Urbanism, Political Uncertainty and Democratisation

This paper examines how political leaders and urbanists employ city policies and strategies during and after political transformation periods and whether these local policies figure into larger processes of democratisation. It brings the city and the urban scale into contemporary debates about democratic transformations in ethnically diverse countries. Four settings are investigated—Basque Country and Barcelona (Spain) and Sarajevo and Mostar (Bosnia—Herzegovina)—that have experienced intergroup conflict, war and major national transformations. Findings come primarily from over 100 interviews with urban professionals, community officials, academics and political leaders in these cities. It is found that urban interventions are capable of making distinct contributions to national peace-building and can supplement and catalyse transitional paths toward democracy. The paper discusses why some cities play a constructive role in shaping democratisation while others do not, how this progressive city function is actualised and how this type of urbanism can be misplaced or neglected.