How competing views of time reshape conflict zones and memorial sites
A new framework reveals how different groups construct conflicting narratives about the same physical space based on incompatible understandings of history and temporality. For policymakers managing post-conflict reconstruction and heritage sites, this insight explains why technical fixes often fail—addressing spatial disputes requires acknowledging that communities experience time itself differently.
Originaltitel: The spatial turn in peace and conflict studies: contributions, limitations and opportunities for research on space–time heterogeneity
<p>The spatial turn in peace and conflict studies brought valuable insights about space in (post-)conflict contexts. Nevertheless, critiques of this literature call for further engagement with spatial heterogeneity. I suggest that analyzing space–time relationships is a promising avenue, as understandings of space are substantiated by heterogeneous temporal experiences. To capture space–timeheterogeneity, I introduce the concept of ‘spatio-temporal conflicts’, which draws attention to how actors construct spatial narratives based on heterogeneous and conflicting temporalities. I illustrate the analytical usefulness of this concept by employing it to explore conflicting space–time narratives around the Partisan Memorial Cemetery in post-war Mostar.</p>