Problems of memorial culture and historical memory in modern Lebanon

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In the article the author analyses the features and directions of development of historical politics as wars of memory in modern conflict societies of the Middle East in Lebanese contexts. Social, political and economic reasons contradictions based on mutually exclusive ideas about the past also stimulates memorial conflicts in Lebanon. The author shows that wars of memory are characteristic of both relations between countries of the region and national societies. The purpose of the study is to analyse the role of collective historical memory in Lebanon as a factor that stimulates political and military conflicts in the region. The novelty of the study lies in the comparative study of wars of memories as a factor in the development of memorial cultures in modern politically unstable and unsustainable societies of the Middle East. The article shows that 1) different visions and versions of history and the past stimulate political conflicts, 2) political elites of Lebanon are involved in the process of manipulation of history, which stimulates the instrumentalisation of the past, turning it into a political resource, 3) wars of memory stimulate the nationalisation of history. The processes of a nation-state building in the region are not completed, forcing the ruling political elites to use the symbolic potential of history as a mobilisation resource. It is assumed that history in Lebanon became a symbolic battlefield, and memory wars became a universal form of development of memorial cultures. The author believes that 1) the elites actively use the symbolic resources of history and will continue this policy in the near chronological perspective, 2) hypothetically military-political conflicts can be resolved, which will turn history into a battlefield, since contradictions cannot be completely overcome, 3) memory wars can become a universal form of internal and external communication of conflicting societies.

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