German Institute for Global and Area Studies | Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien

German Institute for Global and Area Studies | Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien

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Envisioning Peace | Transforming Conflict

  • Peace and conflict transformation are core topics in the social sciences and humanities. At the same time, theories, methods and data are shaped to an overwhelming degree by the experience of Western industrial democracies or the ‘objects’ of their intervention. This project provides a change in perspective by including the multifaceted experiences of the Global South and applying a global approach to peace.
    GIGA, LSE, CCDP, University of Marburg, 2016-2019

    Team

    Dr. André Bank

    Senior Research Fellow

    Viviana García Pinzón

    Associate

    Christoph Heuser

    Ehemals Associate

    Prof. Dr. Thomas Fischer

    Prof. Dr. Carolina Galindo

    Prof. Dr. Gareth Jones

    Prof. Dr. Keith Krause

    Prof. Dr. Anika Oettler

    Prof. Dr. Jenny Pearce

    Prof. Dr. Angelika Rettberg

    Universidad de los Andes, Colombia

    Forschungsfragen

    The project invetigates the following core questions:
    - What can we learn from Latin American experiences for a global approach to peace and peace-building?
    - Is there a peace approach to Latin American violence(s)?

    Beitrag zu internationaler Forschung

    Peace and conflict transformation are core topics in the social sciences and humanities. At the same time, theories, methods and data are shaped to an overwhelming degree by the experience of Western industrial democracies or the ‘objects’ of their intervention. If and when Global South experiences are addressed, then mostly with a “deficit approach”, taking Western experiences of state formation, democratisation and economic development as an analytical and practical blueprint. The project seeks to change the perspective towards envisioning peace and to the multifaceted experiences of the Global South. It aims at extending the territories of theory-building in peace and conflict research beyond European/North American borders. In a first step Latin American experiences stand at the core.The peace accords in Central America in the 1990s and between the Colombian government and the FARC in Colombia in 2016 raised hopes that a long cycle of intrastate war and armed violence had come to an end. Latin American postwar societies were pioneers of liberal peacebuilding. Nevertheless, Latin America remains one of the most violent regions in the world if we include other manifestations of violence such as homicides, organized crime and gangs. Latin American experiences are rather investigated under a public security perspective and do not figure prominently in the international debates on peace and peace-building.

    Forschungsdesign und Methoden

    A first step is the development of a concept of peace that goes beyond minimalist notions of peace as the absence of war. The analysis of violence(s) includes the underlying conflict, relevant actors a(such as elites and youth) as well as violence reducing strategies in different spaces (e.g. urban or rural). The international network brings together different perspectives and experiences from different disciplines (political sciences, sociology) to contribute to a global approach to peace.

    Vorläufige Ergebnisse

    Conceptualizing peace as violence reduction provides empirical evidence for high levels of variation in time and space. Debates at the GIGA Global Transitions Conference 2017 helped to clarify concepts and definitions of peace to avoid its use as an empty signifier as well as to operationalize indicators for comparative research. At the same time across time and space conditions promoting peace may such as trust and the rule of law may vary in their importance. A systematic inclusion of Latin American experiences took place at two conferences in Bogotá 2017 and 2018, providing interesting insights into different contexts and experiences regarding the search for peace in highly violent contexts.

    Projektbezogene Publikationen

    Kapitel in Sammelband | 12.2020

    Envisioning Peace ǀ Transforming Conflict: A Global Approach to Peace

    Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach

    Präsidentin (interim)

    Zeitschrift für Friedens- und Konfliktforschung (ZeFKo) | 2020

    Covid-19 als Chance für den Frieden?: Ernüchternde Erfahrungen aus Kolumbien und Syrien

    Dr. André Bank

    Senior Research Fellow

    Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach

    Präsidentin (interim)

    GIGA Focus Lateinamerika | 2/2019

    100 Tage AMLO in Mexiko: gemischte Signale

    Dr. Luicy Pedroza

    Associate

    GIGA Focus Lateinamerika | 1/2019

    Venezuela – Wahlen allein reichen nicht

    Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach

    Präsidentin (interim)

    GIGA Focus Global | 5/2017

    Kein Patentrezept – aber ein globales Friedenskonzept

    Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach

    Präsidentin (interim)

    Weitere Inhalte zum Thema

    Ecuador wählt am Sonntag neuen Präsidenten

    Radioeins RBB | Interview | 18.08.2023

    Ecuador wählt am Sonntag neuen Präsidenten

    Im Mai rief der ecuadorianische Präsident Guillermo Lasso zu vorgezogenen Neuwahlen für Präsident und Parlament auf. Am 10. August wurde der Präsidentschaftskandidat Fernando Villavicencio ermordet. Was bedeutet dies für die Wahlen am 20. August? 

    Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach

    Präsidentin (interim)

    Kolumbien im Schatten der Corona Krise explodiert die Gewalt

    Deutschlandfunk Kultur Weltzeit | Interview | 21.07.2020

    Kolumbien im Schatten der Corona Krise explodiert die Gewalt

    Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach

    Präsidentin (interim)

    Why El Salvador's murder rate has surged

    Deutsche Welle (DW) | Zitat | 30.03.2022

    Why El Salvador's murder rate has surged

    President Nayib Bukele has imposed a state of emergency for 30 days as El Salvador grapples with a sudden increase in slayings. Could an alleged soured pact between the government and notorious gangs be the reason? 

    Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach

    Präsidentin (interim)

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