Globalizing Memory and the Struggle for Historical Justice in Aotearoa/New Zealand: A Reflection on ‘Memories without Borders?’

Abstract

In his exploration of painful Hispanic pasts, Professor José Colmeiro examines several interfaces between national and international memories and (relatedly) processes of transitional justice. While acknowledging that the main factors impelling the quest for historical justice lie within national boundaries, he also asks how far the pursuit of claims for transitional justice can be assisted by the transference of knowledge about the past across international borders. His answer is cautiously positive: the recent escalation of globalizing tendencies, which have so much capacity for harming people and environment through (for example) the operations of multinational corporations, can also assist the propagation of revival of memory by past and/or presently oppressed groupings. Moreover, this globalized transfer of knowledge can have an applied effect for those groupings through their garnering of popular and official international support. Additionally, in some cases, reverse transfer of memory-knowledge from struggles in other jurisdictions – including methods of struggle, reconciliation and reparations – can add value to the quest for historical justice.