The Representation of the State Memory Politics in National Constitutions: Axiological Aspects

DOI

10.2991/assehr.k.201205.029How to use a DOI?

Keywords

historical memory, images of the Past, memory politics, Constitution, constitutional doctrines, representation of memory politics

Abstract

The article studies the state politics of memory. The digitalisation of society leads to the dominance of post-truth in the media sphere, which exacerbates information and memory wars. Memory conflicts based on incompatible interpretations of historical events and stages can become a serious threat to political stability. The urgent task of the state is to find balance between the freedom of research and other types of activity, expressing opinion and ensuring a reliable Past. The politics of memory is studied mainly by historians who analyse the legal regulation of commemorative and memorial practices using a narrow approach. They emphasize punitive measures that reinforce the state-supported image of the Past. We develop a broader legal approach to the study of the state politics of memory, which allows us to identify its axiological dimension. We consider the texts of constitutions to be a reflection of the values of the state memory politics. The constitution, as the basic law of the country, performs not only legal, but also ideological functions, acting as a manifesto of the political elite, class, national or social group that has come to power. Constitutional texts always incorporate a system of values and anti-values, an assessment of the past and goals for state construction, so the presence of the images of the Past in them is natural. Having considered modern constitutions that include reference to the Past, we identify three levels of axiology in the constitutional representations of state politics: 1) maintaining the national image of History; 2) the state’s responsibility to protect History; 3) the state protection of Memory. We conclude that the representation of the state politics of memory in national constitutions contains a complex system of images of the past, identities and values that are connected with it, as well as relevant measures to support and/or prevent them.

Copyright

© 2020, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press.

Open Access

This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Denis S. Artamonov
AU  - Marina L. Volovikova
AU  - Svetlana A. Kulikova
AU  - Sophia V. Tikhonova
PY  - 2020
DA  - 2020/12/07
TI  - The Representation of the State Memory Politics in National Constitutions: Axiological Aspects
BT  - Proceedings of the XIV European-Asian Law Congress "The Value of Law" (EAC-LAW 2020)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 161
EP  - 167
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.201205.029
DO  - 10.2991/assehr.k.201205.029
ID  - Artamonov2020
ER  -