“To Ensure that these Emotions are Passed to the Next Generation”: The Netherlands American Military Cemetery in Margraten as a site of Transatlantic Memory Diplomacy during George W. Bush’s ‘War on Terror’
This article analyzes President George W. Bush’s 2005 visit to the Netherlands-American Military Cemetery in Margraten as a case study in transatlantic ‘memory diplomacy’ in the context of the ‘War on Terror.’ It explores why, how and to what ends US diplomats in the Netherlands employed President B...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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European Association for American Studies
2023-07-01
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| Series: | European Journal of American Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/20247 |
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| author | Albertine Bloemendal |
| author_facet | Albertine Bloemendal |
| author_sort | Albertine Bloemendal |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article analyzes President George W. Bush’s 2005 visit to the Netherlands-American Military Cemetery in Margraten as a case study in transatlantic ‘memory diplomacy’ in the context of the ‘War on Terror.’ It explores why, how and to what ends US diplomats in the Netherlands employed President Bush’s visit to Margraten, and the collective memory attached to this place, for transatlantic political-diplomatic purposes. By incorporating the role and agency of Dutch citizens in the development of the local commemorative culture, which in turn informed alternative—‘vernacular’—interpretations of the ‘meaning’ of Margraten as a lieu de mémoire, it demonstrates not only how top-down—‘official’—aims and narratives were at times contested, but also how public diplomacy has the power to obfuscate such alternative meanings, while simultaneously building upon these citizen initiatives for its own purposes. More specifically, this article demonstrates how president Bush’s visit was rhetorically and visually framed through the memory of World War II—linked to Margraten as the décor of this transatlantic diplomatic spectacle—and how this framing in turn informed ‘emotional norms’ that facilitated the creation of an unequal platform for political messaging in favor of the purposes and narratives of the official political-diplomatic actors. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-85b3ad36f56d462ea58e452888081b95 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1991-9336 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | European Association for American Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of American Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-85b3ad36f56d462ea58e452888081b952025-01-06T09:08:06ZengEuropean Association for American StudiesEuropean Journal of American Studies1991-93362023-07-0118210.4000/ejas.20247“To Ensure that these Emotions are Passed to the Next Generation”: The Netherlands American Military Cemetery in Margraten as a site of Transatlantic Memory Diplomacy during George W. Bush’s ‘War on Terror’Albertine BloemendalThis article analyzes President George W. Bush’s 2005 visit to the Netherlands-American Military Cemetery in Margraten as a case study in transatlantic ‘memory diplomacy’ in the context of the ‘War on Terror.’ It explores why, how and to what ends US diplomats in the Netherlands employed President Bush’s visit to Margraten, and the collective memory attached to this place, for transatlantic political-diplomatic purposes. By incorporating the role and agency of Dutch citizens in the development of the local commemorative culture, which in turn informed alternative—‘vernacular’—interpretations of the ‘meaning’ of Margraten as a lieu de mémoire, it demonstrates not only how top-down—‘official’—aims and narratives were at times contested, but also how public diplomacy has the power to obfuscate such alternative meanings, while simultaneously building upon these citizen initiatives for its own purposes. More specifically, this article demonstrates how president Bush’s visit was rhetorically and visually framed through the memory of World War II—linked to Margraten as the décor of this transatlantic diplomatic spectacle—and how this framing in turn informed ‘emotional norms’ that facilitated the creation of an unequal platform for political messaging in favor of the purposes and narratives of the official political-diplomatic actors.https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/20247soft powerWorld War IIWikileakscollective memoryWar on Terrortransatlantic relations |
| spellingShingle | Albertine Bloemendal “To Ensure that these Emotions are Passed to the Next Generation”: The Netherlands American Military Cemetery in Margraten as a site of Transatlantic Memory Diplomacy during George W. Bush’s ‘War on Terror’ European Journal of American Studies soft power World War II Wikileaks collective memory War on Terror transatlantic relations |
| title | “To Ensure that these Emotions are Passed to the Next Generation”: The Netherlands American Military Cemetery in Margraten as a site of Transatlantic Memory Diplomacy during George W. Bush’s ‘War on Terror’ |
| title_full | “To Ensure that these Emotions are Passed to the Next Generation”: The Netherlands American Military Cemetery in Margraten as a site of Transatlantic Memory Diplomacy during George W. Bush’s ‘War on Terror’ |
| title_fullStr | “To Ensure that these Emotions are Passed to the Next Generation”: The Netherlands American Military Cemetery in Margraten as a site of Transatlantic Memory Diplomacy during George W. Bush’s ‘War on Terror’ |
| title_full_unstemmed | “To Ensure that these Emotions are Passed to the Next Generation”: The Netherlands American Military Cemetery in Margraten as a site of Transatlantic Memory Diplomacy during George W. Bush’s ‘War on Terror’ |
| title_short | “To Ensure that these Emotions are Passed to the Next Generation”: The Netherlands American Military Cemetery in Margraten as a site of Transatlantic Memory Diplomacy during George W. Bush’s ‘War on Terror’ |
| title_sort | to ensure that these emotions are passed to the next generation the netherlands american military cemetery in margraten as a site of transatlantic memory diplomacy during george w bush s war on terror |
| topic | soft power World War II Wikileaks collective memory War on Terror transatlantic relations |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/20247 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT albertinebloemendal toensurethattheseemotionsarepassedtothenextgenerationthenetherlandsamericanmilitarycemeteryinmargratenasasiteoftransatlanticmemorydiplomacyduringgeorgewbushswaronterror |