Turkey and Russia as mnemonic actors: Remembering Srebrenica in 2015

2015 was the 20th anniversary of Srebrenica massacre, the most horrific crime proceeding the Holocaust in Europe. Different political actors, international and regional, who performed different roles during different stages of the war in Bosnia and in the post-Dayton period, are still impacting the remembrance of Srebrenica massacre in current world politics. Implementing analytical framework of Kubik and Bernhard on mnemonic actor typologies into international relations, this thesis conceptualizes states as mnemonic actors that utilize multiple mnemonic strategies to shape transnational memory, in accordance with their foreign policy priorities and ontological security concerns. Conceptualizing Turkey and Russia as mnemonic actors in this fashion, this thesis examines their impact on the fractured memory regime on Srebrenica. The analysis focuses on two cases from 2015: veto of Russia on draft resolution that would recognize Srebrenica massacre as a genocide in United Nations Security Council and annual commemoration ceremony at Potocari Memorial Centre. The analysis is based on the examination of 175 texts published in newspapers and by news agencies on these two occasions in the original language, Turkish and Russian, via Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). This thesis aims to contribute ongoing literature on memory politics in relation to foreign policy and ontological security.