Diversity in Peacebuilding: Women and Civil Society Inclusion

This course analyzes diversity in peacebuilding with a particular focus on the role that women and civil society actors play in peace processes. We will first discuss the so-called 'local turn' in peace research and practice. The local turn describes the acknowledgement that while engaging with the belligerents in a given armed conflict is crucial to stop the violence, it is not sufficient to build lasting peace and a wide range of actors need to be included in peacebuilding beyond those holding the guns. We will then analyze two main developments related to the local turn: the Women, Peace and Security agenda (WPS) as well as efforts to include civil society actors in peace processes. Yet, the local turn has itself been criticized for reproducing Eurocentric patterns and for promoting binary approaches. Based on concrete case studies, we will critically reflect on attempts to diversify peace processes and analyze the opportunities and challenges that come with such an approach to peacebuilding.