Essays

Author: Mónica Paola Galvis Aldana (Bogotá, Colombia)

The Havana Peace Agreement signed on november 24th of 2016 between the colombian government and the biggest guerilla group, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia -Ejército del Pueblo (FARC - EP, in its Spanish acronym) was the third major attempt to reach a negotiated agreement with this group. This process was supposed to put an end to the Colombian protracted conflict, one of the longest in the Western Hemisphere (IPI, 2017, p.1). Nevertheless, up to five years after its implementation many people are wondering if Colombia is really in a postconflict stage or if the conflict is still latent. The first part of this essay discusses the particularities of a protracted social conflict and why Colombia can be classified as one, while the second part analyzes if this peace agreement has been able to change any of these particularities in order to establish if it meant the end of Colombian protracted conflict.

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.