22. juli husket nedenfra: overgangsrettferdighet og mikrominner som demokratisk politikk

We live in a time of democratic backsliding in which the rise of authoritarian and populist regimes threatens the implementation of transitional justice measures and risks reversing past achievements. Impunity and denial render societies vulnerable to authoritarian nostalgia and the manipulation of unresolved conflicts. At the same time, public memory arenas – monuments, memorial sites, and institutions commemorating victims – are increasingly contested, becoming targets of protest, vandalism, and removal. The struggle over memory is thus also a struggle over the role and place of transitional justice. This chapter examines democratic resilience through the lens of memory. Starting from the relative vulnerability of top-down 22 July memory politics, in which the Norwegian state sets the terms and governs commemorative processes, the chapter explores the concept of “micro-memories” as a way of understanding the role and importance of memory work from below, done by survivors, affected individuals, and local communities. While official memorials tend to endure and invite ongoing collective interpretation, micro-memories are more ephemeral, personal, and dispersed. These include naming buildings or objects after victims, dedicating artistic works, establishing scholarships or solidarity initiatives, planting trees, or highly personal acts such as getting a tattoo. Together, they form a parallel commemorative landscape that is neither fully private nor fully public. Drawing on mapped examples, the chapter shows that memory work can be relational, diverse, and less institutionally bound, highlighting the importance of “resilient memories” that exist beyond state control.