Remnants of terror: landscapes of fear in post-conflict Guatemala

This study, based on a case study of post-conflict Guatemala, explores the use of landscape interpretation to analyze how discourses of fear can be interpreted geographically. By highlighting some of the features that are present in the Guatemalan landscape, as well as those that are conspicuously absent, one can see how the landscape simultaneously reinforces and reflects a culture of terror and mistrust. In particular, examples of model villages, clandestine graves and the dearth of public memorials are examined to demonstrate how landscapes can instill a sense of fear or dread. Such examples show how the maintenance of such landscapes of fear can be purposefully utilized by the hegemonic actors in societies to impose order and sustain control. Through such an investigation, one can begin to understand the persistence of the culture of fear, which continues to pervade Guatemalan society.