This chapter looks at the site of the Old City of Mostar, twenty years after the reconstruction of the Old Bridge through international cooperation and follow-up inscription to the UNESCO World Heritage list. The reconstruction project, represented by the bridge as a symbol of reconciliation, involved a large number of international stakeholders who offered technical, financial and moral support. However, this international peace project failed to provide for more than a symbol—the status quo of a divided city remained a fact, while the rebuilding of heritage sites was instrumentalised by the political elites in upholding the division of the city. While different scholars have discussed the failure of symbolic reconciliation through heritage in Mostar, the developmental goals of the reconstruction project are still understudied, in particular, how the economic logic they imposed shaped the historical landscape. This chapter aims to address this by discussing how heritage was used as a tool of development in the post-conflict and neoliberal transition of Mostar. By looking at the site in its current state, the chapter reflects on the post-reconstruction practices in managing the Old City space and using its past, and what they reveal about the long-term effects of post-conflict development through heritage.

错误:搜索内容不能为空,请输入英文关键词
错误:关键词超出字数限制,请精简
高级检索

The Bridge to Transition: Post-conflict Heritage as a Tool of Development in Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

  • Mela Žuljević

摘要

This chapter looks at the site of the Old City of Mostar, twenty years after the reconstruction of the Old Bridge through international cooperation and follow-up inscription to the UNESCO World Heritage list. The reconstruction project, represented by the bridge as a symbol of reconciliation, involved a large number of international stakeholders who offered technical, financial and moral support. However, this international peace project failed to provide for more than a symbol—the status quo of a divided city remained a fact, while the rebuilding of heritage sites was instrumentalised by the political elites in upholding the division of the city. While different scholars have discussed the failure of symbolic reconciliation through heritage in Mostar, the developmental goals of the reconstruction project are still understudied, in particular, how the economic logic they imposed shaped the historical landscape. This chapter aims to address this by discussing how heritage was used as a tool of development in the post-conflict and neoliberal transition of Mostar. By looking at the site in its current state, the chapter reflects on the post-reconstruction practices in managing the Old City space and using its past, and what they reveal about the long-term effects of post-conflict development through heritage.