Peace education, Propaganda or War Porn? Considerations on the potential role of war museums in tourism and peace (and two circumstances that prevent it to happen)

Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed” (UNESCO, 1945). Peace education should necessarily comprise a critical knowledge of conflicts, to understand their causes and how to prevent conflicts in the future. In this perspective, war-related attractions, and particularly war museums, are ideal places for peace education. I believe that war museums can potentially assume the role of “local infrastructures for peace” even in the broader contexts of peacebuilding and conflict transformation.