Victimhood Nationalism
History and Memory in a Global Age
Jie-Hyun Lim author Megan Sungyoon translator
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Columbia University Press
Publishing:18th Feb '25
£30.00
This title is due to be published on 18th February, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
Nationalism today depends on the perception of victimhood. The historical memory of past suffering endows nationalist movements with political legitimacy and a sense of moral superiority. Koreans recall Japanese colonial atrocities, while Japan commemorates the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Israel sanctifies the Holocaust and Poland trumpets the Nazi and Soviet occupations. Even Germany and Russia, perpetrators of historical crimes, today cast themselves as victims by pointing to national suffering.
In this theoretically sophisticated and empirically rich book, Jie-Hyun Lim offers a new way to understand nationalism and its political instrumentalization of suffering, developing the concept of “victimhood nationalism” and exploring it in a range of global settings. He examines relations among Poland, Germany, Israel, Korea, and Japan, focusing on how memories of colonialism, the Holocaust, and Stalinist terror have converged and intertwined in transnational spaces. With an emphasis on memory formation, Lim scrutinizes how perpetrators in Germany and Japan transformed themselves into victims, as well as how nationalists in Poland, Korea, and Israel portray themselves as hereditary victims in order to rebut external criticism. He considers the construction of nations as victims and perpetrators, tracing the interaction of history and memory. Ultimately, the book contends, challenging victimhood nationalism is necessary to overcome the endless competition over national suffering and instead promote reconciliation, mutual understanding, and transnational solidarity.
Named one of the 10 best books of 2021 [Korean language edition] * Chosun Ilbo *
Named one of the 10 best books of 2021 [Korean language edition] * Dong-A Ilbo *
Named one of the 10 best books of 2021 [Korean language edition] * Hankook Ilbo *
Seventh place in the Kinokuniya People's Book Award 2023 [Japanese language edition] * Kinokuniya *
This expansive study of what the author has astutely identified as "victimhood nationalism" ranges across the global landscape of contemporary memory practices from Eastern Europe to East Asia and places between. A landmark in the flourishing field of memory studies. -- Carol Gluck, Columbia University
A real tour de force, Victimhood Nationalism is the outcome of decades of research on what Lim calls "global memory formation." Tracking the dark side of collective remembrance across multiple languages, heterogeneous histories, and far-flung geographies, Lim offers a compelling account of how the memory of victimhood grounds exclusivist national identities even as it travels freely across national borders. The book is a must-read for all who are alarmed about contemporary abuses of memory and yet hold on to a fragile hope for mnemonic solidarity. -- Michael Rothberg, author of The Implicated Subject: Beyond Victims and Perpetrators
Now that the past plays a critical role in shaping both national identities and global politics, Victimhood Nationalism explores how historical suffering is turned into moral advantage. With a sharp focus on East Asia and Eastern Europe, this book brings clarity to the ways in which nations spin victimhood narratives to assert dominance in the transnational memory space. Drawing global implications from regional comparisons, Jie-Hyun Lim reshapes the conversation in memory studies and offers a new perspective within global history. Essential reading for anyone interested in the politics of memory and identity. -- Joanna Wawrzyniak, University of Warsaw, president of the Memory Studies Association
ISBN: 9780231216883
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
456 pages