State-Sponsored Symbolic Reparation Museums and Memorials: The Creation and Development of Fragments and the Museum of Memory in Colombia

Abstract

This PhD thesis investigates the role and impact of state-sponsored museums and memorials in transitional justice processes. Due to the potential of memorials and museums to represent victims' collective memories and promote non-recurrence, these memorialisation projects have become essential symbolic reparations. However, due to the secondary role of symbolic reparations in reparation programmes and the under- theorisation of transitional justice, some mechanisms that underpin symbolic reparations are not fully understood. This thesis brings together transitional justice and museum and memory studies to increase the understanding of symbolic reparations by analysing the process of creation and development of the Museum of Memory of Colombia, resulting from the Law of Victims 1448 of 2011, as well as Fragments, the memorial to the victims inaugurated after the Peace Agreement in 2016. This study investigates two interrelated questions raised by relevant literature about the expectations of state-sponsored museums and memorials in transitional justice scenarios that have not been fully addressed. Firstly, to what extent are symbolic reparations, museums and memorials fulfilling reparation aims? Secondly, in what ways do these memorisation projects benefit victims? The original contribution to the knowledge of this thesis is the analysis of the creation and development of state-sponsored symbolic reparations through a complexity theory framework. The analysis undertaken via this framework prioritises the influence of the context in which these projects take place, and the interactions between key stakeholders such as perpetrators, victims, and cultural practitioners. The thesis is based on a qualitative case study methodology including public policy analysis, and in-depth interviews with cultural practitioners using complexity-informed methods. This study argues that the novel approach to studying symbolic reparations developed within this research permits understanding how the participation of actors in the process of creation and development of these projects affects the stakeholders involved in the process, the fulfilment of symbolic reparation aims, as well as societies in transition. The combination of methods and findings in this research provides invaluable insights that can help policymakers, scholars, and cultural practitioners navigate the complexities of symbolic reparations.

Date of Award	7 May 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	The University of Manchester
Supervisor	Jenna Ashton (Main Supervisor) & Kostas Arvanitis (Co Supervisor)