“Don’t look back in anger”. War museums’ role in the post conflict tourism-peace nexus

Abstract

This article explores the role of war related attractions as an infrastructure for peace, particularly in post conflict areas. Emphasis is given to war museums and their narratives. The article questions the view based on the implicit causal relation between the representation of war and the promotion of peace. An alternative approach is proposed by linking theories from tourism, museum and peace studies. The application of ‘the forgiveness model’ to give rise to a different kind of war museum narrative is put forward, along with a theoretical model on tourism and peace based on the conception of war related attractions as local infrastructures for peace.