Cancel Culture and Heritage in the Perspective of EU Enlargement to the Southeast Europe

Abstract

The economic, social and political importance of the European Union (EU) and the expected enlargement of the EU to Southeast Europe has led to the need for an informed understanding of the reception of modern social movements in the European hemisphere. In this context, this article discusses differences in the intensity of the social reception of “cancel culture” between the North American and European hemispheres that became visible through social movements in 2020. The article is a descriptive analysis carried out using the desk research method. Castell’s concept of the internet society paradigmatically frames the article as it justifies a simultaneous analysis and description of the intensity of new social movements in two hemispheres. Differences were found in the reception of new social movements in the European and North American hemispheres through an analysis of the demolition of statues of Christopher Columbus, while the situation in Southeast Europe was analysed in order to find the territorial limits of the reception of new social movements. Christopher Columbus was chosen as a relevant historic figure because he connects the North American and European hemispheres through the collective memory concept, while Southeast Europe was relevant for the analysis because of the expected enlargement of the EU to that region. The analysis corroborated the differences in the collective memory related to the historic figure of Christopher Columbus in the two hemispheres, as well as the limited reach of the new social movements in Southeast Europe. The obvious differences in the reception of new social movements in continental Europe give rise to some particular questions related to heritage protection policies in the EU and Southeast Europe. Furthermore, the examples of anomic heritage protection in Croatia, and controversies related to heritage production in North Macedonia suggest the emergence of a cultural parallax in the European hemisphere. The article suggests that this cultural parallax has implications for the credibility of the Treaty on European Union and the application of the Copenhagen criteria. In conclusion, it is argued that heritage protection policies should become mandatory in accession negotiations in future cycles of EU enlargement.