1st Edition
Heritage, Conflict, and Peace-Building
Heritage, Conflict, and Peace-Building examines the possibilities arising from, and challenges associated with, transforming heritage from a casualty of conflict into an opportunity for peacebuilding.
The contributors to this book, who hail from academia and practice, present case studies that shed light on the multifaceted factors and conditions influenced by diplomacy, nationalism, victimhood, and the roles of diverse institutional actors in fostering peace. They demonstrate the possibilities and pitfalls of the work heritage does for local communities, the nation-state, and the international community, when these different actors and their peace aspirations and agendas intersect. Looking at heritage and peace processes on all continents, the contributions in this volume amount to a compelling analytical account of how the discourses of heritage and peace connect, overlap, and diverge. They also emphasise that our shared aspiration for peace should not be taken for granted in a heritage context, and that it is incumbent upon heritage scholars and practitioners to be more intentional about the work they wish to do to promote peace.
Heritage, Conflict, and Peace-Building will be of interest to scholars and practitioners working in heritage studies, transitional justice, museum studies, international relations, education, history, and law.
Conflict and Peace-Building: Heritage in Transformation
Yujie Zhu and Lucas Lixinski
PART I – Remembering Conflict for Justice
1. Remembering and Forgetting the Opium Wars: British Colonial Injustice, Education and Heritage
Andrew M Law
2. Peace without Transitional Justice: Cultural Heritage as a Means of Taming Collective Memory on the Example of Post-Trianon Hungary
Mirosław Michał Sadowski
3. Serbian Victimhood and Historical Injustice: Understanding Heritage Sites and Narratives in the former Yugoslavia.
Rebecca Damjanovic
PART II – Contestation, Negotiation, and Dialogue
4. Negotiated Encoding and Decoding of Sensitive Heritage
Hyung yu Park and Rui Su
5. Contested Heritage Perspectives and Strategies in Cyprus
Nikos Pasamitros
6. Non-Violent Confrontation Through World Heritage: A Case Study of Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority
Barry L. Stiefel
7. Participatory Heritage Development for a Positive Peace Framework
Mehdi Ghafouri
PART III – Reconciliation and Prevention
8. Cultural Heritage in the Management and Resolution of Conflicts in Indigenous Communities: A Case Study of the Bette People of Nigeria
Bekeh Ukelina and Tokie Laotan-Brown
9. The Role of UNESCO-led Reconstructions in Post-Conflict Reconciliation
Kristen Barrett-Casey
10. Reimagining the 9/11 Aftermath: Transforming Violent Extremism in a Case Study about Youth, Prevention, Heritage, and Resiliency
Sharon McIntyre and Yehuda Silverman
11 Afterword
David Harvey
Index
Biography
Lucas Lixinski is a professor at the Faculty of Law & Justice at UNSW Sydney, Australia. He comes to heritage from his background as a lawyer, and he explores international cultural heritage law and institutions from the perspective of critical heritage studies.
Yujie Zhu is an associate professor at the Centre for Heritage and Museum Studies at the Australian National University, Australia. With a background in anthropology and critical heritage studies, his research explores the cultural politics of the past within heritage and tourism spaces.
"Professors Lixinski and Zhu harmonize a number of diverse voices to raise a chorus that links cultural heritage to both war and peace. Their volume tilts towards an exploration of how cultural property protections, and discourse around culture, can help sustain a durable peace. On this note, this volume also opens another door: to interrogate, and clarify, what exactly is meant by peace. Heritage, Conflict, and Peace-Building offers a dynamic array of contributions that traverse time, theme, and place. Throughout, the editors’ steady hand guides while also igniting creativity. In short, this volume is indispensable reading regarding how to preserve cultural heritage while enhancing peace."
~ Mark A. Drumbl, Class of 1975 Alumni Professor, Director, Transnational Law Institute, Washington and Lee University
"While UNESCO’s stated goal is to ‘build peace in the hearts of men and women’, its reliance on heritage to achieve this minimises the contested nature of some heritage sites, objects and documents. Heritage and peace-making are not always natural allies. Contested heritage has exacerbated rather than alleviated some conflicts. This book recognises the complexities surrounding some heritage, and the fact that resolution is not a straightforward process. Its case studies offer possible pathways to resolving heritage conflicts through contestation, negotiation and dialogue that will lead to reconciliation and peace. It is recommended reading for all heritage specialists."
~ Roslyn Russell PhD, Chair, UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Committee
