About the event
While there has been extensive research on democratic transition and post-conflict reconstruction in Southern and Eastern Europe, little is known about the roles played by diasporas in general and by refugees’ diasporic memories in particular. However, many states in Africa, Latin America and even Europe are engaged in attempts to reassess their recent histories in order to elaborate new nation-building narratives. In this context, refugee diasporas have often retained a memory of conflicts which has sometimes been erased (or voluntarily forgotten) in the country of origin.
The workshop explored:
- The role of refugee organisations in re-processing individual memories into an alternative narrative of national history; and
- The stance of states of origin – whether they are willing or unwilling to re-incorporate this expatriate memory in the context of democratic transition.
This event was generously supported by ODS Conference Funding, The Oppenheimer Fund, The Leverhulme Trust, the Refugee Studies Centre, and the Oxford Martin School.