Description
Prompted by the decline of grand narratives since the end of the Cold War and the atomisation of societies under the neoliberal paradigm, Western states have sought to foster a renewed sense of national identity by mobilising a shared collective memory of the past. New Zealand is no exception. In recent years, successive governments have put considerable public resources into reaffirming what it means to be a “New Zealander.” My paper focuses specifically on mnemomic strategies deployed by the settler state to promote the acceptance of (an officially sanctioned) New Zealand identity among the indigenous Māori minority. As I argue through a narratological analysis of a number of public museum exhibitions, these strategies serve to safeguard the myth of “benevolent colonialism,” which is the linchpin in legitimising the settler state and its political institutions. In making this argument, my paper not only speaks to debates in postcolonial studies and historical sociology, but it is also of interest to IR scholars employing interpretivist research methods.
