Doctoral Dissertation Research: Irish Neutrality in World War II

1939年9月2日，独立的爱尔兰正式宣布在第二次世界大战中保持中立。这一时期被称为“紧急状态”。随着时间的推移，公众对这一时期的记忆和纪念活动发生了怎样的变化，以及为什么发生了变化？这篇论文追溯了自1945年以来，爱尔兰如何正式和公开地纪念这一紧急状态的社会、政治和文化转变的原因和后果。爱尔兰在历史上最致命、最广泛的战争中保持中立，在这场战争中，爱尔兰抛弃了盟友和邻国，未能捍卫民主对抗法西斯主义，这在二战后的欧洲背景下制造了困难。因此，紧急情况是一个独特的案例，以审查国家如何构建和重建其过去令人不快或尴尬的特定方面。该项目包括分析档案数据(政治演讲、政府文件)、调查数据(爱尔兰民意调查)和采访数据(对在二战中战斗的爱尔兰士兵的采访，尽管他们保持中立)。更广泛的影响这项研究的发现可能会引起广泛的利益相关者的兴趣，包括政策制定者和普通公众。许多国家和民族周期性地面临这样一种情况，即他们的过去的一部分需要解释，也需要重新解释。公众记忆和纪念过去的努力在使各国能够弘扬民族文化、使国家合法化以及处理过去的积极和消极事件方面发挥着重要作用。这项研究的发现可能会增进我们对公众记忆和纪念活动的变化如何有助于随着时间的推移而促进政治稳定和更民主社会的发展的理解。

SES - 1131566Jeffrey Olick (PI)Tara Tober (co-PI)University of VirginiaDoctoral Dissertation Research: Irish Neutrality in World War IIAbstractOn September 2nd, 1939, independent Ireland officially declared its neutrality during the Second World War. This period is known as "the Emergency." How and why has public memory and commemoration of this period changed over time? This dissertation traces the causes and consequences of social, political, and cultural shifts in how the Emergency has been officially and publicly remembered in Ireland since 1945. Ireland's neutrality during the deadliest and most widespread war in history, during which it abandoned allies and neighbors and failed to defend democracy against fascism, created difficulties in a post-World War II European context. As such, the Emergency presents a unique case to examine how nations construct and reconstruct particular unpleasant or embarrassing aspects of their past. This project involves analysis of archival data (political speeches, government documents), survey data (Irish opinion polls), and interview data (interviews of Irish soldiers who fought in WWII despite neutrality). Broader ImpactsFindings from this research may be of interest to a broad set of stakeholders, including policy makers, and the general public. Many states and nations periodically face a situation in which part of their past requires interpretation, and re-interpretation. Public memory and efforts to memorialize the past plays an important role in enabling countries to promote national cultures, legitimate the state, and address both positive and negative events of the past. Findings from this research may improve our understanding of how shifts in public memory and commemoration contribute to political stability over time, and to the development of more democratic societies.