Owen Howells Ottin

Supervisors: Dr Diana Georgescu and Dr Mart Kuldkepp (Co-Supervisors)

Present Status: MPhil Candidate

Working Title of Thesis: Commemorating dictators in a democratic era: Inherited nostalgia, historical revisionism, and cultural purpose in the commemoration of pre-Communist dictators

Research: Exploring the complex, often controversial commemoration and memorialisation of pre-communist dictators in modern democracies, my study will provide analysis of the methods and motivations behind commemoration and explore what role this serves in modern democratic states. This debate has been primarily reserved to political and journalistic fields; therefore, my work will contribute much needed academic analysis. Whilst my project will examine the wider region it will focus on two case studies: Konstantin Päts in Estonia and Ion Antonescu in Romania for more detailed analysis of cultural need and the role of inherited nostalgia for the pre-Communist era.

Research Interests: Interbellum History and Politics, Baltic 20th Century History, Authoritarianism and Far-Right Politics, South Eastern European 20th Century History, Commemoration, Memory, and Nostalgia.

Research Centre Affiliation: SSEESing, South-East European Studies Seminar Series