Making Peace Transitions after War from the Antiquity to the present.

Making Peace Transitions after War from the Antiquity to the present.

Palazzo del Bo. Via VIII Febbraio, 2 - 35122 Padova

Dal 05.11.2018 al 09.11.2018

Transitions from war to peace have been one of the most fertile grounds for contemporary historical analysis in the last twenty years. In this last year of the Great War centenary, the “end of the conflict” topic (as well as the possible or impossible “return” to peace) will be the discussion focus among specialists in the 1914-1918 period. However, the numerous forms of war-exit are difficult to understand through a short-term perspective. Many of the issues arising from the end of a conflict, along with peace-building, were shaped by older traditions, and are more easily interpreted through a comparative, transnational and diachronic analysis. Juridically defining when does a state-of-war end; symbolically outlining the return of an entire community to a status quo ante; culturally, economically, and politically demobilising a such community that had been organised for war; re-accommodating combatants to resume their previous life: main aspects of the problematic war to peace transition have repeated themselves with remarkable similarity throughout centuries, and even millennia – as have potential responses to such issues.

In order to answer these questions, the University of Padua – Comitato per il Centenario della Grande Guerra in collaboration with the Melammu Project – The Heritage of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East, have organised the Making Peace international congress, in Padua, on 5-9 November 2018. Keynote speakers will be: