War Veterans in Eastern Europe during the Long Twentieth Century

Coordinated by Constantin Iordachi, Blasco Sciarrino 

This project explores modalities through which war veterans in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus have influenced national politics. The contributors focus on state legislation for ex-servicemen, studying the ways governments have tailored their veterans’ policies to suit their political goals. They also analyze relevant instances of political activities performed by ex-combatants, enquiring upon these ex-servicemen’s goals and strategies. The project examines these topics through a wide variety of case studies. The project aims at contributing to scholarly debates on veterans’ activism, highlighting the relevant role which wars have played in nation-and state-building efforts, and helping individuate factors affecting veterans’ public undertakings. The main outcome of the project will be a collective volume on this topic to be published in 2022.   

Participants: Béla Bodó, Jelena Đureinović, Allyson Edwards, Iva Jelusic, Aude Merlin, Sven Milekić, John Paul Newman, Adrien Nonjon, Taline Papazian, Václav Šmidrkal, and Alexandre Sumpf.