Post-Doctoral Research

​Memorialising terror: Remembrance and Social Recovery after Terrorist Attacks 

Successful memorialisation of the victims of terrorism relies in part on the careful consideration of the various issues associated with the memorialisation process. The praxis and literature evidence a number of practical and conceptual challenges involved in the process. Some of these challenges include the timing, the meanings associated with monuments and commemorations, the presence of multiple actors in the process, and the creation, location and maintenance of memorials. 

To address societal and political responses and assess the efficacy and appropriateness of post-terrorist memorialisation this project  investigates: What remembrance policy choices have been pursued by the EU and in the countries affected by terrorist violence? How are these actions met by the survivors and victims’ associations? I analyse (trans)national memory politics concerning terror attacks by scrutinizing construction of monuments, memorial plaques and memorials, as well as the organisation of commemorations.

​The project seeks to challenge and reframe the understanding of remembrance as a tool for symbolic justice which currently dominates policy and academic study, in order to draw attention to the importance of memorialisation in social and personal recovery.

Cases observed: Brussels attacks, Paris attacks and the Manchester Arena bombing.
Research conducted at the Leuven Institute for Criminology, LINC ( KU Leuven)
Post-Doc Supervisor: prof. dr. Stephan Parmentier
Funding: BOF PDM