Territoriality, Symbolism and the Challenge

Kuusisto, Anna-Kaisa

doi:10.1080/10402650120038152

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…During 1991/1992, the ethnopolitical organizations' flagging of a commonly shared territory disrupted the symbolic orders of the territory, built a sense of group exclusion and locked the communities into an escalating cycle of destructive rivalry. It became evident that in disputed territories, while it may effectively hold together likeminded people, symbolism may awaken controversy and fuel conflict (Kuusisto, 2001).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Political Ecology of Resource-based Inter-ethnic Violence: The Case of the Jarso and the Girhi in Eastern Ethiopia

Hussein

Beyene

Wentzell

2016

Journal of Asian and African Studies

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This article discusses factors that shaped the initiation and escalation of the Jarso-Girhi violence that occurred two decades ago. The data required for the study were collected from community leaders, ordinary members of the communities, and administrative and political officers. The data were collected through one-on-one interviews, focus group discussions and field observations. The study shows that the inter-communal violence was the result of convergence and interaction between historical, ethnopolitical, sociocultural and psychosocial factors. The study reveals the impact of ethnically based mobilization in stoking underlying communal cleavages, in breaking trust and cooperation and in escalating communal unrests. The violence featured dynamics of ethnic competition and destruction in which ethnic competitors failed to minimize mutual harms and maximize mutual gains.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Political Ecology of Resource-based Inter-ethnic Violence: The Case of the Jarso and the Girhi in Eastern Ethiopia

Hussein

Beyene

Wentzell

2016

Journal of Asian and African Studies

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“…The role of popular support for the reforms seems too often to be fading out of political decision-making, whereas in the beginning (for example, in the referendum for peace) it was more present and valued among the politicians. This article has argued that constructing a peaceful Northern Ireland means listening to local voices and tailoring political decision-making to existing locallevel conditions (Kuusisto 2001). Scale politics needs to be sensitive not only towards the several agents and scales involved, but also towards the particularity of local conditions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The end of violence and introduction of ‘real’ politics: tensions in peaceful northern ireland

Kuusisto–Arponen

2001

Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography

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This article discusses contemporary developments in the Northern Ireland peace process, and pays particular attention to some of the main paths away from political violence towards ‘real’ politics. Even the peace process has left many tensions in Northern Ireland. The article focuses on the gap between formal governing or decision–making and everyday life in localities, and the role of geographical scales in the peace initiatives is touched upon. In particular, the Belfast Agreement and its effects on localities are assessed to illustrate some of the advances and drawbacks of the multi–level peace developments. By looking at the local context of Derry/Londonderry, this study shows how ambiguous the very existence of peace is in Northern Ireland: for international media there is peace in Northern Ireland, for local politicians ‘yes, maybe’, but for many locals ‘no’. In the localities territoriality, secured boundaries and collective identities remain crucial elements of everyday life.

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“…His research explored "collective frameworks of memory" as functioning instrumentally for groups and continuously changing according to the needs of the present. Group narratives and embodied performances were most powerful when anchored to "landmarks", wherein the superimposition of symbolic meaning onto a physical reality legitimized a group's memorial "topography" (Till 1999;KuusisTo 2001).…”

Section: Geographies Of Memorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards responsible geographies of memory: complexities of place and the ethics of remembering

Till¹,

Kuusisto–Arponen²

2015

Erdkunde

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Summary:Debates about the meanings of place often emerge when unsettled pasts resurface unexpectedly in ways that dislocate present-day land-uses. Such was the case for the IGU 2011 Regional Meeting in Chile, which was held in Santiago's Military Academy. When considering the geographical scholarship about place and memory, the debates resulting from the conference should not be surprising. Geographers have long examined the controversial processes of social memory and forgetting at places marked by state-perpetrated violence and have noted the unpredictability of group memory due to the translocal nature of how places are connected to peoples and pasts through socio-political networks, cultural and economic connections, and personal and shared emotional geographies. To understand the complexities of ethical relationships we have with places marked by violence, we look to another example, the Memorial and Museum Camp Westerbork in the Netherlands. The past is never 'set in stone' or stable in present-day landscapes. Just as the narratives associated with remembering and forgetting the past may change through time, so too do the spatial contexts of memory. When space-times shift unexpectedly, new social discussions about the significance of the past in the present may emerge. With both examples in mind, we conclude by making a case for the creation of "responsible geographies of memory". We argue that it is our professional responsibility as geographers and our obligation as global citizens to: 1) acknowledge that landscapes often function as places of critical testimony for survivors; 2) problematize singular claims to the authenticity of place made through universal narratives and seemingly stable material landscapes; 3) create safe spaces of listening, wherein stories about place can be articulated and acknowledged by various stakeholders, while recognizing the moral complexities in representing violence through textual, visual and embodied means; and 4) recognize the progressive potential of places as cosmopolitan spaces of encounter and learning. By treating places marked by difficult pasts as cosmopolitan, hosts and visitors are invited to engage critically with the unfolding processes of memory politics, and adopt respectful approaches toward justice that includes caring for places and peoples in the past and present.Zusammenfassung: Debatten über die Bedeutung von Orten der Erinnerung entstehen oftmals, wenn eine nicht aufgearbeitete Vergangenheit die gegenwärtige Nutzung dieser Orte in unerwarteter Weise in Frage stellt. Genau dies war der Fall, als im Jahr 2001 das IGU Regional Meeting in Chile in Santiagos Militärakademie ausgerichtet wurde. Ein Blick in die einschlägige geographische Literatur über Erinnerungsorte lässt die aus dieser Konferenz sich ergebende Debatte kaum überraschend erscheinen. Die kontroversen Prozesse kollektiven Gedenkens und Vergessens an Orten, die durch staatlich verübte Gewaltverbrechen gekennzeichnet sind, gelten seit langem als Gegenstand geographischer Forschung. Die Erken...

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Territoriality, Symbolism and the Challenge

Cited by 8 publications

References 1 publication

The Political Ecology of Resource-based Inter-ethnic Violence: The Case of the Jarso and the Girhi in Eastern Ethiopia

The Political Ecology of Resource-based Inter-ethnic Violence: The Case of the Jarso and the Girhi in Eastern Ethiopia

The end of violence and introduction of ‘real’ politics: tensions in peaceful northern ireland

Towards responsible geographies of memory: complexities of place and the ethics of remembering

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