What is a Post-conflict Culture? Temporalities and Agencies of Post-conflict Memories

Rarely has the category of post-conflict been associated directly with that of culture, that is to an interpretation of conflicts, collective violence and wars, centred on the disruption of symbolic systems of cultural reproduction, whereby meaninglessness becomes one of the more enduring existential legacies of conflicts; its sometimes very conflictual reconstruction or silencing, one of the main goals of the agents involved. The aim of this essay is therefore twofold: to discuss the category of post-conflict cultures and further to clarify its understanding; and to propose an itinerary through its main intellectual challenges posed to both conflict resolution studies and memory studies. As for the first purpose, my intention is certainly not to draw further disciplinary boundaries and distinctions, but to elaborate on some of the concepts and questions that define a post-conflict culture precisely at the crossroads where the predicaments of a post-conflict situation – as expressed by conflict resolution and transitional justice approaches – meet a human sciences stance on memory, the act of witnessing and its trans- generational transmission. I want to argue that, at this intersection, one may find precious tools for a better understanding of the links between cultures, conflicts and their representation, and for an in-depth recollection of their different temporalities and agencies.