Reconciliation and Gender
Jun 28, 2021
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University of Bristol
Online
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Wars formally end and combatants lay down their weapons, yet what follows rarely amounts to a clear-cut, unambiguous ‘peace’. After formal hostilities have ended, citizens experience poor quality peace, in which intergroup antagonism and mutual distrust persist, and poverty and exclusion blight the lives of the population. Coexistence is tenuous after historical violence, and, at worst, peace agreements may collapse, and the cycle of violence recommence, impacting those most vulnerable.
Academic debates addressing reconciliation and the corollary notion of dealing with the past have escalated over the last years, and reconciliation has been increasingly employed to understand the quality and durability of peace settlements. Practitioners and policymakers have accordingly begun to consolidate strategies that are situated within the framework of reconciliation. However, the relationship between gender and reconciliation has only recently begun to receive attention.
Our second panel, ‘Gender and Reconciliation’, explores the form in which gendered power relations are impacted by and have an impact upon post-conflict and transitional scenarios. The different forms in which women and men experience conflict and transition will be discussed, and we will reflect on the extent to which reconciliation processes are capable of generating a transformative change in gender relations. Given the need to acknowledge the relational nature of gender, the role played by masculinities in transitional contexts will also be debated, paying specific attention to the multiple forms in which masculinity can be understood in these scenarios. The panellists will also discuss the destabilisation of gender roles during and after conflict. Considering that in times of war women often assume positions of power that would have once been unthinkable, it is vital to reflect on the ability of peace processes and transitions to democracy to secure these gains for women. Finally, the vital role played by women-led initiatives in rebuilding social relationships and reconstructing communities in post-conflict settings will be analysed.
Within these seminars, we hope to begin addressing the lacuna in reconciliation, facilitating cross-disciplinary discussion and research where the theme is explored holistically by a network of experts and an interested public. The panel will include a presentation from each speaker and the discussant, and will finish with an open discussion between panelists and the audience.
Speaking at this event are Senior Gender Advisor Nahla Valji (United Nations), Professor Brandon Hamber (Ulster University), Senior Researcher Elise Feron (Tampere University), and Associate Professor Johanna Mannergren Selimovic (Södertörn University), with Dr. Gwen Burnyeat (University of Oxford) as discussant.
Who: University of Bristol
Where: Online
When: 28 June 2021 Time: 12:30 PM ADT