Monumental empowerment: The vandalism of public mnemonic objects

This article develops a novel approach for defending the vandalism of ‘tainted’ monuments by appealing to democratic process. Through the framework of symbolic power, and with a focus on deliberative processes of ‘collective authorization’, the article makes three central claims. First, I argue that public mnemonic objects that are improperly authorized result in the symbolic powerlessness of those excluded. Second, I argue that this powerlessness survives when collectives fail to re-authorize their mnemonic objects. As such, I redefine ‘tainted’ commemorations with reference to procedure and not merely problematic content. Third, I defend the vandalism of tainted commemorations as assertions of symbolic empowerment , or full participation in symbolic design, for groups facing historical and ongoing marginalization. Together, these arguments explore how the failure of narrow and/or top-down processes of monument authorization and their objectification in the memory landscape redirect unfulfilled democratic participation to the physical, built realm.