Peace between Peace(s)? Urban Peace and the Coexistence of Antagonists in City Spaces

Abstract

The plurality and subjectivity of peace means that transitions from war are contested – i.e. permeated by conflicts between previously warring antagonists who want to (re)order postwar society according to competing peace(s). But while there always will exist mutually excluding peace(s), such outliers do not foreclose middle grounds where multiple peace(s) can coexist. In this article, I argue that the postwar city can generate coexistence between peace(s) of varying divergence through the creativity, accommodation, and fragmentation of city spaces. These arguments are illustrated through examples from postwar Belfast, Mitrovica, and Mostar. I term this conceptualization urban peace.