[New blog post] Ulad Belavusau on Jewish history, constitutional law, citizenship and the role of the ‘never again’ narrative

In his recent contribution for a symposium on Verfassungsblog, researcher Ulad Belavusau analyses how the Jewish past has influenced constitutional and citizenship law. The online symposium, edited by Mattias Kumm and Liav Orgard and entitled “Never Again: The Holocaust Trauma and Its Effect on Constitutional and International Law”, collects essays on the role of the ‘never again’ theme worldwide, especially in the aftermath of the Hamas attack on Israeli citizens in October 2023.

In his analysis, Ulad Belavusau explores the concept of mnemonic constitutionalism, which refers to the use of constitutional law and citizenship regulations to shape collective memory and national identity, often by institutionalising official narratives about historical events. Central to this concept is the theme ‘never again’, which has driven the creation of memory laws, especially in Europe, initially to combat Holocaust denial and ensure the horrors of the Shoah are not repeated.

These memory laws extend beyond punitive measures and encompass broader regulations that influence and, at times, conflict with academic freedom, minority protection, and the rule of law. Belavusau’s analysis focuses on how countries like Germany, Spain, Portugal, and Israel have incorporated the Jewish past into their constitutional and citizenship regulations to promote a culture of remembrance and moral lessons from history. 

Protecting Jewish life
In Germany, the Basic Law and citizenship regulations embody this mnemonic constitutionalism, with provisions explicitly aimed at protecting Jewish life and combating denialism beyond criminal law. The recent reform of the citizenship law enacted in Germany and effective as of June 2024, will also require the recognition of the Israeli state's right to exist for acquiring citizenship, in line with Germany's commitment to counteracting anti-Semitism and enforcing the ‘Nie wieder’ narrative. 

Similarly, Spain and Portugal have enacted laws granting citizenship to descendants of Sephardic Jews that were expelled during the Inquisition (a significant part of whom also ended up in the Netherlands), reflecting a restorative approach to historical injustices. In Israel, the Law of Return and the Nationality Law form the bedrock of its constitutionalism and citizenship in the absence of a formal constitution, ensuring the state remains a historical homeland for Jews worldwide. These examples illustrate how mnemonic constitutionalism transcends the mere commemoration of the Holocaust, embedding a broader commitment to the tragic Jewish history and the ethos of ‘never again’ within constitutional identity and citizenship laws.

Read the full blogpost on Verfassungsblog.

About Ulad Belavusau
Dr Ulad Belavusau is senior researcher in European Law and the head of the Dutch team at the Asser Institute, in the international consortium of MEMOCRACY (“Towards Effective Responses to Militant Legilation of the Past”), supported by the Volkswagen Foundation. As part of the research consortium, he studies the proliferation of the nation-centric governance of memory through laws and policies in Germany and selected countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Using the concept of ‘memocracy’, meaning ‘ruling on the basis of memory’, the study seeks to shed light on how particular abuses of memory laws and policies interact with European values such as democracy, fundamental human rights and the rule of law. Belavusau is part of the Asser Institute research strand ‘In the public interest: accountability of the state and the prosecution of crimes’. 

Read more
Connecting historical memory governance in Latin America and East Asia
The MEMOCRACY project is bringing scholars from Latin America and East Asia together to the Hague, to explore new solutions to legal governance of history through ‘memory laws’ – laws that regulate historical memory. These laws can be punitive, with a criminal punishment for denialism of historical fact, and non-punitive, usually declarative or commemorative. Read more.  

Rule of law and constitutionalisation of memory politics in Hungary and Russia
In the new book Rule of Law in Crisis- Constitutionalism in a State of Flux (edited by Martin Belov, Routledge 2023), senior Asser Institute researcher Ulad Belavusau focuses on the rise of memory laws in Hungary and Russia throughout the 2010s. According to Dr Belavusau, Russia not only stirred up major memory wars in the region, but also uses these memory laws as a fake justification for the war against Ukraine. Read more

[New research project] ‘The challenge of populist memory politics for Europe: Towards effective responses to militant legislation on the past (MEMOCRACY)’ Earlier this month, work has started on the new MEMOCRACY research project, co-organised with University of Cologne, University of Copenhagen, and Polish Academy of Sciences. As part of the MEMOCRACY research consortium, Asser senior researcher Dr Uladzislau Belavusau will study the proliferation of the nation-centric governance of memory through laws and policies in Germany and selected countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Read more.