Heritage as Commons in Post-conflict states

Urban heritage confronts scholars and policy makers alike with a number of questions and dilemmas about how to deal with tangible-and-intangible aspects of the city. These questions are potentially divisive in post-conflict societies which are comprised of multiple heritage communities as whilst “heritage can build bridges, it can as easily emphasise gulfs” (Fojut 2009: p.18). When investigating the relationship between heritage and identity, the overarching and ubiquitous question of “whose heritage?” (Hall 2008) is central to the philosophical and practical challenges facing heritage practitioners in contested environments today. The prioritisation of the most traumatic events in the cultural memory of the heritage communities leads to an affirmation of Hegel’s view that “periods of human happiness and security are the blank pages of history”. In post-conflict societies, can heritage be utilised to create inclusive and tolerant national narratives that reflect the cultural diversity of society?