Ontological dissonance and memory orders: Russia and geopolitical identity struggles in the Balkans

Abstract

This paper examines how different Balkan states manage ontological dissonance vis-à-vis Russia’s mnemonic power, the ability to define what and how to remember, as observed through shifts in state memory regimes since Russia’s internationally unrecognized annexation of Crimea in 2014 and intensified after the subsequent full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. For this purpose, this article adopts a constructivist approach enriched by ontological security and memory studies to explain how states manage competing historical memories and strategic alignments in the region. Russia’s symbolic power is explored in Bulgaria, Serbia, and Romania, and three mnemonic responses (memory coupling, memory decoupling, and dissonant signalling) are identified. Memory politics are found to be shifting, especially after the full-scale invasion in February 2022, which underscores the role of symbolic geopolitics in contemporary foreign policy.