The Messy Little Thing Called Peace: Postwar Memories and Durable Disorder in El Salvador

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Journal of Global Faultlines

Volume 5, Issue 1-2

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The Messy Little Thing Called Peace: Postwar Memories and Durable Disorder in El Salvador

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Author(s): Norbert Ross , Antonia Ross Sanchez

Publication date (Print): 1 December 2018

Journal: Journal of Global Faultlines

Publisher: Pluto Journals

Keywords: El Salvador, Peace, Truth Commission, Civil War

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Abstract

We argue that present-day El Salvador is still enmeshed in a memory struggle over the meanings of the civil war (1980–92). With the United Nations (UN) Truth Commission having failed to address the roots of the civil war and initial postwar amnesty avoiding prosecution and investigation of war crimes, a consensus about the past is yet to be created. Instead, maintaining prewar power constellations and the increased importance of the military make us think of El Salvador as a durable disorder and a low-intensity democracy at best.

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Author and article information

Contributors

Norbert Ross

Antonia Ross Sanchez

Journal

Journal ID (doi): 10.2307/j50018794

Journal ID (jcode): jglobfaul

Title: Journal of Global Faultlines

Publisher: Pluto Journals

ISSN: 2054-2089

ISSN: 2397-7825

Publication date (Print): 1 December 2018

Volume: 5

Issue: 1-2 ( doiID: 10.13169/jglobfaul.5.issue-1-2 )

Pages: 41-48

Affiliations

Norbert Ross is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Vanderbilt University, Nashville. He has authored several books and conducted research in Mexico, Guatemala, and the Middle East on issues of child learning nationalism, conversation analysis, and history. He is currently preparing a new multiyear research project in El Salvador on memory sites and landscapes of violence – past and present. The article is the outcome of ongoing pilot studies. E-mail: norbert.o.ross@ 123456vanderbilt.edu .

Antonia Ross Sanchez is a major in International Studies and Political Science at Centre College, Kentucky. She is focusing in her studies on international human rights and political processes of democratizations in postwar situations. The article is the outcome of a research internship in El Salvador during the summer of 2017. E-mail: antonia.rosssanchez@ 123456centre.edu .

Article

Publisher ID: jglobfaul.5.1-2.0041

DOI: 10.13169/jglobfaul.5.1-2.0041

SO-VID: 0cc521f4-c9be-4023-9ee5-3bee67ad3484

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lang eng

ScienceOpen disciplines: Social & Behavioral Sciences

Keywords: Civil War,El Salvador,Peace,Truth Commission

References

Almeida, P. (2008) Popular Struggle in El Salvador 1925–2005. Minneapolis/London: University of Minnesota Press.
Anderson, T. (1971) Matanza: El Salvador's Communist Revolt of 1932. Lincoln: University of Nebraska.
Binford, L. (2016) The El Mozote Massacre: Human Rights and Global Implications. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
Byrne, H. (1996) El Salvador's Civil War: A Study of Revolution. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Ching, E. (2016) Stories of Civil War in El Salvador: A Battle over Memory. Chapel Hill: UNC Press.
Comisión de la Verdad (El Salvador) (1993) De la locura a la esperanza: la Guerra de 12 años en El Salvador. San Salvador & New York: Naciones Unidas.
Danner, M. (1993) The Massacre at El Mozote. New York: Granta Books.
Danner, M. & Gomez, R. (2016) Masacre: La Guerra sucia en El Salvador. Barcelona: Malpaso Ediciones SL.
Gill, L. (2004) The School of the Americas: Military Training and Political Violence in the Americas. Durham: Duke University Press.
Gould, J. & Henriquez Consalvi, C. (2002) Cicatriz de la Memoria. Documentary Movie. MUPI, San Salvador.
Gould, J. & Lauria-Santiago, A. (2008) To Rise in Darkness: Revolution, Repression, and Memory in El Salvador, 1920–1932. Durham: Duke University Press.
Grandin, G. (2005) “The Instruction of Great Catastrophe: Truth Commissions, National History and State Formation in Argentina, Chile, and Guatemala.” The American Historical Review 110 (1): 46–76.
Henríquez Consalvi, C. (2012) La terquedad del izote. La historia del radio venceremos. Museo de la Palabra y la Imagen, San Salvador.
Hernández, A. (2016) “El Salvador Cops and Soldiers are Executing Gang Members and Pretending they didn't do it, Official says.” Vicenews, 26 April, news.vice.com.
Lakhani, N. (2017) “We Fear Soldiers More than Gangsters.” El Salvador's Iron Fist Policy Turns Deadly. The Guardian, 6 February.
Lindo Fuentes, H., Ching, E. & Lara Martínez, R. (2007) “Remembering a Massacre in El Salvador: The Insurrection of 1932.” Roque Dalton and the Politics of Historical Memory, Albuquerque. UNM Press.
Montgomery, T. (1995) Revolution in El Salvador: From Civil Strife to Civil Peace. Boulder: Westview Press.
Moodie, E. (2012) El Salvador in the Aftermath of Peace: Crime, Uncertainty, and the Transition to Democracy. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania.
Renteria, N. (2016) “El Salvador Top Court Strikes Down Civil War Amnesty Law.” Reuters, 13 July. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-elsalvador-justice-idUSKCN0ZU08L.
Ross, N. & Ross Sanchez, A. (2017) “El Salvador's Durable Disorder: Low Intensity Postwar Democracy.” Counterpunch, 1 September.
Stanley, W. (1996) The Protection Racket State: Elite Politics, Military Extortion, and Civil War in El Salvador. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Stevens, E. (2015) “El Salvador Security Crisis Sees Rise in Children Tried as Gang Members.” Insightcrime, 13 October.
Valencia, R. (2016) “Casi que guardia Nacional Civil.” El Faro, 3 October.
Wood, E. (2003) Insurgent Collective Action and Civil War in El Salvador. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Comments

Comment on this article

[1] Almeida, P. (2008) Popular Struggle in El Salvador 1925–2005. Minneapolis/London: University of Minnesota Press.

[2] Anderson, T. (1971) Matanza: El Salvador's Communist Revolt of 1932. Lincoln: University of Nebraska.

[3] Binford, L. (2016) The El Mozote Massacre: Human Rights and Global Implications. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.

[4] Byrne, H. (1996) El Salvador's Civil War: A Study of Revolution. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers.

[5] Ching, E. (2016) Stories of Civil War in El Salvador: A Battle over Memory. Chapel Hill: UNC Press.

[6] Comisión de la Verdad (El Salvador) (1993) De la locura a la esperanza: la Guerra de 12 años en El Salvador. San Salvador & New York: Naciones Unidas.

[7] Danner, M. (1993) The Massacre at El Mozote. New York: Granta Books.

[8] Danner, M. & Gomez, R. (2016) Masacre: La Guerra sucia en El Salvador. Barcelona: Malpaso Ediciones SL.

[9] Gill, L. (2004) The School of the Americas: Military Training and Political Violence in the Americas. Durham: Duke University Press.

[10] Gould, J. & Henriquez Consalvi, C. (2002) Cicatriz de la Memoria. Documentary Movie. MUPI, San Salvador.

[11] Gould, J. & Lauria-Santiago, A. (2008) To Rise in Darkness: Revolution, Repression, and Memory in El Salvador, 1920–1932. Durham: Duke University Press.

[12] Grandin, G. (2005) “The Instruction of Great Catastrophe: Truth Commissions, National History and State Formation in Argentina, Chile, and Guatemala.” The American Historical Review 110 (1): 46–76.

[13] Henríquez Consalvi, C. (2012) La terquedad del izote. La historia del radio venceremos. Museo de la Palabra y la Imagen, San Salvador.

[14] Hernández, A. (2016) “El Salvador Cops and Soldiers are Executing Gang Members and Pretending they didn't do it, Official says.” Vicenews, 26 April, news.vice.com.

[15] Lakhani, N. (2017) “We Fear Soldiers More than Gangsters.” El Salvador's Iron Fist Policy Turns Deadly. The Guardian, 6 February.

[16] Lindo Fuentes, H., Ching, E. & Lara Martínez, R. (2007) “Remembering a Massacre in El Salvador: The Insurrection of 1932.” Roque Dalton and the Politics of Historical Memory, Albuquerque. UNM Press.

[17] Montgomery, T. (1995) Revolution in El Salvador: From Civil Strife to Civil Peace. Boulder: Westview Press.

[18] Moodie, E. (2012) El Salvador in the Aftermath of Peace: Crime, Uncertainty, and the Transition to Democracy. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania.

[19] Renteria, N. (2016) “El Salvador Top Court Strikes Down Civil War Amnesty Law.” Reuters, 13 July. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-elsalvador-justice-idUSKCN0ZU08L.

[20] Ross, N. & Ross Sanchez, A. (2017) “El Salvador's Durable Disorder: Low Intensity Postwar Democracy.” Counterpunch, 1 September.

[21] Stanley, W. (1996) The Protection Racket State: Elite Politics, Military Extortion, and Civil War in El Salvador. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

[22] Stevens, E. (2015) “El Salvador Security Crisis Sees Rise in Children Tried as Gang Members.” Insightcrime, 13 October.

[23] Valencia, R. (2016) “Casi que guardia Nacional Civil.” El Faro, 3 October.

[24] Wood, E. (2003) Insurgent Collective Action and Civil War in El Salvador. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.