military commemoration" -- "3.2.2 The social life of memorials" -- "3.3 Private memories and virtual lives" -- "3.4 Concluding thoughts" -- "4 Remembrance in Modern Britain: Support the Armed Forces!" -- "4.1 Patriotism and the Military Covenant" -- "4.2 Armistice Day and Remembrance Day in popular opinion" -- "4.3 Silence, wreaths and red poppies" -- "4.3.1 Re- framing the â#x80;#x98;oldâ#x80;#x99; traditions" -- "4.3.2 Communities united" -- "4.3.3 The controversies of the Poppy Appeal" -- "4.4 Concluding thoughts" -- "5 Media Commemoration in Russia" -- "5.1 Afghanistan: the last Soviet war" -- "5.1.1 The international mission of the USSR" -- "5.1.2 The changing fortunes of the Soviet soldiers" -- "5.2 The first Chechen conflict." "Wars do not simply vanish when politicians sign truces and weapons are set aside. Instead, society reimagines the war experience during annual ceremonies of war commemoration. This book sheds light on the political aspects of commemoration in Britain and Russia by investigating the media coverage of military fatalities, physical and virtual memorials, and national days of remembrance--Remembrance Day/Armistice Day in the UK and Victory Day in Russia. Nataliya Danilova argues that remembrance is a complex process of negotiating a political commitment towards fallen soldiers, national armed forces and the legacy of modern conflicts. By exercising a critical perspective on commemoration, this book explores the instrumentalisation of memory for managing civil-military relations, garnering public support for conflicts and government policies. This analysis advances our understanding of the nexus between remembrance, militarisation and nationalism thereby contributing to longstanding debates in memory studies, civil-military relations, political sociology, and international relations"-- Provided by publisher Front Matter....Pages i-xv Memory Politics and the Afterlives of Fallen Soldiers....Pages 1-18 Media Commemoration in Britain....Pages 19-52 The Story of War Memorials....Pages 53-84 Remembrance in Modern Britain: Support the Armed Forces!....Pages 85-114 Media Commemoration in Russia....Pages 115-145 War Memorials in Russia....Pages 146-174 Remembering War: Celebrating Russianness....Pages 175-207 From Remembrance to Militarisation....Pages 208-218 Back Matter....Pages 219-256