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Contesting Postwar Belfast

Gusic, Ivan LU (2020) In Rethinking Peace and Conflict Studies p.193-244
Abstract

This chapter employs relational space on postwar Belfast (Northern Ireland) to understand the role of space in its urban conflicts over peace(s). The focus is both on how society produces and how it is produced by space in its material, perceived, and lived dimensions. The first line of analysis explores how Belfast’s seemingly given ethnonational geography is not “just there”, but—in contrast—is actively produced by those supporting the Catholic and Protestant ethnonational peace(s). This production happens through everything from erecting flags and painting murals to spreading fear of “the other” or clustering into “our/their” residential areas. The second line of analysis explores how Belfast’s built environment—e.g. its peacewalls... (More)

This chapter employs relational space on postwar Belfast (Northern Ireland) to understand the role of space in its urban conflicts over peace(s). The focus is both on how society produces and how it is produced by space in its material, perceived, and lived dimensions. The first line of analysis explores how Belfast’s seemingly given ethnonational geography is not “just there”, but—in contrast—is actively produced by those supporting the Catholic and Protestant ethnonational peace(s). This production happens through everything from erecting flags and painting murals to spreading fear of “the other” or clustering into “our/their” residential areas. The second line of analysis explores how Belfast’s built environment—e.g. its peacewalls and defensive architecture, its houses and roads, and its city centre—“talks back” to society by actively producing ethnonational and socioeconomic divisions that in turn support the ethnonational and normalising peace(s) whilst undermining the coexisting one.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Belfast, Built environment, Ethnonational geography, Northern Ireland, Relational space
host publication
Rethinking Peace and Conflict Studies
series title
Rethinking Peace and Conflict Studies
pages
52 pages
publisher
Palgrave Macmillan
external identifiers
  • scopus:85145402501
ISSN
2752-857X
1759-3735
DOI
10.1007/978-3-030-28091-8_6
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
3d8dcafd-2f8a-4fc9-8ddb-7f56692fe9ba
date added to LUP
2023-01-19 12:57:30
date last changed
2024-04-04 15:56:33
@inbook{3d8dcafd-2f8a-4fc9-8ddb-7f56692fe9ba,
  abstract     = {{<p>This chapter employs relational space on postwar Belfast (Northern Ireland) to understand the role of space in its urban conflicts over peace(s). The focus is both on how society produces and how it is produced by space in its material, perceived, and lived dimensions. The first line of analysis explores how Belfast’s seemingly given ethnonational geography is not “just there”, but—in contrast—is actively produced by those supporting the Catholic and Protestant ethnonational peace(s). This production happens through everything from erecting flags and painting murals to spreading fear of “the other” or clustering into “our/their” residential areas. The second line of analysis explores how Belfast’s built environment—e.g. its peacewalls and defensive architecture, its houses and roads, and its city centre—“talks back” to society by actively producing ethnonational and socioeconomic divisions that in turn support the ethnonational and normalising peace(s) whilst undermining the coexisting one.</p>}},
  author       = {{Gusic, Ivan}},
  booktitle    = {{Rethinking Peace and Conflict Studies}},
  issn         = {{2752-857X}},
  keywords     = {{Belfast; Built environment; Ethnonational geography; Northern Ireland; Relational space}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{193--244}},
  publisher    = {{Palgrave Macmillan}},
  series       = {{Rethinking Peace and Conflict Studies}},
  title        = {{Contesting Postwar Belfast}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28091-8_6}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/978-3-030-28091-8_6}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}