2021 - Peacebuilding Practices in Divided Societies

Author: Tajana Vlaisavljevic (Zagreb, Croatia)

Although the course touched on different areas and challenges of working in the field of peacebuilding in divided societies, while deciding what to write about, I kept coming back to the area I have a strong love and a strong resentment towards- education. Short explanation to the question what I have a strong love for it- the potential of young people. What I have a strong resentment towards- almost everything else about the education systems I used to work in; because I believe they could help to develop that potential so much more.

I kept telling myself that I could look into something different this time, that I am also interested and would love to focus more on gender, work place and workers’ rights, or doing peacebuilding work in the West (now that I’m living here)…And all of that would be true. Still, I felt that I’m circling back to this old saying that the youth is our future and to the notion that persisting and amplifying its importance in the field of peacebuilding is a key element I want to focus on.

Author: Juan Camilo Franco (Bogotá, Colombia)

At present, gender studies have become more and more recurring in academia, especially in social studies. Among these studies, one that stands out in the field of International Relations is peacebuilding. According to Lisa Schirch (2004), peacebuilding refers to every activity that aims to improve the quality of life by reducing and transforming violence in all of its forms. Taking this into account, gender studies become an important tool for peacebuilding by understanding the distinct kinds of victimization that people can suffer, especially women. Furthermore, gender studies take the relevant task of not only studying the victimization but the role of individuals and their efforts towards peacebuilding in post conflict contexts. This essay applauds a discipline which highlights the importance of women, who have been historically relegated, but argues that gender studies need to consider the inclusion of  non-traditional gender roles for them to be even more effective in the field of peacebuilding.

Author: Hana Adamović (Zagreb, Croatia)

Introduction

It’s been argued by feminist scholars that war is gendered in its causes and consequences. The experience of war also varies according to gender, ethnical, sexual and class characteristics (Duncanson, 2016). Women often represent the vulnerable segment of the population, especially in times of conflict. Peacebuilding and humanitarian efforts addressing their welfare are necessary (Detraz, 2012). However, peacekeeping is often envisioned to be carried out by male soldiers who protect defenceless women and children. This portrayal of men masks the complexity of cases when women are active participants in the conflict.

Moreover, the majority of peace negotiators globally have been known to be men (Zelizer and Oliphant, 2013) which can be seen as a consequence of depriving women in partaking in those negotiations as well as in forming peace agreements. One of the examples may be seen in the complete exclusion of women in signing the Peace Accords in Dayton in 1995 (Thomasson, 2006). Consequences of war, which in majority affect women and girls, assume the crucial role of gendered analyses and women in peacebuilding practices (Duncanson, 2016). Gender-mainstreaming by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in the Resolution 1325 has been a key evolvement in raising awareness of gender issues in the peacekeeping agenda. (Detraz, 2012). It is defined as “the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes in all areas and at all levels. Furthermore, it is a strategy for making women’s as well as of men’s concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic and societal spheres that allows women and men to benefit equally, hindering perpetuation of inequality with an ultimate goal of achieving gender equality.” (Zelizer and Oliphant, 2013). This essay will try to analyse different factors that contribute to the perception of the role of women in building peace and the challenges and responsibilities in those perceptions that’s commonly carried by society as a whole. The second part will address the practical development of women’s practices in the aftermath of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.