Memory Sites and Conflict Dynamics: Collective Memory, Identity, and Power (Routledge Studies in Peace and Conflict Resolution)

This book explores the ways in which memory sites contribute to the dynamics of identity-based conflicts, fueling fears and sharpening divisions, or promoting commonalities and reducing violence. Through an analysis of the dynamics of identity-based conflicts, the book shows how memory sites become intertwined with the transformations of social boundaries and perceptions of relative deprivation, outgroup threat, collective axiology, and power relations.It posits that these two sets of factors - the functioning of collective memory as an ideological construct and the transformation of conflictual social relations - define the role and influence of memory sites in the dynamics of identity-based conflicts.Through multiple case studies representing different dynamics - dealing with fascist and communist pasts in Italy, post-colonial relations between South Korea and Japan, ethnic conflict in Kosovo, and tribal acknowledgment for Native American Nations - the book discusses how memory sites