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Divided Cities

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The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Peace and Conflict Studies

Synonyms

Contested cities; Frontier cities; Polarized cities; Postwar cities

Definition

Divided cities are cities that have recently experienced war, no longer do, but are stuck in transitions to peace because the conflict over their political system and future status continues between the previously warring parties. Notable examples are Belfast (Northern Ireland), Jerusalem (Israel-Palestine), and Nicosia (Cyprus).

Introduction

Divided cities are hardly new war and peace phenomena. Prominent cases like Belfast, Jerusalem, and Nicosia â€“i.e., cities that have experienced war, no longer do, but are stuck in transitions to peace – are longstanding (Gusic 2019). Yet what is novel about divided cities is that they are increasingly causing problems for people living in them, for the cities themselves, and for the wider war-to-peace transitions they often are central in. This entry has five parts. It first explores why divided cities have become topical, then problematizes the labels used to...

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Correspondence to Ivan Gusic .

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Gusic, I. (2020). Divided Cities. In: The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Peace and Conflict Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11795-5_8-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11795-5_8-1

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