Abstract

Transitional justice mechanisms designed to deal with the past can collide with or be amplified by localized ‘everyday’ memory work in divided societies. This article argues that transitional justice actors need to take more account of the rich, dense and pervasive forms of memory in divided societies, which can provide insight into postconflict narratives and how they impact on transitional processes, how memory entrepreneurs can advance claims and how zones of engagement between communities in conflict may function, or fail to function. A series of ‘vignette’ case studies of everyday political memory in Northern Ireland is used to interrogate localized memory making and the corresponding need to obtain a better empirical and analytical purchase on ambiguous transitional environments.