Framing the nation and collective identities : political rituals and cultural memory of the twentieth century traumas in Croatia / edited by Vjeran Pavlakovic and Davor Paukovic.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

'This book analyses top-down and bottom-up strategies of framing the nation and collective identities through commemorative practices relating to events from World War Two and the 1990s'Homeland War' in Croatia. With attention to media representations of commemorative events and opinion poll data, it draws on interviews and participant observation at commemorative events to focus on the speeches of political elites, together with the speeches of opposition politicians and other social actors (such as the Catholic Church, anti-fascist organisations, and war veterans' and victims' organisations) who challenge official narratives. Offering innovative approaches to researching and analysing commemorative practices in post-conflict societies, this examination of a nation's transition from a Yugoslav republic to an independent state - and now the newest member of the European Union - constitutes a unique case study for scholars of cultural memory and identity politics interested in the production, representation and representation of national identities in official narratives'-- Provided by publisher.