Intra-institutional memory activism: a sociological investigation of the European Parliament’s politics of remembrance

This paper presents the key findings of research examining the political discourse on ‘European historical memory’ as it is constructed and transformed in the European Parliament within the context of EU memory politics. Situated at the intersection of political sociology, memory studies, and European studies, the investigation adopts an actor-centred perspective and examines the mobilisation dynamics and forms of memory entrepreneurship underlying the construction of such discourse through specific interpretative categories. Among these, the concept of intra-institutional memory activism – both an analytical lens and the main interpretative result of the research. The research adopts a qualitative approach and triangulates different methods and sources, including semi-structured interviews, document collection, and institutional fieldwork, focusing on the analysis of two case studies: the production of two parliamentary resolutions adopted during the 9th legislature (2019–2024).