From the Ashes of History

In From the Ashes of History, Adam B. Lerner looks at collective trauma as a foundational force in international politics--a "shock" to political cultures that can constitute new actors and shape decision-making over the long-term. While International Relations scholarship has largely dismissed non-systematic, latent phenomena like trauma, Lerner argues that collective trauma can help draw the lines between international political groups and frame the logics of international political action. Drawing on three historical cases that uncover the impact of collective trauma in Indian, Israeli, and American foreign policymaking, From the Ashes of History demonstrates the broad utility of collective trauma as a theoretical lens for investigating how mass violence's legacy can resurge and dissipate over time.