REMEMBER TO NOT FORGET

Construction of the Serbian collective memory through media reportage of the commemorations of the Kosovo War

Abstract

In 2019, Serbia marked the 20th anniversary of the end of the Kosovo War through numerous commemorations that received significant media coverage. Through qualitative, ideographical research, this article explores how the Serbian media constructs the collective memory of the 1999 NATO intervention. By using thematic analysis and coding, the article analyses a total of ten newspaper articles from two newspaper outlets. Three themes emerged from the analysis: 1. “Unjustified and premeditated bombing campaign”; 2. “Do not forget Milica!”; and 3. “No justice?”. The thread that unites all three themes is the element of victimhood that the media frames and positions at the centre of collective memory. The article concludes that this view of victimhood is not an anomaly in history, but is aligned with the existing collective memory through the continuous emphasis on the suffering of Serbs.