Across Eastern Europe how the past is remembered has become a crucial factor for understanding present-day political developments within and between states. In this introduction, we first present the articles that form part of this special section through a discussion of the various methods used by the authors to demonstrate the potential ways into studying collective memory. We then define the regional characteristics of Eastern Europe’s mnemonic politics and the reasons for their oftentimes conflictual character. Thereafter we consider three thematic arenas that situate the individual contributions to this special section within the wider scholarly debate. First, we examine the institutional and structural conditions that shape the circulation of memory and lead to conflictive constellations of remembering; second, we discuss how different regime types and cultural rules influence the framing of historical episodes, paying attention to supranational integration and the role of technological change; third, we consider the different types of actors that shape the present recall of the past, including political elites, social movements, and society at large. We conclude by identifying several promising avenues for further research.

在整个东欧，如何记住过去已经成为了解当今国家内部和国家之间政治发展的关键因素。在本引言中，我们首先通过讨论作者用来说明研究集体记忆的潜在方法的各种方法，来介绍构成该特殊部分的文章。然后，我们定义了东欧助记符政治的区域特征及其经常发生冲突的原因。此后，我们考虑了三个主题领域，它们将个人对这一特殊部分的贡献置于更广泛的学术辩论之内。首先，我们研究了形成记忆循环并导致记忆冲突的制度和结构条件。第二，我们讨论了不同的政体类型和文化规则如何影响历史情节的形成，并关注超国家一体化和技术变革的作用；第三，我们考虑塑造过去回忆的不同类型的参与者，包括政治精英，社会运动和整个社会。最后，我们确定了一些有前途的途径进行进一步研究。