NATIONAL CHALLENGES AND LOCAL NARRATIVES: THE USES

OF CULTURAL RESOURCES IN THE STABILIZATION OF

TROUBLED STATES

by

JAMES C. CARLSON

BLUF

It is through a shared cultural heritage that people both legitimize and

consent to a shared agenda. In this way, heritage is an influential

device in the construction of national states.

Agenda

• BLUF

• Archaeological site on a military installation near Baghdad

• Ctesiphon

• Nation Building

- identity, economy, and stability

• The Way Forward

• contextualization of interpretations of the past (Dodd and Boytner 2010: 3)

• contextualization of interpretations of the past (Dodd and Boytner 2010: 3)

• contextualization of interpretations of uses of the past

http://www.cemml.colostate.edu/cultural/09476/iraq01.html

Archaeological site on a military installation

near Baghdad

Archaeological site on a military installation

near Baghdad

Archaeological site on a military installation

near Baghdad

Archaeological site on a military installation

near Baghdad

Archaeological site on a military installation

near Baghdad

1 hectare of ancient settlement:

• Old Babylonian period = 1800-1600 BC

• Kassite Period = 1500-1150 BC

• Seleucid Dynasty = 305-64 BC

• Parthian-Sassanian periods = 538 BC - AD 641

• Abbasid period = 750-1258 AD

Archaeological site on a military installation

near Baghdad

Archaeological site on a military installation

near Baghdad

Archaeological site on a military installation

near Baghdad

Archaeological site on a military installation

near Baghdad

Archaeological site on a military installation

near Baghdad

Archaeological site on a military installation

near Baghdad

Ctesiphon

Taq-I Kisra: Ctesiphon Arch

soccer field in park at Ctesiphon

Taq-I Kisra: 1950

• a diverse human population

• a rich cultural heritage

Iraq: Two Key Traits

• state control - infrastructure, governance, laws, security etc. • a core identity and interests

• shared ethnicity

Pillars of National Unity

• state control - infrastructure, governance, laws, security etc. • a core identity and interests

• shared ethnicity

Pillars of National Unity: Iraq

Cultural narratives “are constituted through representation and

performance, conveying not only who we are but also who we

will come to be.”

Somers (1994)

Cultural heritage “provides a rather effective material and

symbolic

support” for a society’s narratives.

Anico and Peralta (2009)

Summary

1. economic diversity = economic sustainability

2. unity through a shared cultural heritage

3. cultural resources = a stability "engine"

The Way Forward

• PMESSI (Political, Military, Economic, Social, Infrastructure and Information systems)

• ASCOPE (Area, Structures, Capabilities, Organizations, People and Events)

• SWEATMS (sewage, water, electricity, academics, trash, medical and security) + cultural resources = SWEATMS-C

incorporate cultural resources into:

The Way Forward

assess:

• views of local populations

• past and present uses of cultural resources

The Way Forward

benefits to US/USF efforts:

1. mitigation of threats, social frictions, and/or conflicts regarding cultural resources

2. enabling of the handling of dialogue, messaging, and public relations

3. avoiding potential negative legal and publicity issues

Acknowledgments:

Special thanks to:

Laurie Rush

Diane Siebrandt

Jen Clark

COL Bartholf

QUESTIONS?