Land conflicts over cultural and natural heritage in southern Mexico and the Caribean Region.

Abstract

This dissertation presents the analysis of three specific land conflicts that impact heritage in Southern Mexico and the Insular Caribbean through the construction of a unit of analysis named “Conflict Landscape” and a specific methodology for its representation called “Conflict Maps”. The study of these cases is approached through two possible reading filters, or narratives, Peace and Conflict studies and Decolonization. To accomplish this objective, the research was conducted for the study of specific land conflicts from a heritage and conflict perspective. From a methodological perspective, a conflict landscape is a hybrid between a stakeholders’ map that takes place in peace studies and conflict management and a focused ethnographic description. The four elements to consider in these landscapes are: identity, common history, relationship, and geographical representation. Also, to organize and represent data input, conflict maps take advantage of variables such as groups’ identity, land attachment, discourses for conflict, groups’ relationships with heritage, and power.