ABSTRACT
In transition societies political parties that emerge out of the opposition movements become memory activists. Not having much in a way of material resources or cultural capital, they transform themselves into agents of electoral politics by deploying what has been termed mnemonic capital. In other words, they structure political competition by remembering and judging the regime that has just ended. Compensating their lack of knowledge about being a party and a lack of mobilizing structures and finances, they use their moral and real victory as a political tool that gives them political identity to galvanize voters. Political parties do not give up on their mnemonic stance easily – indeed as the cases of Poland and South Africa show – the winning parties continue as memory activists despite the passage of time. This state of affairs affects the quality of democracy and it forecloses avenues of progressive politics.
