Abstract Memory work is important for far-right movements and parties but defies systematic scholarly analysis. I theorize that, depending on the electoral aspirations of far-right actors, their memory work involves not only the contestation but also the appropriation of the past, through hybrid memorial strategies, tactics and repertoires. I leverage original evidence from a unique dataset of party events and party archives as well as from in-depth interviews and event observations to demonstrate the mechanics of memory work undertaken by the far right in Cyprus. Using this empirically significant case, I show how the hybridity of the far right's memory work permits it to dispute the memory ownership of other actors (contention) while legitimating its place in memorial politics (convention). I also show that this hybridity is more than a transitory phase towards normalization – it is a strategic choice of far-right actors with growing electoral aspirations.
Antonis A. Ellinas (Thu,) studied this question.