Description
Book SynopsisCreating peace for a cityâs intimate enemies is harder than making war.
This book is about the trajectories of urban conflict and peace in the politically polarized cities of Jerusalem and Belfast since 1994 â how sometimes there has been hopeful change while at other times debilitating stasis and regression. Based on extensive research, fieldwork, and interviews, Scott Bollens shows how seeking peace in these cities is shaped by the interaction of city-based actors and national elites, and that it is not just a political process, but a social and spatial one that takes place problematically over an extended period. He intertwines academic precision with ethnography and personal narrative to illuminate the complex political and emotional kaleidoscopes of these polarized cities. With hostility and competition among groups defined by ethnic, religious, and nationalistic identity on the increase across the world, this timely investigation contributes to our understanding of todayâs fractured cities and nations.
Table of ContentsPreface List of Illustrations 1. National and Urban Co-Production of Conflict and Peace 2. Jerusalem I: Urban Spatial Changes amid Political Impasse 3. Jerusalem II: Interlocking Trajectories of National Politics and Urban Dynamics 4. Jerusalem III: The Self-Perpetuating Cycle of Israeli Hegemonic Territoriality 5. Belfast I: Building Peace in a Post-Violent Conflict City 6. Belfast II: Peacebuilding as Process - Disrupted Trajectories and Urban Outcomes 7. Belfast III: The Competing Demands of Political Stability and Urban Peacebuilding 8. Conflict and Peace: Political and Spatial Trajectories Interviews References Index
