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I have always been interested in finding out more about society's relationship with conflict and its efforts with building a safer and more peaceful future for the generations to come. As a BA graduate in Criminology, I have studied topics such as "violence", "war", "conflict", "social injustice", etc. quite extensively. However, I have yet to focus on "peace" and "peacebuilding" from an academic perspective, which I find quite odd, even concerning.

This has raised questions with regards to the focus on conflict and violence in public and academic discourse. Why are we as a society so obsessed with talking about the negative aspects (war, destruction, violence), as opposed to finding better ways to combat them? Is conflict an inherent part of human nature that cannot be fought against, therefore our peace mitigation efforts are in vain? Does violence and violent behaviours attract more attention by the media and within public discourse compared to peace? What is the general understanding of peace and is global peace an achievable goal?

Those are just some of the questions I have begun asking myself the more I engage with the topic of Peace and Conflict Studies. As PACS is an interdisciplinary subject, I am excited about the prospect of engaging with various literature and academic research which will undoubtedly provide diverse perspectives on the subject. I strongly believe that Peace and Conflict Studies is the perfect way for me to answer all the questions that arose as part of my previous studies.

Finally, I look forward to the opportunity to discuss and debate the aforementioned topics in a friendly academic manner, as part of a fantastic and diverse group of students. I strongly believe that only through co-operation and extensive discussions we can broaden our horizons, and understand better how to implement peacebuilding strategies in order to help our conflict-focused society.

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Session 2: Peace and Conflict Studies (Bright & Gledhill, 2018)

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Session 2: Peace and Conflict Studies (Bright & Gledhill, 2018)

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The journal article "A Divided Discipline? Mapping Peace and Conflict Studies" by Jonathan Bright and John Gledhill (2018) discusses the divided nature of studying Peace and Conflict Studies. The two authors argue that the goal of studying Peace and Conflict Studies is to understand the causes of war and violent conflict as a means of contributing to an understanding of how this conflict can be managed in a peaceful manner.

Personally, my understanding of Peace and Conflict Studies does not defer that much to that of the journal article, as I too believe that it is very important to study and research both aspects of “violence” and “conflict” in order to better implement peaceful measure and peacebuilding strategies. Interestingly, the findings presented in this article indicate that there is a clear divide among academics which stems from various factors such as gender, methodology and region. The role that gender seems to play in our understanding of Peace and Conflict Studies influences our attitude towards the practice of peace and conflict. For example, the journal article mentions that male authors were roughly twice as likely to study “conflict” and “violence”, while female authors were slightly more likely to study “peace” rather than “conflict”. Consequently, I couldn’t help but wonder if this discrepancy is somehow linked to the so-called “biological traits” of men and women (men being more assertive/aggressive while women are more nurturing/caring).

In conclusion, I was rather disappointed to find out that a debate about the importance of studying one aspect of Peace and Conflict Studies (in this case “conflict) still divides so many academics and academic research. I strongly believe that the discipline of Peace and Conflict Studies needs to focus on both analysing war and conflict and finding effective peacebuilding strategies in order to effectively help build a better and safer society. I am aware of the fact that unfortunately, achieving global peace is more of a utopia than a reality, however, that does not mean that it should discourage us from at least trying to get as close as possible to a peaceful world as we can.

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Session 3: Concepts of Peace I - Kant: Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch (1795)

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Session 3: Concepts of Peace I - Kant: Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch (1795)

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In his work “Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch” (1795), Immanuel Kant provides a philosophical look into the link between peace and democracy, which formed the basis of the “Democratic Peace” theory. Kant’s work highlights the difficulty of understanding the concept of “peace” for many policy makers and politicians, who all seem to find different meanings of the word in many different contexts. Unfortunately, even within public discourse, it can be often observed how “peace” ends up being dismissed and regarded as an abstract concept that is inevitable unattainable.

Immanuel Kant’s work can be regarded as an international treaty with the aim of exploring various possibilities through which we can obtain a state of permanent peace. I would like to mention that the goal of Kant’s project, although commendable, appears to be very much unreachable, in this case, international peace. Nonetheless, “Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch” (1795) strives to create a debate between other philosophers engaging with the concept of peace, practitioners who are direct participants in manners of geopolitical conflict, and policymakers who have the power to make peace a reality, at least as much as possible. Kant’s work is also important because it acknowledges contemporary intrastate conflicts along with issues of human security and global governance.

Consequently, I believe that a look into Kant’s work on “Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch” is important in understanding early concepts of peace and peacebuilding strategies through a philosophical lens. Especially for Peace and Conflict research, “Perpetual Peace” is a good starting point for the development of further peace strategies, or even for improving the strategies already presented by Immanuel Kant.

TASKS:

1.      3 – “Standing Armies shall be entirely abolished in the course of time.” (Kant, 1975 pg.4)

Kant argues that standing armies “threaten other States incessantly with War, by their appearing to be always equipped to enter upon it.” (Kant, 1795 pg. 5) He goes further to argue that military presence encourages states to “outrival each other in the number of their armed men which has no limits.” Therefore, it is obvious that Kant takes a firm stand against military presence (in this case, standing armies) and the concept of militarisation of states.

I consider this aspect of Kant’s paper to be relevant to PACS and I also agree with its message. Studies suggest that militarism negatively affects the state due to multiple reasons: very high financial costs of maintaining a military force (Altman & Fechter, 1967 and Fisher, 1969), the potential to increase international conflict between states (Russett & Oneal, 2003 and Choi & James, 2003) and further perpetuating social inequalities while increasing the potential for violent conflict (Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom).

Furthermore, I would agree that these arguments, together with Kant’s view on military power (standing armies) highlight the problematic nature of state militarisation which can hinder progress towards a peaceful society. Because the military has the potential to maintain and create a state of conflict within the state, Kant’s idea of abolishing standing armies could be one positive peacebuilding strategy to take into account.

Sources:

Altman, Stuart H., and Alan E. Fechter. 1967. The supply of military personnel in the absence of a draft. American Economic Review 57 (2): 19-31

Choi, Seung-Whan, and Patrick James. “No Professional Soldiers, No Militarized Interstate Disputes?” Journal of Conflict Resolution, vol. 47, no. 6, 2003, pp. 796–816. SAGE Publications, doi:10.1177/0022002703258803.

Fisher, Anthony C. 1969. The cost of the draft and the cost of ending the draft. American Economic Review 59 (3): 239-54

Oneal, John R., Bruce Russett, and Michael L. Berbaum. 2003. Causes of peace: Democracy, interdependence, and international organizations, 1885-1992. International Studies Quarterly 47 (3): 371-393

Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom. Does Militarism Lead to Violence? Fact Sheet Building on the Global Study on UNSCR 1325. http://peacewomen.org/sites/default/files/Fact%20Sheet%20Militarism.pdf.  Accessed 30 Oct. 2021.

2.  “Democracy, in the proper sense of the word, is necessarily a despotism” (…) “But the Democratic Constitution, on the contrary, makes such a spirit impossible; because under it everyone wishes to be master.” (Kant, 1975 pg. 15)

The quote presented above indicates that Immanuel Kant was rather sceptical about the concept of democracy based solely on majoritarian rule as he argued this "establishes an Executive power in which All resolve about, and, it may be, also against, any One who is not in accord with it; and consequently the All who thus resolve are really not all; which is a contradiction of the Universal Will with itself and with liberty" (Kant, 1974 pg 15). Therefore, it would be unlikely that Kant would call himself a democrat if the concept of democracy is to be understood as the rule of the people in nowadays society.

As a result, I find myself disagreeing with this statement from Kant's work. Democracy is meant to empower individuals and give them the opportunity to contribute to changes in their society through such means as voting, freedom of speech, equal rights, etc. If Kant sees Democracy as “despotism” essentially he loses the meaning of democracy which can be basically summed up to the "power of the people": a way of governing which depends on the will of the people (Council of Europe).

This does not necessarily mean that “everyone wishes to be master”, as Kant explained in his essay. But rather, everyone has the power (in some capacity) to be able to influence the state they are part of. Consequently, if we take our modern definition of democracy (as the rule of popular will) and apply it to the “Democratic Peace” theory instead of Kant’s vision of “democracy”, then I would be inclined to agree with the “democratic peace” being a good perspective for future peacebuilding strategies.

Source:

Council of Europe . “Democracy.” Manual For Human Rights Education With Young People , https://www.coe.int/en/web/compass/democracy. Accessed 30 Oct. 2021

3.  Democratic Peace

Definition/Explanation: “Democratic peace is the proposition that democracies are more peaceful in their foreign relations.” (Reiter, 2012)

The "Democratic Peace" theory has various possible empirical and theoretical explanations. For example, from an empirical standpoint, some scholars argue that democratic states are more peaceful when it comes to their relations with all other states in the system (also known as "monadic" democratic peace) (Reiter, 2012). Other scholars propose that democratic states are peaceful only when it comes to their relationship with other democracies ("dyadic" democratic peace) (Elman, 1997). Furthermore, some academics argue that the existence of multiple democratic states within a geographical region or the international system, facilitates a more peaceful region or international system ("systemic" democratic peace) (Reiter, 2012). Of note, it is also important to acknowledge the fact that other individuals seem to deny the existence of the relationship between democracy and peace.

Further studies highlight the fact that democratic structures provide their citizens leverage over government decisions. Therefore, as war and conflict are seen as unsuitable and unattractive options for the government and its citizens, this makes it less likely for a democratic leader to be able to initiate a conflict (war) with another democracy. (Owen, 1994; Russett, 2009). This concept is also regarded as the "structural explanation" for the Democratic Peace theory.

Another equally important aspect to consider when discussing the theory of "Democratic Peace" is the normative explanation. Supporters of this perspective argue that liberal values are the best explanation for the peace that exists between democratic states (Elman, 1997). Consequently, it can be said that politically democratic cultures encourage peaceful means of conflict resolution which is extended internationally to other democratic states; as leaders of democracies hold a reasonable expectation that conflict will be resolved peacefully (Elman, 1997).

Sources:

Elman, M.F (1997) The Need for a Qualitative Test of the Democratic Peace Theory, in: Elman, M.D, Paths to Peace: Is Democracy the Answer, Cambridge, MA, 1-58

Reiter, D. (2012) Democratic Peace Theory". In obo in Political Science. 30 Oct. 2021. https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199756223/obo-9780199756223-0014.xml

Russett, Bruce M. (2009) “Democracy, War and Expansion through Historical Lenses.” European Journal of International Relations, vol. 15, no. 1,  pp. 9–36. SAGE Publications, doi:10.1177/1354066108100051.

Owen, John M. (1994) “How Liberalism Produces Democratic Peace.” International Security, vol. 19, no. 2,  p. 87. JSTOR, doi:10.2307/2539197.

How is "Democratic Peace" related to Kant's “Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch” (1975)? It it a convincing theory?

Immanuel Kant's work a “Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch” (1795) provides the first modern formulation of the "Democratic Peace" theory. As mentioned above, Kant's text provides a philosophical view into the link between democratic states and peace, which is the basis for the "Democratic Peace" theory.

I find the theory to be quite convincing when it comes to explaining the relationship of democracies and peacebuilding. By considering all the various definitions for the "Democratic Peace" theory, it can be argued that politically democratic states have a much better chance of upholding peace both intrastate and on an international level.

However, I must also add that there needs to be a combination of the two structural and normative explanations of the “democratic peace” theory. More specifically, in line with Kant's theory of perpetual peace, I believe that the support and strengthening of international organisations along with economic interdependence will result in stronger international peace.

Criticism of the "Democratic Peace" Theory

Some criticism regarding this theory is focused on methodology. For instance, Spiro (1994) argues that the subjectivity of the definitions adopted within empirical studies makes it likely to affect the results; thus proving difficult to validate the theory with absolute certainty. Further criticism comes from scholars who do not question the empirical findings but bring forward arguments in order to explain the causal relationship between peace and democracy instead (Farber & Gowa, 1995).

Interestingly, scholars such as Layne (1995, p. 38) argue that while "democratic peace theory identifies a correlation between domestic structure and the absence of war between democracies, it fails to establish a causal link" (Russett et al., 1995). In addition, it is also argued that many advocates for the "Democratic peace" theory seem to overemphasize the importance of democracy. More specifically, it is being argued that these proponents do not see all the elements that build up towards a peaceful state, and hence these have to be applied together at the same time. According to Oneal and Russett (1999), perpetual peace does not only result from democracy but also from international organisations, and trade cooperations between states.

Sources:

Farber, Henry S., and Gowa, Joanne (1995). “Polities and Peace.” International Security, vol. 20, no. 2, p. 123. JSTOR, doi:10.2307/2539231.

Oneal, John R., and Russett, Bruce (1999). “The Kantian Peace: The Pacific Benefits of Democracy, Interdependence, and International Organizations, 1885–1992.” World Pol., vol. 52, no. 1, pp. 1–37. Cambridge University Press (CUP), doi:10.1017/s0043887100020013

Russett, Bruce, et al. (1995) “The Democratic Peace.” International Security, vol. 19, no. 4, p. 164. JSTOR, doi:10.2307/2539124

Spiro, David E. (1994) “The Insignificance of the Liberal Peace.” International Security, vol. 19, no. 2, p. 50. JSTOR, doi:10.2307/2539196

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Session 4: Concepts of Peace II - Postcolonial Peace (Hokowhitu & Page, 2011)

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Session 4: Concepts of Peace II - Postcolonial Peace (Hokowhitu & Page, 2011)

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Hokowhitu and Page present in their journal article titled "Postcolonial Peace" (2011) the controversial nature of what "postcolonial peace" means for the indigenous communities. The aim of the article is to theorise postcolonial peace as that “state inscribed in an ‘economy of violence’” where exclusion forms the identity construction of both indigenous and non-indigenous alike." (Hokowhitu & Page, 2011, pg. 13)

Before discussing the ideas presented in this journal article, it is first important to establish what the term "postcolonial" means. According to Hokowhitu and Page (2011), this term suggests the change with regards to identity and state, meaning that the indigenous population has accepted their condition as colonised. Consequently, this shift supposedly results in a state of peace between the colonised and the colonisers. However, can this "peace" between the two groups actually be considered peaceful? And what impact does this shift of identity and state have upon the colonised population?

Following a colonial war (or invasion), the new state requires a "biopolitical management of life", which appears to be "acting in the best interests of the entire population, exercising power in a productive manner (...)". Nevertheless, this biopolitical management has been proven to cause the "death of indigenous life as they knew it." (Hokowhitu & Page, 2011, pg. 15). Moreover, the damage done to the indigenous population can be manifested at a psychological level. Hokowhitu and Page (2011) argue that indigenous individuals feel a sense of loss coupled with a desire for origin as a result of the violent struggle of a colonial war.

As a result, many academics tend to argue that the concept of "postcolonial peace" is actually inherently violent towards indigenous populations. More specifically, postcolonial peace for the indigenous individuals is nothing more than an eternal struggle framed by a continuous resistance towards the biopolitical management of life by the neo-colonial state. I wholeheartedly agree with the stance of postcolonial peace being damaging towards indigenous communities, as it is clear that the colonised population continues to struggle (socially and economically) in areas such as New Zealand, Australia and The United States of America.

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Session 5: Critical Pedagogy and Peace Education: Understanding Violence, Human Rights, and the Historical Project of Militant Peace (Gounari, 2013)

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Session 5: Critical Pedagogy and Peace Education: Understanding Violence, Human Rights, and the Historical Project of Militant Peace (Gounari, 2013)

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Panayota Gounari's work on "Critical Pedagogy and Peace Education: Understanding Violence, Human Rights, and the Historical Project of Militant Peace" (2013) aims to challenge our perceptions on violence, on the perpetrators of violence and conflict, on current national and international "humanitarian efforts" and on peace discourse (both academic and public). As Gounari mentions in her work, it is important to first and foremost establish the meaning of violence and who perpetrates it in order to effectively discuss peacebuilding methods. In this specific text, the author proposed the idea of "militant peace" as an effective tool for peace education.

As with a plethora of other academic sources, the work of Gounari provides extensive definitions and examples of violence from subjective (murder, terror, crime) and objective (racism, discrimination, hate speech), to systemic forms of violence. In this case, systemic violence is being regarded as violence that is "inherent to a system, and it is sustained not only through direct physical violence but it is also manifested through more subtle forms of coercion that sustain relations of domination and exploitation, including the threat of violence." With regards to the perpetrators of these types of violence, Gounari argues that the role of global financial institutions as the perpetrators of subjective, objective and systemic violence should be explored in the agenda of peace education. This is one aspect which I highly agree with, as I believe that the influence and the power financial institutions have on both international and national levels enables them to perpetrate acts of violence on the citizens of a state.

Another particularly interesting aspect of Gounari's work that left an impact during my reading was the concept of tolerance as a means of sustaining violence. In this sense, the author argues that "the call for tolerance never questions the asymmetrical power relations that give those who tolerate the privilege to tolerate others." Furthermore, this creates a power dynamic issue, as the ones who tolerate become the subject, while the ones being tolerated are merely the object. Consequently, this is particularly important as the majority of public peace discourses and calls to peace action promote this idea of tolerating "the other" which inevitably ends up being counterintuitive. In order to combat this issue, Gounari argues that it is important to first and foremost address issues of inequality, power, wealth distribution and relations of production "in a way that could actually lead to questioning the very structure that produces the need to tolerate." This same idea can be applied to the case of human rights discourses which oftentimes end up masking the issues with subtle forms of violence (systemic), as can be seen in the case of the USA; "The very war on terror waged by the United States and its allies has been discursively on the protection of "human rights", yet it took two presidential terms for the American people to show any type of moral outrage for their government."

Lastly, Gounari presents her idea of implementing the concept of "militant peace" within academia and the education system. The author states that by implementing a critical and political approach to the study of peace for students, they will be able to reflect better on the past historical events that shaped our present. More specifically, through critical peace education (militant peace) we need to teach the next generations to critically engage with the horrific historical events (wars, genocides, colonisation), rather than just observe them, in order to "create new histories that are less exclusionary, less violent, less unjust, and more humane and peaceful".

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Turko-Kurdish Conflict - Peace project Draft

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Session 5 Group Task: Turko-Kurdish Conflict - Implementing a Peace Module school programme 

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Session 5 Group Task: Turko-Kurdish Conflict - Implementing a Peace Module school programme 

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The attached document contains a draft with regards to the implementation of an education programme for students (elementary school, middle school, high school). The aim of the programme is to:

Introduce concepts like equality and respect for all cultures and ethnicity, a cosmopolitan way of life at an early age and make this a part of children's daily life, given that they are the future generation.

Encourage cooperation (establish cooperative structures which are more likely to generate peaceful behaviour rather than conflictual competition).

Contribute to the development and betterment of the education system.

Build up useful skills for the students which can be used both in their professional life and their private life (eg. communication skills, analytical skills, conflict resolution, teamwork, etc.)

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Turko-Kurdish Conflict - Peace project Draft

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Session 6: Concepts of Conflict I - Fanon: The Wretched of the Earth (1963)

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Session 6: Concepts of Conflict I - Fanon: The Wretched of the Earth (1963)

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Frantz Fanon, a psychoanalyst and social philosopher most known for his works "Black Skin, White Masks" (1952) and "The Wretched of the Earth" (1963) provided a very important contribution to the national liberation of colonial peoples through his work.  In the chapter titled "Concerning Violence" which is part of Fanon's book "The Wretched of the Earth" (1963), the author argues for the use of violence by the indigenous population as a means of anti-colonial purposes. The chapter provides a clear picture of how Fanon regards the process of colonisation and how he justifies the use of violence as a legitimate means of achieving freedom for the colonised people.

Firstly, it is important to establish the fact that decolonisation is regarded as an inherently violent phenomenon by the author. In other words, Fanon argued that “decolonization is quite simply the replacing of a certain "species" of men by another "species" of men.” (1963, pg. 33). Similarly to the process of colonisation, Fanon states that the fight against colonisation will inevitably resort to violence, “for if the last shall be first, this will only come to pass after a murderous and decisive struggle between the two protagonists.” (1963, pg. 36). In addition, the text also suggests that Fanon considered the use of violence a legitimate means of “turning the scale” and ultimately achieving freedom from the settler population.

An important aspect of the text (which made me think about the situation happening in the USA with regards to the Native American population) was the emphasis on the drastic differences in living conditions between the settler population and the indigenous people. Fanon argues that “the settler's town is a well-fed town, an easygoing town; its belly is always full of good things. The settlers' town is a town of white people, of foreigners.”, in contrast with “The native town is a hungry town, starved of bread, of meat, of shoes, of coal, of light. The native town is a crouching village, a town on its knees, a town wallowing in the mire.” (1963, pg. 38). I immediately linked Fanon’s argument with the two most prevalent Native American tribes (the Havasupai and the Hualapai) who currently reside on reservations at the Grand Canyon. These people, having suffered the consequences of colonisation, do not benefit from all the opportunities of the white American citizen in our modern society. While living in these reservations, a majority of natives earn a living by selling souvenirs depicting their traditions, values, culture to tourists visiting the Grand Canyon. As such, I would like to argue that in these circumstances, the white population ends up commodifying the native population’s culture and beliefs, without bothering to learn the struggle of living as an indigenous people in a post-colonial world.

Consequently, I would like to mention that although somewhat controversial, Frantz Fanon’s consideration of violence as a legitimate means of decolonisation is definitely understandable. In a colonial world where violence has been used extensively, it is expected that the indigenous population would resort to violent means one way or another in their fight for freedom. However, it is important to note that violence should never be the first option in conflict situations, as it more often than not, ends in more destruction and worse results for all parties involved.

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Session 7: Concepts of Conflict II - Huntington: The Clash of Civilizations? (1993)

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Session 7: Concepts of Conflict II - Huntington: The Clash of Civilizations? (1993)

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In his work "The Clash of Civilizations?", Samuel Huntington argues with regards to the potential new source of conflict in the so-called "new world". Huntington believes that the dominant source of conflict which will divide humans will be a cultural conflict. As the author argues, states will remain the most powerful actors in world affairs, however, the principal conflicts of global politics will focus on nations and different groups of civilizations.

Firstly, Samuel Huntington describes civilizations as "a cultural identity". He goes on to explain how regions, ethnic groups, nationalities and religious groups, all have very different cultures "at different levels of cultural heterogeneity". Furthermore, civilizations are also defined by common objective elements like history, language, institutions, religion, customs, and by the subjective self-identification of individuals. Because of these aspects, Huntington argues that civilizations "will be increasingly important in the future, and the world will be shaped in large measure by the interactions among seven or eight major civilizations. These civilizations, according to the author, are as follow: Western, Confucian, Japanese, Islamic, Hindu, Slavic-Orthodox, Latin American and possibly African.

I personally found Huntington's remarks on civilizations and their future somewhat accurate, especially as he goes further to explain his argument. The author states that the reason for this cultural/civilization divide will happen due to the difference in views individuals have on topics such as religion, the state, rights (and responsibilities), liberty/authority and equality. An important point the author makes further to this argument is that all of these differences are "far more fundamental than differences among political ideologies and political regimes." In addition, Huntington also points out that the differences among civilizations have "generated the most prolonged and the most violent conflicts."

Consequently, based on the aforementioned aspects of Huntington's work, I find myself agreeing with the statement that culture and civilizations play an increasingly important role in conflicts (especially on the international scale). For instance, this can be observed in cases such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the current refugee and migrant crisis in Europe. In both scenarios exists elements of cultural divisions that stem from different religions, customs, beliefs, etc. which ultimately lead to violent conflict. Furthermore, I also strongly believe that this is an important issue that needs to be observed, studied and addressed effectively, in order to implement policies that will hopefully reduce the cultural divisions and lead to less conflict.

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Since the start of my PACS journey, I had the opportunity to engage with a variety of literature which has definitely improved my understanding of peacebuilding, peace policies and conflict from different perspectives. Up until now, I would say that the topics of postcolonialism and culture/civilization based conflicts have piqued my interest. As such, I think that I would like to focus more on these topics and also potentially include elements of them into my term paper.

With regards to the term paper, I find myself shifting between topics and ideas, therefore I currently cannot say for sure what I would most like to focus on. For instance, issues surrounding gender and conflict in Israel/Palestine is one interesting topic that I could focus my term paper on. However, I am also highly interested in the increase in ethnic violence in our current era of globalisation (particularly in Europe). As such, I believe that I need to do more reading on these topics in order to finally make my decision and start working on my term paper's structure and research question.

Nonetheless, I am confident that additional reading and discussions during my PACS introduction module will surely help me better understand and focus on the topics that most interest me. In addition, I would also like to mention that the task of writing Padlet posts for my reading has proven to be very helpful with how I engage with the literature. More specifically, I've realised that reflecting on my reading and noting down my ideas on Padlet has helped me with better remembering the content of the topics discussed weekly in these academic journals/books. As such, I not only have a much better grasp of the literature up until now, but I also find it much easier going back and rereading my posts in case I need to refresh my memory on certain topics.

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Session 8: Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding - Jabri: Post Colonialism: A Post-Colonial Perspective on Peacebuilding (2016)

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Session 8: Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding - Jabri: Post Colonialism: A Post-Colonial Perspective on Peacebuilding (2016)

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In her work on "Post Colonialism: A Post-Colonial Perspective on Peacebuilding", Vivienne Jabri argues her views on what a post-colonial perspective on peacebuilding should look like. The author suggests the existence of two structural forces (both discursive and material) which help inform Jabri's view on post-colonial peacebuilding: the colonial legacy (and it's impact on the present) and the unequal structure of the global political economy.

Throughout the text, the author argues that peacebuilding can be regarded as a "machinery of government". In this sense, Jabri states that peacebuilding operations have the capacity to direct practices at every level of government. The aim of this intervention is to "reshape and redesign society into a future state that is free from conflict, and specifically from violence. (Jabri, 2016, 4). In addition, it is also important to note that in this case, peacebuilding practices tend to be carried out by external institutions, both international and national. Consequently, this creates a significant problem for the local actors which, as Jabri argues, are defined in tribal and ethnic terms by peacebuilding practices. In turn, this helps maintain a continuous tribal and cultural division of the population.

I would like to mention that I personally do not fully agree with this top-down approach to peacebuilding that is currently being implemented. As mentioned above, the intervention of the international actors in the so-called weak and poorly governed states creates a paradox which can further marginalise and discriminate against the voices of the local actors (thus disempowering communities while claiming to empower them). In addition, I fully agree with the author's suggestions when it comes to considering a post-colonial perspective on 'peace'. Firstly, I believe that is highly important to regonize the political independence and the liberation from colonial and post-colonial dispossesion of the states. Secondly, all parties must have a voice and must be capable of informing decisions in terms of conflict resolution. And lastly, regional organisations are to be encouraged to develop an independent voice in international politics (thus bringing attention to the bottom-up approach focusing on local actors in peacebuilding practices.)

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Session 8 Group Task: The “Deal of the Century” for Israel-Palestine | US Proposals Are Likely to Speed Demise of Two-State Settlement - Muriel Asseburg (2019)

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Session 8 Group Task: The “Deal of the Century” for Israel-Palestine | US Proposals Are Likely to Speed Demise of Two-State Settlement - Muriel Asseburg (2019)

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Session 8_ Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding - Group task

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Session 9: Session 9: Post-Conflict and Development I - Ziai: Post-Development: Premature Burials and Haunting Ghosts (2015)

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Session 9: Session 9: Post-Conflict and Development I - Ziai: Post-Development: Premature Burials and Haunting Ghosts (2015)

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The author Aram Ziai mentions in his work "Post-Development: Premature Burials and Haunting Ghosts" that the post-development school (PD) in development theory has had a rather complicated relationship with the object of study, in this case, the concept of "development". Ziai offers an extensive explanation on the topics of development and also post-development and how these notions have affected the so-called 'third world countries' and their evolution.

To start with, development is being regarded as a "historically situated mental and linguistic structure implying certain relations of power." (Ziai, 2015: 834). Furthermore, the post-development school criticised development by its embedded relations of power and the colonial gaze; in this sense, development does nothing more than othering the "less developed" states which are regarded as being in need of development, usually a Westernised version of it. In addition, the author also argues that the post-war decades of development had actually created more inequality between the rich and poor countries along with ecological problems resulting from this process of industrialised development. Another important point made by the author in this article is that development is also being criticised because of its Western ideology coupled with the upkeep of a colonial international division of labour (even after the end of colonialism) with the aim of maintaining access to raw materials, new production sites and new market perspectives for the USA and its allies.

Because of the aforementioned issues with the notion of development, scholars argue that the post-development school focuses on "the rejection of the entire paradigm of "development" and the search for "alternatives to development" instead of "alternative development" (Escobar, 1995: 215, cited in Ziai, 2015: 834). Post-development is also being regarded as having its interests in local culture and knowledge, a critical stance towards scientific discourses and its promotion and defence localised, pluralistic grassroots movements. Nonetheless, the idea of post-development is not without its criticism. For instance, the author argues that PD's discourse on development is Eurocentric, which produces relations of power, economism and domination, and has an ideological function for Western hegemony. As we can observe, these are similar to the aforementioned characteristics of 'development.'

Nonetheless, I believe that it is also important to acknowledge some of the benefits that came with the implementation of development in Third World States. For instance, some states have been successful in internalising the discourse of development which have led them to stage sustained processes of economic growth and industrialisation. As a consequence, this process has enabled the states to significantly improve their living standards for a large amount of their population. A very good example of this practice is the East Asian Tiger states and China, which have started out as poor countries whose now per capita income surpassed that of some Northern states.

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Session 10: Post-Conflict and Development II - Bonnet: Overcoming Eurocentrism in Human Rights: Postcolonial Critiques – Islamic Answers? (2015)

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Session 10: Post-Conflict and Development II - Bonnet: Overcoming Eurocentrism in Human Rights: Postcolonial Critiques – Islamic Answers? (2015)

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In the work of Sebastian Bonnet, "Overcoming Eurocentrism in Human Rights: Postcolonial Critiques – Islamic Answers?", the author argues for an integration of Islamic human rights concepts into the current Western-focused human rights discourse. Bonnet considers that certain elements of Islamic belief can have a positive impact and bring human rights to a wider non-Western audience.

As mentioned at the beginning of the article, the idea of human rights has gained an increased universal presence within the international political discourse. However, Bonnet states that this concept of human rights, although it has become globalised, it still falls into the trap of 'Eurocentrism' which makes it less inclusive to the wider audience. Therefore, the author calls for a revision of human rights with the inclusion of so-called "Islamic concepts". According to the author, these concepts not only makes the human rights discourse more inclusive, but also help correct the "conceptual flaws of liberal human rights".

What human rights currently lack, according to the author, is a community-oriented perspective in favour of individualism. As such, Islamic approaches may be able to emphasise more on collective rights together with individual duties (through the religious belief that "fulfilment of individual freedom and the good life of the one is tied to his or her responsibility toward the other and the community" (Bonnet 2015, pg. 3). Consequently, through this approach, human rights are more likely to be accepted in cultures that rely heavily on communitarian discourses.

Although I personally agree with being more inclusive in our approach to the human rights discourse and take into consideration the needs of different ethnic groups and their cultures, at the same time I also strongly believe in keeping political discourses (in this case human rights) secular. Moreover, I would argue that the human rights discourse would benefit from a universal secular model which also takes into account the various cultural differences between individuals. As Habermas (2001, 127) states (who is mentioned within Bonnet's article) "only religious abstinence guarantees a neutral legitimation of political authority".

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Session 11: Building Post-Conflict Societies - Heideman: The Vulnerable protecting the Vulnerable | NGOs and the Human Security in the Aftermath of War (2013)

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Session 11: Building Post-Conflict Societies - Heideman: The Vulnerable protecting the Vulnerable | NGOs and the Human Security in the Aftermath of War (2013)

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In Heideman's chapter titled "The Vulnerable protecting the Vulnerable - NGOs and the Human Security in the Aftermath of War" the author focuses on a case study on Croatia in order to highlight the benefits and the flaws that come with the NGOs' involvement in human security and postconflict reconstruction (PCR). The main question posed by the author is that of "how are vulnerable populations protected in the aftermath of conflict?".  Within Heideman's research which focuses on postconflict reconstruction in Croatia following the Croatian War of Independence, the author's findings suggest that issues regarding human security were delegated to several NGOs. These NGOs appear to have been funded by western donors (such as USAID and SIDA) but were, unfortunately, "not included in larger decision-making bodies that decided the directions postconflict reconstruction should take" (pg. 215).

According to Heideman, the members of the Croatian NGOs were involved in various activities such as providing services for refugees, advocating for ethnic Serbs facing violence and repression and demonstrating for peace. Unfortunately, the members' commitment to these NGOs came at a very steep price as they faced criticism, threats (even death threats) and beatings. Furthermore, since most of these activists were also of mixed ethnicity and coming from minority groups, their involvement in NGOs ended up increasing their vulnerability within society. As such, the idea of "vulnerable protecting the vulnerable" is clearly illustrated within Heideman's research findings.

The article further illustrates one of the main failures of the Croatian NGOs in effectively addressing all the human security issues post-war. With the involvement of international donors, the activities of the NGOs shifted from their original grassroots activism to more staff-directed projects which ended up causing members to stop being involved in the organisations. Consequently, this shift undermined the NGOs' ability to respond to the local community and instead focused on defining security needs "upward to the donors." (pg. 230). In addition, with the withdrawal of funds from the international actors, a majority of NGOs found themselves incapable of continuing their activism which had a major negative impact on the postconflict reconstruction process.

As a result of these findings, the author strongly suggests the creation of a system of human security that can withstand donor withdrawal, together with more feedback mechanisms that enable the actors directly involved in human security to make local needs heard. Furthermore, it is also extremely important to set a concrete agenda and plan of action on human security needs while creating sustainable grassroots organisations. Personally, I believe that the implementation of indigenous organisations which can focus on addressing the local needs of the population is a very important step in the right direction of addressing the human security post-conflict. In addition, government funding (where possible) is also another important aspect that can help maintain such NGO groups and legitimise their activities in the eyes of the public.

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Session 11 Group Task: UN-Mission in Timor-Leste 1999

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Session 11 Group Task: UN-Mission in Timor-Leste 1999

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Having reached the end of my first term in Peace and Conflict Studies, I can confidently say that I definitely chose the right area of study for my academic journey. This first term proved to be highly engaging and provided ample opportunities to share my ideas with a diverse group of students, which helped me develop new ideas and concepts. The literature also proved to be very diverse and interesting, while also helping me to better understand new concepts in peacebuilding and conflict management.

With regard to the topic of my term paper, I choose to focus on exploring the rise in discrimination and xenophobia related attacks on the refugee/immigrant population in Germany, particularly in the Saxony region. To do this, I believe that an analysis of the current social media and television discourse and its link with the rise of far-right movements and xenophobic attitudes can be beneficial in explaining this relevant phenomenon within Germany. Furthermore, after reading about and hearing from other fellow student's accounts about increasing instances of violence towards immigrants and refugees in East Germany, I strongly belive that this is a topic that needs to be addressed properly both by academics as well as within public discourse. In addition, as an international student, I have also grown more concerned about this issue and see it as an important phenomenon that should receive more international attention.

In conclusion, I am definitely looking forward to what my next academic term has to offer and I continue to remain excited abut my Peace and Conflict Studies journey. I would also like to mention that I am highly interested in pursuing an internship abroad as part of my PACS programme, so I consider this aspect to be of high priority, hopefully for the nearby future.