After the war, Mostar is shaped by struggles over memory and the future

The war in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995 left large parts of the city of Mostar in ruins. But rebuilding the city has involved far more than repairing houses and streets. This is highlighted in new research from Umeå University.

According to Matheus Souza, a doctoral student in political science, the city’s urban spaces still carry different narratives about the past and competing visions of the future.

Key findings of the research

• The city’s urban spaces are still shaped by conflicts over memory, identity and the future.

• For some people, the remaining war ruins symbolised stagnation and a need for modernisation, while others saw them as important for memory and continuity.

• Conflicts over the city’s future became visible in memorial sites, commercial projects and artistic initiatives.

• Peace after war is not only about political agreements or the absence of violence.

• Urban development after war is not only a technical or economic issue.

Quotes

“My research shows that places are never experienced solely as physical locations. They are also shaped by different memories of the past, experiences of the present and expectations for the future,” says Matheus Souza.

“Peace is also shaped through the organisation of urban space and time: through whether people are able to maintain continuity in everyday life, whether they can recognise themselves in the city around them and whether they can imagine sustainable futures after the war,” says Matheus Souza.

Read the full research

Space, Time and Peace in Post-War Mostar

More information

For more information or interview requests, please contact Matheus Souza

A longer article will be published on www.umu.se/en under Social Sciences