The Impact of the Global Memory Imperative on the Srebrenica Genocide Remembrance : Perspectives of the Memory Actors Involved in the 2024 Srebrenica Genocide Commemoration

Examining the adoption of the UN General Assembly resolution on Srebrenica in 2024 and the Srebrenica genocide commemoration organized shortly after, this thesis builds on existing literature about the development of the Srebrenica genocide remembrance under the influence of the global memory imperative. This framework, coined by Levy and Sznaider, describes the normative expectations for remembering the past derived from the experience of the Holocaust. Based on interviews with 15 formal and grassroots memory actors – individuals who helped organize or participated in the 29th Srebrenica genocide anniversary commemoration – this research’s findings illustrate the cosmopolitan nature of Srebrenica genocide remembrance marked by interactions between local and global actors, as well as frictions that arise in the process of negotiating between the ‘universal’ and the ‘particular’. In addition to support for remembering and learning from the past as a way to build a better future, this research finds that memory actors display skepticism about the notion of ‘Never Again’ due to persistent denial of the Srebrenica genocide and reoccurrence of atrocities globally. Their perspectives add to the conversation regarding if and how remembrance contributes to atrocity prevention.