Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
acceptedVersion
Publication Date
1-2015
Abstract
This paper critically revisits the A-bomb victims' plea for cosmopolitan commemoration that takes humanity, rather than nationality, as a primary frame of reference. To this end, I first elaborate the nature of cosmopolitan commemoration espoused by A-bomb victims in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in comparison with another form of cosmopolitan commemoration pertaining to the Holocaust victims. I then analyze limitations in these cosmopolitan commemorations and explore how they can be transcended. In light of my critical analysis, I argue that genuinely cosmopolitan commemoration, a prerequisite for reconciliation and world peace, will appear on the horizon if the commemorations of the two events are synthesized with the help of historians debate that continuously subjects the logic of nationalism to critical reflections. This synthesis has the potential to help people envision cosmopolitan politics - cosmopolitics - where they can engage in peaceful but agonistic struggles, not as enemies but as fellow humans, in collectively governing their lives in today's war-torn world.
Keywords
Collective memory, cosmopolitanism, nationalism, reconciliation
Discipline
Asian Studies | Peace and Conflict Studies | Sociology
Research Areas
Sociology
Publication
Thesis Eleven
Volume
129
Issue
1
First Page
72
Last Page
88
ISSN
0725-5136
Identifier
10.1177/0725513615592983
Publisher
SAGE Publications (UK and US)
Citation
SAITO, Hiro.(2015). The A-bomb Victims' Plea for Cosmopolitan Commemoration: Toward Reconciliation and World Peace. Thesis Eleven, 129(1), 72-88.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/1886
Copyright Owner and License
Author
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1177/0725513615592983