Criminalizing History: Legal Restrictions on Statements and Interpretations of the Past in Germany, Poland, Rwanda, Turkey and Ukraine (Studies in Political Transition)

Description

Why do states ban certain statements and interpretations of the past, how do they ban them and what are the practical consequences? This book offers an answer to these questions and at the same time examines, whether the respective legislation was supply-or demand-driven and how prosecutors and courts applied it. The comparison between Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Rwanda and Turkey offers several surprising insights: in most countries, memory law legislation is supply driven and imposed on a reluctant society, in some countries they target apolitical hooligans more than intellectuals or the government’s political opponents. The book also discusses, why and how liberal democracies differ from hybrid regimes in their approach to punitive memory laws and how such laws can be tailored to avoid constraints on free speech, the freedom of the press and academic freedoms. Cover Table of Contents List of Acronyms List of graphs, tables and statistics Introduction1 Acknowledgements 1. Protecting the state and its historical identity 2. Protecting the Nation’s Good Name Genocide Prevention and the Punishment of Genocide Ideology in Rwanda Memory laws in Turkey: protecting the memory of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Between heroes and perpetrators Freedom of expression and debates about history in the case law of the European Court of Human Rights Conclusion Note on contributors Index of names and notions