Browsing by Subject "United States"

In this study I look ahead into the immediate postwar future in Syria. The purpose of my study is to review political processes that could break the pattern of recurring violence and support long-term stabilization. It seems to me that peace processes and the international discussion surrounding them have become what could perhaps be called ‘pacifitized’ – too charged with assumptions and contest to yield substantial results. Actors and conflict parties spend more time on blaming each other than discussing tangible solutions. This has been too scarcely noted in previous conflict resolution literature. Postwar issues need to become the intrinsic focus of peace negotiations. To bring this development about, the discussion around peace needs to become less charged with antagonizing communication. I utilize a combination of several political theory approaches for this study. Power political decisions are suited by a realist view, whereas cooperative communal projects benefit of a liberal perspective. These approaches are supplemented with additions from poststructuralism and postcolonialism. The Syrian scene is a complex conflict matrix that cannot sufficiently be analyzed with one theory alone. I also review experience from previous sectarian conflicts to find cases the Syrian situation can be compared to. Past experiences from similar conflict structures can be revisited to avoid making the same miscalculations that were made before. Processes resulting in a positive outcome in one setting, combined with the knowledge on another specific local, can be adjusted and applied in a new context. Syria seems to again have become a proxy battle ground for great power interests. Regardless of where the power ultimately settles, the governing party will have a shortage on legitimacy. The Syrian political sphere needs to open up and adequate postwar stabilization efforts commence. Introduction of inclusive societal elements can further be one of the most effective ways to combat spoilers. The task of building an inclusive society and countering antagonization is arduous and costly. Funding for retribution and rebuilding could perhaps be collected into a global fund established for this cause. Changes will take time, and they need to take place on all societal levels. For the aim of ensuring local support, the peace process needs to be rooted in the local from the start. This will also limit the amount of issues that parties can use for objects of pacifitization. To summarize, the processes set into motion need to be ones that firstly, the local community agrees with and secondly, ones that can plausibly be considered to become self-sustainable in the future. This requires sturdy planning from trials to funding of the process, preferably already before an international intervention into the conflict is conducted. International support for peace processes will continuously be called for, but for the previously mentioned reasons, the local should be the uncontested focus of all peace processes.

This thesis investigates the development of the visibility of slavery in the brochures of four Virginia plantations over a time period of 90 years. The four plantations are Monticello, Mount Vernon, Belle Grove, and Long Branch, all of different sizes but with similar pasts as sites of enslavement prior to the abolishment of slavery in 1865. The goal is to discover how and why the narrative of slavery has changed over the years, and if any larger societal changes may have contributed to this development. As tour brochures have the ability to affect a visitor’s interpretation of a site, it is important to understand what type of discourses and images are directing the visitor’s gaze in the brochures. It is equally vital to attempt to understand the reasoning behind those choices of language and imagery. In this thesis, Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is used to discover what is being said, what is left unsaid, and why those decisions were made. The primary sources for this thesis are the print brochures collected at each plantation and the plantation websites. The material is primarily analyzed using textual analysis although some image analysis is also included to give a more comprehensive understanding of the content of the brochures. In addition, secondary sources are used to support the historical and conceptual framework of the thesis. The main result of this thesis is that the visibility of slavery in plantation brochures has developed from non-existent or minimal to attempted integration. Until the late 1970s the institution of slavery and the experiences of the enslaved, if mentioned, are trivialized, marginalized, and/or segregated. Slow but steady progress in increasing the presence of slavery in the brochures can be witnessed throughout the years as the general opinion in the United States became more accepting, even demanding, of racial equality. No individual event or phenomenon has had a direct impact on the content of the brochures but a clear development into including slavery can be seen. Based on the results, it is the conclusion of this thesis that the main themes of the brochures have not changed very much since the 1920s. Owner families, prestigious guests, architecture, gardens, and the achievements of the wealthy owners have remained the main focus of attention although some new themes can be found in the more recent brochures. It is also evident that these themes persist at the expense of others, such as slavery, bringing about an interesting discussion of remembering and forgetting. In addition, these conclusions raise an important question about the roles of plantation museums as educators, entertainers, and research facilities.