Research groups
Four research groups will explore the roles of different types of stakeholders in managing memories of disputed territories:
Regional organisations
The role of regional organisations in managing memories of disputed territories
Dr Małgorzata Głowacka-Grajper, University of Warsaw, Poland.
Background
Regional organisations play an increasingly key role in mediating border disputes and in aiding cooperation between borderland communities. Their ‘beyond nation state’ status allows them to be seen as fair brokers detached from national narratives.
The International Court of Justice has become the primary legal venue for resolving territorial disputes. However, its verdicts are only the first step in promoting non-antagonistic memory on the ground. This is where regional organisations have opportunities to step in and play a significant role in engaging the memories of the past and transforming them in the process.
Research scope & focus
This research group will explore the influence of relevant regional organisations, such as the European Union (EU) and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), on the management of memories of disputed territories.
Researchers will use a range of qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate the role of regional organisations in the spread of different forms of memory, both antagonistic and non-antagonistic.
The group will conduct a comparative analysis of the policies of the EU and SAARC in dealing with disputed territories, to assess the extent to which memory issues are considered significant.
Researchers will look at measures implemented by these regional organisations, or sponsored by them, and assess their efficacy, paying particular attention to the relationship between regional organisations, nation states and civil society.
Interviews will be conducted with EU and SAARC officials to better understand how these organisations manage territorial disputes and promote non-antagonistic memories. Researchers will also conduct content analysis and discourse analysis of transcripts of EU and SAARC meetings and press briefings related to territorial disputes, to understand how regional forums can construct antagonistic or non-antagonistic memories.
In all of the above, the research will identify forms of best practice that can inform both the work of the regional organisations studied and that of other such organisations in different contexts.
Civil society groups and NGOs / Cultural practitioners / Nation states / Regional organisations