L'enfer des autres : cosmopolitan memory and gross human rights violations in the world

Abstract

This study marks a first attempt to investigate on the relation between memory and Human Rights. More specifically it aims to find out more about the relation between cosmopolitan memory and Gross Human Rights Violations (GHRV). As such, this thesis‘ purpose is to build a basis to the understanding of how the dynamic of cosmopolitan memorialisation works, when it comes to remembering GHRV. GHRV are seen here as the negative representation of the concept of HR. They are tangible realities, which make the study of their memorialisation process more concrete. The present work is divided in three theoretical parts. The first one is dedicated to draw the lines of the different concepts used in the subject and their special relation. The second one is dedicated to the exploration of the effects of a GHRV at the national scale, in order to clear the path to fully understand the dynamics of cosmopolitan memorialisation. The last part is devoted to the explanation of the different factors influencing the process of cosmopolitan memorialisation after a GHRV. These analysis and findings relied on an extended literature research, aiming at scanning different fields of research in order to articulate them in a coherent framework to explain the dynamics. It was concluded that three main factors play a role in the dynamic of cosmopolitan memorialisation: the cognitive, the operative and the emotional factor. These three elements of the dynamics are of equal importance, and have, if they enter in action all together, the power to extract the memory from its geographical and temporal bound to bring it into the cosmopolitan community. These memories are a support to foster HR in different part of the world, using a common set of references.