The alliance of victory: Russo-Serbian memory diplomacy

Abstract

The politics of memory of World War II underlies the public and political discourses in contemporary Russia and Serbia, with political elites using the narrative of the victory against fascism as a unifying and legitimising tool. The heroic war memory is also outward-oriented and underpins the ever-closer relations between the two countries. This article explores how Russia exports and engages with the memory of World War II in Serbia, introducing the concept of memory diplomacy as a form of public diplomacy. Based on the travelling of memory, narratives and practices, memory diplomacy takes memory politics to the international level. The article theorises memory diplomacy as co-creation, rather than a one-way process, which involves benefits for all parties involved. Through historical and content discourse analysis of data from Russia and Serbia, the article illustrates how the theory of memory diplomacy works in practice.