Partecipanti:

Marco Almagisti

Pietro De Perini

Martina Visentin

Frédéric Dessberg

Bernard Blumenau

Eva Oberloskamp

Abstract:

The aim of the project is to provide an innovative perspective on a still unexplored subject: the memory of international terrorism (namely Arab-Palestinian) that emerged in Europe from the late 1960s until the 2000s. The long-term goals of this project will be to illustrate how the existence (or the lack) of a collective memory has affected 1) the public perception of the ongoing wave of international terrorism; 2) the public representation of the actors involved; 3) foreign security policies of the countries under evaluation.
The countries’ cases and the related terrorist attacks (Italy: Achille Lauro hijacking, 1985; United Kingdom: Lockerbie bombing, 1988; France: UTA terrorist attack, 1989) are consistent both as the “energy” of terrorism, the interplay with the Cold War context, the shared experience of domestic political terrorism, and countries’ role on the European and global scenarios.
Analysing first the main contemporary mediatization drivers, the research will focus on the memory of international terrorism. Moving from the international to the local level, main protagonists of this process will be the EU (memory and remembrance policies), national institutions (governments’ initiatives, memorials and speeches), cultural institutions and opinion makers (universities, press, cinema, theatre), and civil society (e.g.: families’ associations).
The project intends to explore a series of interconnected original research objectives such as 1) Identifying main contemporary features in the story-telling process related to terrorism; 2) Underling changes in approach to the building of shared/divided public memory in comparative perspective; 3) Evaluating the role of the EU in fostering the creation of collective memory; 4) Analysing how memory impacted over the public perception of the so-called “fifth wave” of terrorism; 5) Understanding if the existence/lack memory has had an impact in defining foreign policies toward terrorism and the “rogue countries”.

Obiettivi:

The project aims at a wide range of deliverables, from high scientific level deliverables to public opinion/schools.
1. The target group of the project is represented by teachers and the content will be adapted in order to offer them trainings on memory and terrorism. The course will also provide teaching materials, including cartoons, that become a cultural and methodological device for a series of exploratory focus groups with teachers about their perceptions of Arab-Palestinian terrorism, following the path designed by Takoua Ben Mohamed, the action will foster school inclusivity and deradicalization outcomes primarily on teachers and then on school students.
2. WordPress website: This website will host researchers’ results, it will gather the network of experts and academics and contain a reserved area for teachers that need materials and information for teaching. Nonetheless, the website will provide trustful news and information aiming at countering fake news and manipulation.
3. One international seminar. A Spring School in International Politics & Security has been organized for the first time in 2020 and originates in the MA Program in European and Global Studies, held by the Department of Political Science, Law and International Studies of the University of Padua.
IPSE addresses the main changes in International Politics & Security, thanks to an historical and integrated approach: it relies on a network of 11 European Universities, involving worldwide well-known experts that study this phenomenon from a multidisciplinary perspective as well as MA and PhD students. Its organization will cover the university students’ level of involvement.
4. During the project, a one-day international conference will be organized, gathering 100 participants.
5. Two academic articles, one on memory of international terrorism at EU level and one on a comparative perspective of the three countries; a monography on Foreign Policies and International Terrorism.

Piano delle attività:

FIRST YEAR:

1) Studying the literature and collecting sources;
2) Identifying main contemporary features in the story-telling process related to terrorism;
3) Underling changes in approach to the building of shared/divided public memory in comparative perspective;
4) Analysing how memory impacted over the public perception of the so-called “fifth wave” of terrorism;
5) Understanding if the existence/lack memory has had an impact in defining foreign policies toward terrorism and the “rogue countries”. The study of relevant literature and archives;
The case studies aimed at analyzing terrorism in relation to memory in the selected cases; Academic article 1

SECOND YEAR:

1. Monograph on International terrorism and European States
2. Disseminate and verify the results International conference/IPSE Spring School
3. Academic article 1: Memory and international terrorism
4. Academic article 2: Evaluating the role of international organizations/the EU in fostering the creation of collective memory; The study of institutions’ and authorities’ policies in developing the counter terrorism efforts in order to reveal if and how international organizations impact the relation between terrorism and memory (EU)

Contatti:

valentine.lomellini@unipd.it