Lecture Series | Nikola Gajić (IOS Regensburg) | (Un)conditional Europeanisation: Memory politics in Serbia surrounding the Yugoslav wars and EU integration

This talk forms part of the lecture series War. Peace. Security. organised by Dr Cindy Wittke (IOS Regensburg) with Dr Paul Vickers (ScienceCampus) and Prof. Ulf Brunnbauer (IOS Regensburg). 

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Abstract:

This presentation explores the Europeanization of memory politics, focusing on Serbia’s contested recognition of the Srebrenica genocide within the EU’s memory framework. As an EU candidate country, Serbia faces significant pressure to align with European norms of transitional justice, which emphasize the acknowledgment of historical atrocities—such as the Srebrenica genocide—as foundational to the EU’s collective identity. However, Serbia’s persistent denial of Srebrenica as genocide reflects the entrenchment of nationalist narratives and the political instrumentalization of memory.

The presentation introduces the concept of Europeanization and its extension into the realm of memory politics, highlighting the EU’s normative expectations regarding reconciliation and the acknowledgment of genocide. It examines Serbia’s memory politics, focusing on how denialism shapes its domestic and international positioning. By analyzing the tension between EU-imposed memory norms and Serbia’s nationalist narratives, the lecture underscores the challenges of integrating divergent collective memories into a cohesive European framework.

Through a critical discussion of transitional justice, civil society efforts, and the role of political elites, this lecture highlights the complexities of using memory as a tool for Europeanization. The central question also addresses the effectiveness of the EU’s conditionality mechanism in securing reconciliation by combating denial and promoting commemorative practices.

Bio:

Nikola Gajić holds a  M.A. degrees in South-Eastern European Studies from the University of Graz and another in Nationalism Studies from Central European University. He has been a researcher at the Humanitarian Law Center in Belgrade since 2020, working on the RECOM project. Since July 2022, he has been a research associate at IOS Regensburg as part of the KonKoop project, focusing on post-Cold War political, economic, and social transformations in Eastern Europe.