Geo-graphing Violence: Postcolonial Perspectives, Space and the Cartographic Imaginaries of Peace and Conflict Studies

Abstract

Dualistic spatial demarcations of a (peaceful) here and a (violent) there, near and far, global north and south are constant companions of social research. From the perspective of (political) science their task is to put in order the intricate social dynamics and entangled international spaces of peace and war. Casting complex and contested conflict realities into the frames of hegemonic patterns of interpretation (“north vs. south”, “strong state vs. failed state”) and visually shifting the causes of conflicts to the “spaces of violence” in the global south, cartographic representations are central to Eurocentric spatial fixations of conflict, peace and violence in political science and beyond. Against the reductionism of common spatial meta-narratives (state container, deterritorialization) our contribution argues for a reflexive use of Eurocentric spatial imaginations in general and maps in particular.