Peacebuilding Work Research Articles

Narrative and peacebuilding in Hong Kong: the cultivating peace project as practical theology

ABSTRACT This paper explores how the practical theology of peacebuilding in the Hong Kong context can be developed through a narrative landscape. This paper introduces the Cultivating Peace project in Hong Kong and delineates its methodological concerns. Its analysis shows that the narrative practice guides the project in the following ways: (1) Narratives in the Bible can be articulated as foundational metaphors for peacebuilding work. (2) Narrative practice enables people to express and acknowledge their inner suffering and anger. (3) Narrative practice emphasises the importance of the voices of the marginalised groups and the primacy of their choices. (4) In a period when justice cannot be fully achieved, narrative practice records voices and stories of the suffering ones and the oppressed.

Good ones and bad ones: gendered distortions and aspirations in research with conflict-affected youth in Liberia

ABSTRACT Gendered discourses of motorcycle taxi drivers in Liberia construct cyclists as bad men, presumed to possess excessive masculinity: too much speed, aggression, and hustle. These discourses contrast with cyclists’ self-perceptions, where motorcycling is one of few pathways available to them to become good men through the economic and social possibilities of the sector. Moreover, they maintain that cycling positions them not just as labourers but as peacebuilders. Liberian motorcyclists therefore narrate a quest for societal recognition against a backdrop of misrecognition. We analyse these gendered distortions and aspirations to show how masculinity positions young men outside of peacebuilding processes. We explore our positionality as researchers alongside efforts to discuss, analyse, and operationalise masculinities in research encounters and peacebuilding work with conflict-affected youth. We argue that aspirations for gender inclusion and gender analysis are not simple or straightforward tasks but require frequent translation, collaborative problem-solving, and participatory action methodologies.

The Aesthetics of Peace: Complexity, Speculation, and Unknowing in Creative Peacebuilding Research

ABSTRACT Creative and artistic methods are increasingly popular in the study of peacebuilding, as scholars look for new ways to access the experiences and insights of communities in post-conflict societies. This article draws on recent creative peacebuilding work to create a three-point spectrum of aesthetic peacebuilding research approaches, with each point demonstrating an escalating commitment to creative approaches. The argument shows how deeper commitment to aesthetic research in peacebuilding raises increasingly foundational questions about the nature of peacebuilding, which have the potential to open up new avenues of peace research but may also undermine the entire project of peacebuilding.

Peacebuilding practitioners with caring responsibilities: Navigating COVID-19 challenges and opportunities to advance an ethics of care in peacebuilding

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the engagement of employees with unpaid caring responsibilities in peacebuilding, and the subsequent impact on peacebuilding work. It finds that, while the pandemic compounded the difficulties facing these employees, it also presented opportunities to change work practices to better respond to their needs and, thus, mitigate some of the individual, organisational and sectoral harms that otherwise arise. This paper concludes by arguing for an ethics of care be advanced in peacebuilding, which acknowledges the interconnectedness between people, recognises the importance of care in societies, and is more attentive and responsive to the needs of others. It further argues that the care lens should be directed inwards by organisations engaged in peacebuilding, to attend to the needs and the well-being of employees, recognising the adverse impact that not doing so can have on efforts to build peace.

Be a man: A theory of climate change, masculinities and violence

Experts increasingly agree that the impacts of climate change are likely to create new violent conflict risks and exacerbate existing ones. However, the extent of this link and the specific causal pathways are much less clear, and the role of gender in this process is under-examined. This paper theorizes that gendered norms, especially the expectations of how men perform their masculinities, are an intervening variable that might explain some of this relationship. In doing so, it engages with the emerging debate around the extent to which climate change influences the evolution of violent conflict, theorizing with an illustrative observation of the events of the Arab Spring in Tunisia and Syria. I find that there are plausible explanations for climate–conflict links involving gendered expectations of men’s behaviour serving as an intervening variable between climate change and violent conflict and discuss the implications of this for moving away from securitized approaches, future study and peacebuilding work.

Secular-Religious Dynamics and their Effect on Humanitarian Norms Compliance

Abstract We propose a more nuanced examination of the powerful forces that play a role in shaping the view shared by many international humanitarians that religions have a predominantly negative influence. First, we examine the role of secularist underpinnings of humanitarian discourse in shaping secular-religious dynamics in the humanitarian sphere, and the intersection of this with other forces of power. We argue that analyses of secular-religious dynamics are essential to understanding the roles of and attitudes towards faith actors in humanitarian norms compliance as well as the actions and reactions of faith and humanitarian actors. Theoretically, we ground the article in an analysis of secular perspectives towards impartiality and neutrality, the observation of which is meant to secure humanitarian space. Interrogating secular perspectives on humanitarian action helps demonstrate how impartiality and neutrality can be used as reasons to avoid engagement with faith actors. A secular approach to humanitarian action tolerates religion with boundary-creation around what is permitted from faith actors, applying a reductive ‘good’/‘bad’ binary. We then examine the experiences of local faith actors (LFAs) in South Sudan in interaction with international humanitarians with respect to humanitarian principles. These examples demonstrate how LFAs comply with humanitarian principles and view this as part and parcel of their commitment to the values of their faith tradition. They also show how LFAs create space for humanitarian norms compliance of other actors through their peacebuilding work and have been relied upon to access parts of the country that are inaccessible to international humanitarians due to safety concerns.

Civil Society Organizations, the Good Friday Agreement, and the Northern Ireland Peace Process

Abstract A qualitative methodology was used to interview 120 participants from 2010 and 29 participants from 2020 who shared their experiences and perceptions about the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) and their peacebuilding work. Longitudinal findings reveal that the participants were critical of the Agreement and the disconnect between politicians and the grassroots as well as recognizing that the Agreement has brought about relative peace in Northern Ireland. While the participants attest to the relative success of the GFA, they also note several criticisms including sectarian politics, new paramilitaries, Brexit, legacy of the past, continuing divisions in Northern Ireland, and the disconnect between politicians and local community peacebuilders. The participants’ criticisms are significant as they attest that while the social peace at the grassroots level is moving forward the political peace is not as evidenced by the recent Unionist backlash against Brexit.

Is Interreligious Dialogue in International Relations “Dialogue-Washing” for Authoritarian Regimes? an Exploration of KAICIID and ICCS as Track 1.5 Diplomacy

This paper explores whether interreligious dialogue (IRD) is employed by state actors that may be perceived as authoritarian as a form of window dressing, or dialogue washing. Two examples are chosen, the King Abdullah International Centre for Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue (KAICIID), and Singapore’s International Conference on Cohesive Societies (ICCS). It is argued that such examples exemplify IRD as track 1.5 diplomacy, and the context means they veer towards performing dialogue as social cohesion. While criticisms of each are raised, it is argued that the accusation of dialogue-washing is unfounded and that useful IRD, social cohesion, or peacebuilding work emerges from each which accords with the interests of the countries involved and aligns with the nature of IRD under track 1.5 diplomacy.

Influence of the Kenya National Policy on Peacebuilding and Conflict Management Framework on the Sub-County Peacebuilding Committees in Mombasa County

Global experience with sustainable peacebuilding has been diverse since the term was formally introduced to the world by the United Nations in 1992. Since then, peacebuilding has been implemented in the absence of a universally accepted approach or clear criteria for success. Multiple actors have conceptualized and implemented peacebuilding to correspond with their contexts and needs. This is true for Kenya and Mombasa County, in particular. Mombasa Sub-County Peacebuilding Committees have been conducting peacebuilding in the County, against the backdrop of old conflict drivers such as poverty and resource-based conflict, and emerging threats to peace such as drug trafficking and youth radicalization. Therefore, the ability of the Sub-County Peacebuilding Committees to foster sustainable peacebuilding in these circumstances needs to be interrogated. The objective of this study was to examine the influence of the policy framework of the formal peacebuilding infrastructure in fostering sustainable peacebuilding. The conceptual framework was based on Galtung’s Theory of Peacebuilding, Galtung’s Theory of Structural Violence, and Lederach’s Conflict Transformation Theory. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design and applied both convenience and purposive sampling techniques. Data was collected through semi-structured questionnaires, key informant interviews (KII), and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) guides and observation checklists. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used for data analysis. The study findings indicated that Mombasa County Sub-County Peacebuilding Committees are experiencing diminished agency because of a lack of resources to carry out peacebuilding work in the County. Those members of the Sub-County Peacebuilding Committees were not competent to undertake modern-day peacebuilding activities because of inadequate training. Therefore; the study recommends that the idea of peacebuilding through local peacebuilding structures such as Sub-County Peacebuilding Committees be a priority in Kenya’s peacebuilding discourse with some modifications in the formation and functioning of Sub-County Peacebuilding Committees. The Sub-County Peacebuilding Committees should be de-linked from the county security processes and positioned as the “Honest Brokers for Peacebuilding”, whose primary responsibility will be to harness all available resources in their locality to bear on their peacebuilding agenda. The national government should educate the public about peacebuilding and the role that Sub-County Peacebuilding Committees are expected to play in this agenda.

Peacebuilding in Politically Challenging Environments: How Do Local Peacebuilders Navigate Muddy Waters in the South Caucasus?

Abstract With the global proliferation of the liberal peace agenda, there has been an increase in attention to the participation of non-governmental organizations (NGO s) in the development and support of national peace agendas. However, with the rise of authoritarian states around the world, and the closing of civic spaces, NGO s have become constrained and limited in their actions. We often see autocratic and repressive regimes not welcoming the implementation of any initiatives that fall outside the scope of their official negotiation platforms, and therefore, limiting the participation of their citizens in unofficial peacebuilding initiatives. Through the application of the authoritarian conflict management framework, this article discusses the challenges of carrying out peacebuilding work in such non-permissive environments in the context of the South Caucasus and points out ways that local peacebuilding organizations and peace activists work around these restrictions to negotiate the reconciliation space that they are attempting to create.

Careless Talk Costs Lives: The Causes and Effects of Marginalising Peacebuilding Practitioners with Caring Responsibilities

ABSTRACT This article examines the departure and broader marginalisation of staff with parental and other caring responsibilities from peacebuilding organisations. By drawing from the results of a global survey with peacebuilding practitioners, this research highlights the practical, organisational, cultural, and normative challenges that cause this marginalisation and the resultant individual, organisational, and sectoral harms. The article argues that the resultant harms are highly gendered and extend beyond the individual peacebuilder to the peacebuilding work being undertaken and the type of peace being built. This demands an ethics of care in peacebuilding is advanced, and peacebuilding organisations direct the ‘care lens’ inwards.

Civil society organisations, conflict prevention and peacebuilding in Northern Ghana

The complexity of contemporary violent conflicts requires a shift from the traditional notion that preventing conflicts and building peace reside within governments to include the role of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs). Using a qualitative research design with 20 in-depth interviews conducted with representatives of CSOs in northern Ghana, the study reveals three broad categories of CSOs namely Faith-Based Organisations (FBOs), Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) and Non-Governmental Organisations(NGOs) performing conflict prevention and peacebuilding roles. These CSOs respond constructively to conflict using dialogue and mediation in different ways by using multiple instruments such as early warning systems and peace education for conflict prevention and peacebuilding. The study shows that, unlike the state, CSOs worked towards conflict prevention and peacebuilding through local initiatives and partnership with communities. The dominant philosophy guiding CSOs’ work is the integrationist paradigm. One serious limitation identified in the conflict prevention and peacebuilding work of CSOs in northern Ghana is the lack of a common peacebuilding framework that can guide them to reduce the duplication of functions within the same space. The paper recommends that CSOs should forge a working partnership to roll out a comprehensive conflict prevention and peacebuilding activity to build sustainable peace for the development of the regions of northern Ghana.

¿Investigar de forma diferente? Poner en práctica los principios de la investigación feminista

Ensuring that research is ethical and contributes to the reduction of inequalities, especially gendered, class-based and racialised power imbalances, is a central tenet of feminist research. The same, ideally, goes for peacebuilding processes. However, in spite of important and meaningful attempts to redress power imbalances, both academic research and peacebuilding work too often continue to be highly unequal endeavours. These imbalances persist between the global North and global South, but also within countries. For the most part, these imbalances are inescapable, for now at least, as both research and peacebuilding are in multiple ways entangled with broader, unequal power structures that are underpinned by patriarchy, militarism, neo-coloniality and neo-liberal capitalism. However, feminist-inspired research and peacebuilding work both do also create opportunities to analyse and question these power structures, to think and act beyond and to develop less extractive and more emancipatory alternatives and practices. This interlude examines how, as a transnational feminist research project, the researchers of this thematic volume sought to develop and foster such practices together with the communities involved in the research, and what this might mean for future research in times of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s the Little Things: The Role of International Interveners in the Social (re)Construction of the International Peace Architecture

ABSTRACT Much peace and conflict scholarship groups individual international interveners together as ‘the international’, treating them more as an ideational structure – the international peace architecture – than as individual agents. This article brings foreign policy analysis scholarship into conversation with constructivist scholarship to propose analytical questions that can be used to study the role that individual international interveners play in socially constructing the international peace architecture. It proposes questions at both the micro scale of individual international interveners and the meso scale of the international peace architecture, that is, the organisations that make peacebuilding policy and practice peacebuilding work. Analysis guided by these questions could inform future considerations of what peacebuilding means, who is a suitable candidate for performing peacebuilding work, the way that peacebuilding is practiced, and ultimately on the security of the conflict-affected populations in which peacebuilding interventions are conducted.

Religious Women and the Northern Ireland Troubles

The article uses research from an ongoing oral history project examining the peacebuilding work of religious women during the conflict in and about Northern Ireland, euphemistically known as the “Troubles.” The focus is on religious women whose peacebuilding activism was motivated by faith. Since 2015 the project has recorded religious women in conversation about their lives serving the working‐class communities that bore the brunt of the violence during the Troubles. It has brought to the fore their involvement in political as well as personal and societal reconciliation. Yet their activism has been omitted from the historical record. The article explores why this happened and argues the necessity of considering their contributions to the peace process in order that its dynamics be fully understood. The article brings forward new research that complicates secularisation narratives and the male‐centric version of the Troubles that still prevails.

Displaced security? The relationships, routines and rhythms of peacebuilding interveners

This article considers what treating individual international interveners engaged in peacebuilding work as referent objects can tell us about emplaced security. This is important because individual interveners are diverse, embodied agents who can impact the agency, peace and security of conflict-affected populations. It argues that applying an ontological security lens can provide a partial explanation for why interveners develop narratives and perform practices, including why they sometimes identify and behave in counterproductive, and even damaging, ways. The final section considers why an analytical focus on place is valuable, noting that place-based experiences and place-identities are formative of ontological security. It argues that treating interveners as a referent object provides opportunities to rethink the tendency to focus on home as the key site of emplacement in the ontological security literature. Building on this, it argues that examining the emplaced security of interveners invites us to examine the political nature and consequences of interveners’ physical and ontological security-seeking narratives and practices, including their creation of the material and ideational structures of intervention spaces and places.

‘Stranger Danger’ and the Gendered/Racialised Construction of Threats in Humanitarianism

Humanitarian, development and peacebuilding work has become increasingly dangerous in recent decades. The securitisation of aid has been critiqued, alongside the racialised and gendered dynamics of security provision for aid actors. What has received less attention is how a range of intersectional marginalisations – gender, racialisation, sexuality, nationality and disability – play out in constructions of security, danger and fear in aid deployments. Focusing on sexual harassment, abuse and violence as threats to safety and security, the article examines how in training and guidance for deployment to ‘the field’ (itself a problematically securitised notion), danger is projected onto sexualised and racialised ‘locals’, often overlooking the potentially far greater threat from colleagues. Here, we employ a review of security guidance, social media groups, interviews with aid staffers and reflections on our own experiences to explore how colonialist notions of security and ‘stranger danger’ play out in training. We argue that humanitarianism is still dominated by the romanticised figure of the white, male humanitarian worker – even if this problematic imaginary no longer reflects reality – and a space where those questioning exclusionary constructs of danger are quickly silenced and even ridiculed, even in the age of #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter.

Peace Education Taught by the Female Muslim Nobel Peace Prize Laureates in 21st Century

<p align="center"><strong>Abstract</strong></p><p>Women have a very important role in upholding world peace and security because they have the power that is not possessed by men, namely the maternal instinct which naturally can create peace with love, care and harmony. This study aims to find out Muslim women who received world peace awards in the 21st century and analyze the points of peace education that they teach and implement. This research was a qualitative descriptive study with the content analysis of the peace speech they deliver. Based on the analysis, it can be seen that there are three Muslim women who received world nobel peace prize in the 21st century, namely Shirin Ebadi, Tawakkul Karman and Malala Yousafzai. The messages of peace that become their focus are efforts for democracy and human rights, especially the struggle for human rights and children (Shirin Ebadi), nonviolent struggle against women's security and women's human rights for full participation in peace-building work (Tawakkul Karman), struggle against the oppression of children and young people and the right of all children to get education (Malala Yousafzai).</p>

“From Frustration to Escalation in Marawi”: An Interview on Conflict Transformation in Southeast Asia With the Indonesian Peace and Conflict Advisor Shadia Marhaban

Shadia Marhaban has been actively involved in international peace mediation, capacity building, and human rights activism for more than 20 years. She is from Aceh, Indonesia, where she joined the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in the early 2000 s. She was an advisory member of GAM’s peace negotiating team during the 2005 Helsinki talks that brought an end to nearly 30 years of armed conflict. After her return to Aceh, she became a founding member of the Aceh Women’s League (LINA). The NGO was involved in reintegration programs for female ex-combatants and provided democracy education trainings. In recent years, her work has focused on facilitating dialog between conflicting parties in many regions of Southeast Asia a ff ected by armed conflict. In her work, she is mainly engaged with resistance and liberation movements and their political transition. She believes that considering the dimensions of identity, religion, and culture is key to successful war-to-peace transitions and the achievement of sustainable modes of conflict resolution. With a background in political science and international relations, she is a fellow at the Weatherhead Center for International A ff airs, of Harvard University and has been teaching classes on mediation and conflict transformation at universities in Austria, Indonesia, and the US. In this interview, conducted by Gunnar Stange in Vienna in June 2018 , Shadia Marhaban speaks about her peace-building work all over Southeast Asia and her experiences in violence prevention in the city of Marawi, Mindanao, Philippines.

Building shalom: Integrating social work, peacebuilding and Catholic Social Teaching for transformational change

ABSTRACTThis article argues for greater integration between peacebuilding and social work, based on shared values, complementary practices, and congruence among key underlying theories in both fields. The article also describes how principles of Catholic Social Teaching align with and enhance both social work and peacebuilding. The implications of the ecological model for the three commonly accepted domains of social work practice—micro, mezzo, and macro—find equivalent expression in dimensions of conflict transformation, as well as in Catholic Relief Services’ approach to building social cohesion by working iteratively at individual, intragroup, and intergroup levels. Three case studies illustrate this approach.