Ethics of Political Commemoration: Towards a New Paradigm (Twenty-first Century Perspectives on War, Peace, and Human Conflict)

This book proposes a new Ethics of Political Commemoration adapted from the Just War tradition, reflecting that remembrance is often conducted with political – and even coercive – intent. With its Ius ad Memoriam (what to commemorate) and Ius in Memoria (how to commemorate) criteria, the framework looks to guide debates that are currently inchoate so that remembrance of the past can transform relationships in the present and build a shared future. Offering a moral argument with memorable illustrations, Gutbrod and Wood draw on experiences from Armenia, Georgia, Ireland, Lebanon, and Libya, while connecting to mainstream debates in Western Europe and the United States. Bringing together an ethical tradition with the practice of conflict transformation, the framework fuses two perspectives that enrich each other. The book, in providing a first systematic presentation of the ethics, seeks to engage citizens and scholars, and help those who work to transform conflicts. Acknowledgements Context and Funding Contents List of Tables Chapter 1: Introduction: Ethics of Political Commemoration as a New Paradigm A Framework for Merit, Restraint, and Redirection Flowing from Tradition: Between Theories of War and Peace Conversations not Courts Chapter 2: Ius ad Memoriam: What to Commemorate Right Intention Prioritising Intention in Boston Assessing Intent: Centring Better Relations Checking Intent and a French Distinction Looking Forward: Intention of the Aurora Prize Just Cause An Unending Absence that Follows Contextualising Just Cause in the Caucasus Allowing Vico’s Complexity and Countering Distortions Inspiring One: Aurora Mardiganian’s Cause Legitimate Authority For People not Populists in Brazil Dynamite Rather than Deliberation in Georgia Presidents, Diasporas, and Dual SIMs A Gesture but no Unity in Beirut A Warning from Istanbul Broad Balance: Legitimacy in the Aurora Prize Reasonable Chance of Success Prevent Ghosts from Walking in Ireland Managerial Concerns and Measurement Reframing Discussions with Empirical Research Knotted Poles and Feasibility in Tübingen Being Seen: Transformative Potential of the Aurora Prize Chapter 3: Ius in Memoria: How to Commemorate Transcend the Collective Commemoration that Transcends The Potential to Transform Invoking Names in Flanders Focus on Turkish Schindlers Literary Reimagination of the German “We” Stamped and Sealed: Individual Focus of the Aurora Prize Exit Circular Narratives Facts, Focus, and Interpretation Conflict Escalation among the Unburied The Rest Being Turks in Nicosia Maintaining a Martial Narrative in Misrata Stuck inside Misrepresentations Acceptable Discourse on Vietnam Books Don’t Bleed: Engaging with the Aurora Prize Assert Moral Autonomy Done in our Irish Name Pigeon Dreams of Akram Aylisli Hostage to the Actions of Any Other Sperber’s Sceptical Optimism Destructions of Troy and Tweaks for Citizenship in Bristol Taking one’s own Decisions: Model for the Future Contained Unfathomability Localising and Temporalising Trauma: Graves not Posters Distinct Names and HaShoah Vague with Numbers and Dresden Art to Unsettle and the Vanishing Monument Art, documenta15, and Indonesia’s Legacy Dates and Locations: Awarding the Aurora Prize Chapter 4: Truth of the New Paradigm A Coherent Tradition of Ethical Enquiry Consistent and Multi-dimensional Tradition Drawing on a Vibrant Framework A Tradition at a Confluence of Cultures Natural Law, Games, and Rawls Consensus to Transcend Inchoate Debate Encompassing Scholarly Debate: Rothberg and Snyder Consensus in Charters and Guidelines Preparing for the Irish Decade of Centenaries Intuitive Response in the Classroom Corresponding to Instances of Remembrance Reconceptualising Stalin’s Museum Giving Authority to Yerevan’s Cascade Memorial The Anachronistic Museum on Tito’s Luxury Island Bolnisi, W.G. Sebald, and More Positioned Between Pacifists and Crusaders Pacifism and the Argument for Maximal Restraint Ends Justifies the Means: Revolutionary and Realist Worldviews Both Sides can Win in Commemoration The Ethics of Political Commemoration as a Paradigm Chapter 5: Commemorating for Peace The Emotional Content of Conflict A Hostage to Conflict in Lebanon Identity and Violence when Societies Rupture A Responsibility to Lead a Revolution Multi-Temporal Focus: Justice for the Past and Peace in the Future Integrating Peace and Justice in Syria Competing Justice Demands in Yemen’s Political Negotiations Conflicts of Commemoration in Libya A Wider Understanding of Peace Relations as well as Resolution after Taif Institutions that Bind in Northern Ireland Worldviews and Women’s Rights The Commemoration Gap Absent Commemoration A Wide Scope of Application Chapter 6: Conclusion: Roadmap for a New Paradigm Questions to Answer Commemoration for Genuine Citizenship Institutions, Works, Monuments Index Locations Index People Index