Hearing Valerie Rosoux’s lecture regarding memory and international relations was rather thought provoking for me, in how something so intangible (as thoughts, memories, and emotions) can have a significant impact on the relations between (as well as within) states. Too often we eschew intangible concepts from analysis for being indefinable, instead choosing to highlight what we can see, hear, touch, and measure. While something such as memory (and the values attached to one’s memory) may not contain describable boundaries, it was nonetheless intriguing to hear Rosoux’s perspective regarding the role of memory in conflict resolution. While something as memory may not be a variable that can be described in any generalizable detail, there appears something sincere in how memories/interpretations of the past can significantly assist (as well as inhibit) processes of conflict resolution and reconciliation.
Nicholas Knowlton, USA