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

Envisioning Peace | Transforming Conflict

Team

Dr. André Bank

Senior Research Fellow

Dr. Viviana García Pinzón

Associate

Christoph Heuser

Former 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

University of the Andes, Colombia

Head

Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach

President (ad interim)

Research Questions

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)?

Contribution to International Research

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.

Research Design and Methods

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.

Preliminary Findings

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.

Chapter in Edited Volume | 12/2020

Envisioning Peace ǀ Transforming Conflict: A Global Approach to Peace

Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach

President (ad 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

President (ad interim)

GIGA Focus Latin America | 2/2019

AMLO's First 100 Days: Mixed Signals

Dr. Luicy Pedroza

Associate

GIGA Focus Latin America | 1/2019

Venezuela – Elections Alone Are Not Enough

Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach

President (ad interim)

GIGA Focus Global | 5/2017

No One Size Fits All – A Global Approach to Peace

Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach

President (ad interim)

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation | 25/04/2022

For a New Social Contract. Renewing Democracy to Leave No One Behind.

Organiser: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach (Consultant)

Kick-off of a Spanish initiative within the overall development framework of the Sustainable Development Goals, tprimarily under Goal 16: peace, justice and strong institutions.

Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach

President (ad interim)

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

President (ad interim)

Deutschlandfunk Kultur Weltzeit | Interview | 21/07/2020

Kolumbien im Schatten der Corona Krise explodiert die Gewalt

Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach

President (ad interim)

Deutsche Welle (DW) | Quote | 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

President (ad interim)

GIGA Global Transitions Conference | 07/12/2017 - 08/12/2017