Reinventing World War II: Popular Memory in the Rise of the Ethnonationalist State

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The resurgence of World War II in American public culture between 1985 and 2005 functioned as a hegemonic infrastructure for the rise of an ethnonationalist state, rather than merely being an expression of nostalgia. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.NOVEL_FINDING. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

Stuart J. Murray

doi:10.1080/00335630.2026.2717229

August 25, 2026Quarterly Journal of Speech

Reinventing World War II: Popular Memory in the Rise of the Ethnonationalist State

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Key Points

To evaluate how the resurgence of World War II in American public culture between 1985 and 2005 functioned as an ideological and hegemonic framework for the ethnonationalist state rather than mere nostalgia.
Conducted a critical rhetorical and cultural analysis of American public discourse, commemorations, and popular media representations of World War II spanning the 1985–2005 period.
Demonstrates that the cultural return of World War II operated as active hegemonic infrastructure that legitimized state power and structured national identity.
Shows that popular wartime memories were systematically mobilized to construct ethnonationalist narratives rather than serving as passive historical recollection.

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Implication

Rhetorical analysis reveals how World War II cultural memory supported ethnonationalist state infrastructure between 1985 and 2005, highlighting the political power of popular remembrance.

Abstract

The core claim of Barbara A. Biesecker’s Reinventing World War II is that the return of World War II to American public culture between 1985 and 2005 was less nostalgia than hegemonic infrastructur...

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Stuart J. Murray (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a8fea3310c91c1e926224cf https://doi.org/10.1080/00335630.2026.2717229

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Reinventing World War II: Popular Memory in the Rise of the Ethnonationalist State

Key Points

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Reinventing World War II: Popular Memory in the Rise of the Ethnonationalist State

Key Points

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Implication

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