Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

War, peace & the city : Urban conflicts over peace(s) in the postwar cities of Belfast, Mitrovica, and Mostar

Gusic, Ivan LU (2017) In Lund Political Studies
Abstract
Postwar cities demonstrate the most persistent continuities of war in peace. This effectively forces people into divided and politicised lives, undermines city-wide urban dynamics, and hampers wider peace processes that these cities are part of. It, however, also goes against what can be and historically is expected of the city – namely to transcend divides, bridge communities, and foster co-existence. This thesis asks the question of how it is so that continuities of war in peace are reinforced rather than transcended in the postwar city. To this end it uses extensive fieldwork in the postwar cities Belfast (Northern Ireland), Mitrovica (Kosovo), and Mostar (Bosnia-Herzegovina) as well as engages in novel theorising on the postwar city... (More)
Postwar cities demonstrate the most persistent continuities of war in peace. This effectively forces people into divided and politicised lives, undermines city-wide urban dynamics, and hampers wider peace processes that these cities are part of. It, however, also goes against what can be and historically is expected of the city – namely to transcend divides, bridge communities, and foster co-existence. This thesis asks the question of how it is so that continuities of war in peace are reinforced rather than transcended in the postwar city. To this end it uses extensive fieldwork in the postwar cities Belfast (Northern Ireland), Mitrovica (Kosovo), and Mostar (Bosnia-Herzegovina) as well as engages in novel theorising on the postwar city and the urban conflicts over peace(s) that permeate it. The ensuing argument is that the continuities of war in peace in the postwar city are reinforced rather than transcended for two mutually enhancing reasons. On the one hand, because urban conflicts over peace(s) undermine the defining aspects of the city that give it transcending potential while reinforcing the defining aspects of the city with destructive potential. On the other hand, because the postwar city as a city reinforces the urban conflicts over peace(s) that in turn undermine its transcending and reinforce its destructive potential.
(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
supervisor
opponent
  • Professor Richmond, Oliver, University of Manchester
organization
publishing date
type
Thesis
publication status
published
subject
keywords
conflict, peace, war, urban, cities, Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Belfast, Northern Ireland, Mitrovica, Kosovo, Serbia, peacebuilding, postwar
in
Lund Political Studies
issue
187
pages
342 pages
publisher
Lund University
defense location
Eden auditorium, Paradisgatan 5, Lund
defense date
2017-09-29 10:15:00
ISSN
0460-0037
ISBN
978-91-7753-391-7
978-91-7753-392-4
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
2062a99e-aa6a-4e66-b1db-c792c10115e5
date added to LUP
2017-09-07 13:12:20
date last changed
2023-10-09 14:27:18
@phdthesis{2062a99e-aa6a-4e66-b1db-c792c10115e5,
  abstract     = {{Postwar cities demonstrate the most persistent continuities of war in peace. This effectively forces people into divided and politicised lives, undermines city-wide urban dynamics, and hampers wider peace processes that these cities are part of. It, however, also goes against what can be and historically is expected of the city – namely to transcend divides, bridge communities, and foster co-existence. This thesis asks the question of how it is so that continuities of war in peace are reinforced rather than transcended in the postwar city. To this end it uses extensive fieldwork in the postwar cities Belfast (Northern Ireland), Mitrovica (Kosovo), and Mostar (Bosnia-Herzegovina) as well as engages in novel theorising on the postwar city and the urban conflicts over peace(s) that permeate it. The ensuing argument is that the continuities of war in peace in the postwar city are reinforced rather than transcended for two mutually enhancing reasons. On the one hand, because urban conflicts over peace(s) undermine the defining aspects of the city that give it transcending potential while reinforcing the defining aspects of the city with destructive potential. On the other hand, because the postwar city as a city reinforces the urban conflicts over peace(s) that in turn undermine its transcending and reinforce its destructive potential.<br/>}},
  author       = {{Gusic, Ivan}},
  isbn         = {{978-91-7753-391-7}},
  issn         = {{0460-0037}},
  keywords     = {{conflict; peace; war; urban; cities; Mostar; Bosnia-Herzegovina; Belfast; Northern Ireland; Mitrovica; Kosovo; Serbia; peacebuilding; postwar}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{187}},
  publisher    = {{Lund University}},
  school       = {{Lund University}},
  series       = {{Lund Political Studies}},
  title        = {{War, peace & the city : Urban conflicts over peace(s) in the postwar cities of Belfast, Mitrovica, and Mostar}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/41767875/Gusic_2017.pdf}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}