Paper short abstract:

This paper ethnographically examines various agents involved in heritagisation processes in the Soča/Isonzo Valley, Slovenia, and their engagements with the landscapes of the First World War, which bring to light both developmental and ethical issues.

Paper long abstract:

As Nicholas J. Saunders has shown, in certain parts of Europe landscapes of the First World War have been engaged by various agents in contested ways. In the Soča/Isonzo Valley (today western Slovenia), from May 1915 to October 1917 a front line, today known as Isonzo Front, and twelve battles between Italian and Austro-Hungarian armies took place. In Slovenia, these historical battlefields have been recognized as heritage in the 1990s, and the value of military landscapes of the First World War has nationally increased from then on. This paper will ethnographically examine different agents involved in this heritagisation process and their engagements with the landscapes. The paper will also focus on expert and popular discourses about developmental potentials and ethical aspects of military landscapes.