Many Peaces Magazine #8 by Many Peaces

MAGAZINE W

YEMEN: DESTRUCTION AND DREAMS Page 9 VAMIK VOLKAN: PLAY THE ACCORDION Page 14 PEACE THINKER: HANNAH ARENDT Page 46

MANY PEACES VOLUME 8 2018 - 07

VIOLENCE & PEACE WORK

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Many Peaces Magazine | Volume 8 - 2018 - 07 Published by Paul Lauer RosenberggĂźrtel 21, 8010 Graz, Austria Editorial (in alphabetical order): Alexa Cuello, Lena Drummer, Theresa Gottschall, Isabelle Guibert, Adham Hamed, Fatma Haron, Rana Haroun, Juliana Krohn, Julia Michel, Paul Lauer, Mayme Lefurgey, Clara Maier, Shibani Pandya, Manon Roeleveld and Vlad Toma

EDITORIAL Dear readers, As we are presenting to you the 8th Volume of MPM, our team and vision are in a dynamic process of transition. What once started as an attempt to bring together the Peace and Conflict Studies community at the University of Innsbruck has become a project with a meanwhile much larger outreach into the broader Peace and Conflict Studies Community and beyond. Such change necessarily comes along with a process of self-reflection and re-orientation. In our self-understanding we are an outlet at the intersection between Peace and Conflict Studies, research communication and Peace Journalism, unifying both academic and journalistic formats under one umbrella. What is it that makes peace journalism – and more broadly Peace and Conflict Studies unique? Trying to find our answer to this question we have talked to Johan Galtung, the founding father of European Peace Studies, who told us: Peace Journalism is to mainstream journalism as is Health Journalism: the focus is not only on analysis and, possibly, forecasting, but also on remedies. In short, not only diagnosis and prognosis, but also therapy. Full circle. Peace and Conflict Studies have a similar relation to mainstream International Relations: not only analysis and maybe forecasting, but “what do we do bout it”, therapy. In addition, Peace and Conflict Studies are not only like International Relations at the macro level of states and nations, but also at the micro level of persons, meso level of groups inside societies, and mega level between regions and civilizations. From the perspective of the Innsbruck School of Peace Studies, which provides the larger framework for the dedicated work of our 15 team members (a new peak in terms of team size) we can fully agree with Galtung’s human-centered approach, in which he includes the micro-level of analysis as an adequate response to the violence inherent to merely state-centered International Relations perspectives. However, there is something disturbing about the idea of diagnosis and prognosis. The underlying notion of such an image is one of a vectoral chronosophy that assumes that conflict workers can cure conflicting actors from their “conflict-diseases” like modern doctors. However, peace work from the perspective of the Innsbruck School, can always only start from the uncertain ground of the here and now, by inquiring into the many possibilities for new courses of action from within dysfunctional conflicts, in a sincere dialogue about the respective possibilities, with all parties involved. The MPM as a peace journalistic outlet tries to support such processes with diverse contributions and perspectives from our global network of authors. With the current volume on the issue of “Violence and Peace Work”, we present a founding concern for Johan Galtung and the discipline of Peace and Conflict Studies as an academic field some 60 years ago, namely the question: How can different forms of violent relationships be transformed into dynamic situations that are more harmonious, and hence perhaps more human, for everyone involved? Thank you for your loyalty. Adham Hamed Editor in Chief

Editorial

TABLE OF CONTENTS GUEST COMMENT

COVER STORY

by Rebecca Gulowski by Jawaher Asa’ad

PEACE WORKERS

PLAY THE ACCORDION

LESSONS LEARNT

DIFFERENT COLOURS

LIBYAN WOMEN A STRONG VOICE

An Interview with Vamik Volkan, Interviewed by Clara Maier As a Humanitarian Aid Worker, by Fatma Boudokhane

...of Violence in Peace Work, by Mansoor Ali Zahra’ Langhi Tries to Change the Position of Women in Libya, by Clara Maier and Adham Hamed

CONFLICT TRANSFORMATION AROUND THE WORLD

STRUCTURAL VIOLENCE...

MODERNIZING ENERGETIC PRACTICES

...and Moral Imagination. Mobilization and Creativity as Tools, by Sheila Serón Hernández

On the Violent Potentials of Ashtanga Yoga, by Christina Pauls

PEACE THINKERS

HANNAH ARENDT

MARSHALL ROSENBERG

An Arendtian Approach to Elicitive Conflict Transformation, by Andreas Oberprantacher

46 Many Peaces Magazine #8

Nonviolent Communication, by Julia Michel

INSBRUCK SCHOOL OF PEACE STUDIES

PESTUGE PROJECT

SUCCESSFUL KICKOFF-MEETING

EKKEHART KRIPPENDORFF

BOOK REVIEW

NEW PUBLICATIONS

NEW MASTERS OF PEACE

Practicing Transrational and Elicitive Approaches, by Josefina Echavarría Alvarez and Liridona Veliu APPEAR-funded Partnership with Haramaya University, by Adham Hamed In Memoriam, by Wolfgang Dietrich

Koppensteiner’s “Transrational Methods of Peace Research: The Researcher as (Re)source”, by Fatma Haron

APPENDIX

CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS

THE EDITORIAL TEAM

ABOUT OUR MAGAZINE

ART

ARTIST OF THE VOLUME

Photographies (Yemen), by Akram Al Rasny

MANY INSIGHTS

Photo Essay: Bil’in – Every Friday, A Fraction of a Conflict Caught in Pictures, by Juliana Krohn

7 25 7 Editorial

GUEST COMMENT THE ABSURDITY OF VIOLENCE AND PEACE WORK BY REBECCA GULOWSKI

In his prominent contribution Violence, Peace and Peace Research

the violence that resides in reason or which was produced by it in its (1969), Johan Galtung changed and broadened the perspective of dominant Western interpretation, as critical theorists ranging from Peace and Conflict Studies by establishing the dualism of peace Theodor W. Adorno and Max Horkheimer, the post-structuralist and violence. Prevailing works were rooted in the trajectories of Michel Foucault, and the postcolonial thinker Achille Mbembe instate-centered political science and thus peace was defined as the sistently elucidated. counterpart of war. Galtung opened up the possibility of integratWith the Many Peaces, the Innsbruck School has brought new ing the societal dimensions of violence but also of peace, and a new key values (harmony, justice, security, and truth) into the concept(s) and extended research agenda of peace(s) and thus expanded in Peace Studies was initiated. the notion of violence. With the By defining new actors and renotion of transrational peace The rock is still rolling. […] All is well. sponsibilities in the field, peace as a more complex concept This universe henceforth without a master work was professionalized and of peace, where all of the four peace workers were qualified in values merge into dynamic seems to him neither sterile nor futile. Each peacebuilding (against strucequilibrium, rationally thinkatom of that stone, each mineral flake of tural violence), peacemaking ing is still applied; this notion, that night filled mountain, in itself forms a (against cultural violence), and however, integrates the whole peacekeeping (against physical human being as a (re)source of world. The struggle itself toward the heights violence) by civil means. Shappeace even more holistically by is enough to fill a man’s heart. ing the relationship between acknowledging sensing, feelOne must imagine Sisyphus happy theory and practice has, howing, intuiting and witnessing ever, neglected the promise of ALBERT CAMUS as source of knowledge. With supporting Peace Studies as an this, Wolfgang Dietrich, Norbert academic discipline and proKoppensteiner and their colfession. By defining peace as the absence of any (even structural) leagues have brought a praxeological dimension into violence research violence, there are no living conditions that are not directly or struc- and they have redefined the relationship between violence and peace. turally characterized by violence. Peace from this perspective cor- Starting from the question of one’s own living experienced peace responds to a utopian world society and all efforts for earthly peace changes the perception of peace work. Instead of rolling the stone of and constructive conflict work would be denounced as Sisyphean Sisyphus for the sake of a utopia, a transcendent notion of peace, the work. Peace work is reduced to the issue of overcoming violence, transrational perspective decides to face violence in peace work and thereby limited by the distinction between the different levels of vi- research, refers to making sense of one’s own fate, which is driven by olence. Peace would atrophy and be doomed to remain within the one’s values. logic of violence. In the face of the human condition of vulnerability, it seems absurd to go by the idea of changing all the violent structures by REBECCA GULOWSKI is a PhD-student and lecturer at risking one’s own physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual the Chair of Political Science, Peace and Conflict Studies integrity. In this regard, however, in The Myth of Sisyphus (1955), at Augsburg University, Germany. She is also lecturer and member of the Board at the UNESCO Chair for Peace Camus states: “From the moment absurdity is recognized, it beStudies, University of Innsbruck, Austria. Her research focomes a passion, the most harrowing of all. But whether or not one cuses on the phenomenology of violence, feminist theory, can live with one’ s passions, whether or not one can accept their micro-sociology, the analysis of social conflict dynamics law, which is to burn the heart they simultaneously exalt—that is and protest cultures. She is also engaged in training in the whole question.” By accepting and expecting absurdity, reason nonviolent conflict transformation and peace education. Contact: rebecca.gulowski@phil.uni-augsburg.de as source of Enlightenment is quickly exhausted. Not to speak of 6 - Many Peaces Magazine #8

ÂŠ Akram Al Rasni

AKRAM AL RASNY was born in Taiz, Yemen. He has a Diploma in graphics from the Universal University in Taiz. He is a field photographer who is participating in documenting the conflict in Taiz since it erupted in Yemen in March 2015. He is also working as a TV editor for several media agencies. Akram produced a number of documentaries, flashes and clips. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Akram.Alrasny

Ar ti st of t h e volu m e

Art - 7

ÂŠ Akram Al Rasni

In our cover story, Jawaher Asaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ad gives a personal account about violence in Yemen. Her article is based on first hand experience with violence as a women who has spent most of her life in this wartorn country. Living the ups and downs, striving to achieve her dreams in spite of the obstacles that have been hindering her steps, she shares how violence is holding the country and its people back in their potentials. 8 - Many Peaces Magazine #8

COVER STORY DESTRUCTION AND DREAMS IN YEMEN BY JAWAHER ASA’AD | PHOTOS BY AKRAM AL RASNI

Arabia Felix — the “Happy Arabia” is an old name for Yemen, a

country that is not happy anymore. Yemeni people witness several types of violence in the span of their lives, such as isolation from the rest of the world, illiteracy, poverty and corruption. Most of these problems are due to the unstable political and economic situation in Yemen and the many civil wars that have shaped the population. Although Yemenis are trained in resilience after 33 years of governmental corruption and ongoing conflict situations, the recent war that has been escalating within the last ten years turned everything into ashes. An armed conflict like that is considered to be the most severe form of violence that any person experiences physically and psychologically. For centuries, Yemen was the centre of civilization and wealth on the Arabian Peninsula. However, unlike ancient times, modern history is not one Yemenis take much pride in. Yemen is devastated by subsequent wars and poor life standards. The current Republic used to be split into two separate countries: the Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen) and the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen). The North was under control of the Ottoman Empire, then under the Imam of Yemen until 1962, while the British ruled the South until 1963. In spite of the independence of the two countries at the beginning of the sixties, the ruling systems were still staggering. Even in 1990, when the noble dream of unity at last came true after more than 150 years of separation, the unstable government and the recurrent wars made it difficult for the people to appreciate the glorious unification. Violence in Yemen is nowadays still represented on several levels from the personal and interpersonal to the collective level such as poverty, illiteracy and gender issues. Yet the recent armed conflict that burdens the country’s settlement overshadows the whole other types of violence in Yemen despite their vital roles on the daily life of people. Poverty as a Form of Violence More than half of Yemen’s population live below three US-Dollar per day. Yemen was ranked 168 out of 177 countries on the 2016 Human Development Index. The challenges that the country faces in addressing poverty are huge and can be seen as an inherent form of violence. It is manifested in poverty in the sense that the country would actually have several resources that qualify its people to live adequately, yet it is not unusual that families of more than fifteen

persons live in one single room and cannot afford a proper diet. This can regularly be experienced by employees of international NGOs such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), for whom I, Jawaher Asa’ad, was working. Once, in 2015, during one of my ICRC-trips to Hodeida City at the Red Sea, I was shocked at the level of poverty in the surrounding fishermen villages. People are living in the desert with nothing to protect them from the heat of the sun except small straw huts, with nothing inside their huts except a bed of straw and the heat of the sand under their feet. The water they drink was filled in car’s oil jerry cans, and their food was nothing except a piece of homemade bread a day. There was no possibility for more variety and this is just a sample of many other places of Yemen that represent the level of poverty.

I spent most of my life in struggle to peacefully fight for my professional rights in order to be an example to my counterpart women. A task that is not easily implemented in daily work life.

Gender Violence in a Conservative Country Within this inherent high level of poverty and, additionally, strong conservative Yemeni traditions, women face an especially grievous position since they are challenged with different kinds of violence. Besides severe poverty, they face discrimination. Females are traditionally supposed to be under men’s guardianship within the family. This is considered to be a form of protection, but keeps them always dependent on others. Within these societal and familial settings, females are deprived of education, often forced to get married early or, on the other hand, miss the opportunity of getting married due to exaggerated dowries. Additionally, they often face sexual harassment, are forced into pregnancy and their freedom is strictly limited Cover Story - 9

due to the exclusion from private and public decision-making roles and processes. Yemeni women are under focus and their behavior is interpreted based on society’s criteria. There are many obstacles for ambitious women who aim to break through this conservative perspective and stand by their own dreams and wishes in order to live the life they want. I myself was born and grew up in Saudi Arabia — a country in which women have only been allowed to drive since September 2017 — and moved to Yemen, my parent’s country of origin, as a teenager. Although Yemen is considered slightly more open than Saudi Arabia, it took a lot of effort to get many of my basic rights conceded. I had to fight for acceptance of my demands. Through an exhausting, and often challenging, process I learned to gain my personal satisfaction without any societal approval, yet such a situation is hard to deal with in daily life. These circumstances are something

Despite the current horrendous situation, there are thousands of youth who still have hope in their country and aim for a brighter future.

I would consider another kind of war. Fortunately, my family was aware of the importance of education in contrast to many other girls’ families in Yemen who are deprived of proper education that would be of help for their future. The same discriminating conditions that are prominent in Yemeni families account for male-dominated work settings. Male employees or principals usually do not allow women to exceed them. During my work experience in Yemen, I learned about specific stereotypes and roles that could not be changed. I spent most of my life in struggle to peacefully fight for my professional rights in order to be an example to my counterpart women. A task that is not easily implemented in daily work life: desires and dreams that are not awarded to women by the society are not supported, every decision is questioned, every action condemned. Five Wars and a Revolution

All photos: © Akram Al Rasni

All these different kinds of violence shape the population of a crisis region what I experienced when going through five wars myself: the Gulf War, the separation war between North and South Yemen, the civil war between the President and rebelling Houthis in Sa’ada, the Arab Spring Revolution and the recent escalation of the civil war in 2015. Ever since my feeling of safety broke in 1990 when the Gulf War erupted, I have been living in a world of uncertainties. When the South of Yemen tried in a failed attempt to separate from the North, I lived in the border city Taiz. I heard the warplanes shelling and realized the meaning of war beyond the books of history. When Arab 10 - Many Peaces Magazine #8

Spring broke out in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Syria, I was happy that people realized the need to change for the better, while, at the same time, the fear of the consequences prevailed. Although I was happy with the breeze of freedom during the Arab Spring, the consequences later on were catastrophic. Many youth lost their lives for the sake of freedom, however, a lot of political decisions distorted this peaceful revolution. During recent years, violence increased to an extreme level. The Houthis invaded the capital Sanaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;a in September 2014, expanded towards the South passing by Ibb, Taiz and ended up in Aden. As a consequence, upon the request of the new elected president Abdo Rabo Mansour Hadi, the Saudi-led coalition launched intensive air strikes at several areas in Yemen on 26 of March 2015. Being caught in this new conflict, I realized that all the previous wars I passed through never had such a calamitous impact on my daily life as what is happening now. Daily life is reduced to basics, there is no water, no electricity, it is risky to leave the house in case of emergency. People almost do not have what is called daily life routine, because they are uncertain whether they would survive the next day. They do not have access to food either because of the limited movements or increased prices while they do not receive their salaries for more than two years. Most of the people do not have an income or lose their jobs. To conclude my personal experience, I want to mention that, despite the current horrendous situation, there are thousands of youth who still have hope in their country and aim for a brighter future. They work for peace in small scales and organize awareness campaigns despite the threats. Moreover, during the three years of war that caused irregular income and unemployment, women got empowered to adopt new roles by participating in peacebuilding, humanitarian relief, child protection and promoting for coherence. In spite of the aforementioned traditional convictions that attributed certain activities within the society exclusively to men, they started launching small projects. This used to be extremely challenging, but slowly Yemen is also witnessing several social changes. Some of my friends started to open an outlet for selling pastries, handcrafts, launching design work, involving in human relief activities and even establishing such projects that are considered to be a taboo for women in Yemen such as driving a taxi. These examples show that tough times can also have pinpoints of light: They can make people stronger and might, on the long run, not only cause political change but to some extent even social transition.

Further reading:

All photos: ÂŠ Akram Al Rasni

Clark, Victoria. Dancing on the Heads of Snakes. London: Yale University Press, 2010

JAWAHER ASAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;AD is currently studying the MA Program Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Innsbruck. She was born in Saudi Arabia and moved to Yemen as a teenager. There she worked in the humanitarian field with the International Committee of the Red Cross as a communication officer and experienced the massive violence of a destructive and horrendous war. Contact: jawsahari@hotmail.com

Cover Story - 11

ÂŠ Akram Al Rasni

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PEACE WORKERS

p.14-23

Â© Akram Al Rasni

PLAY THE ACCORDION US-PSYCHIATRIST, PSYCHOANALYST AND PEACE AND CONFLICT RESEARCHER VAMIK VOLKAN TALKS ABOUT LARGE-GROUP IDENTITIES AND SOCIETAL TRAUMA IN CRISIS REGIONS INTERVIEWED BY CLARA MAIER

Vamik Volkan has been in touch with VAMIK VOLKAN (*1932 in Nicosia, Cyprus) is an US psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, author and peace researcher with Cypriot Turkish origins. He is an Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Virginia, and an Emeritus Training and Supervising Analyst at the Washington-Baltimore Psychoanalytic Institute. He is the founder and President Emeritus of the International Dialogue Initiative. Vamik Volkan was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize several times with letters of support from 27 countries. Web: www.vamiksroom.com and www.internationaldialogueinitiative.com

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different ethnic and religious large-group identities since he grew up in Cyprus as the son of Cypriot Turkish parents. After he graduated from a medical school in Ankara he moved to the US in 1957 and studied psychiatry in North Carolina. Due to his research on large-group identities in international conflicts, establishing the Center for the Study of Mind and Human Interaction at the University of Virginia and working in crisis regions, he built up an international reputation. We met him in Innsbruck to talk about large group-identity and its impact on societies in Europe and regions of crisis.

MPM: As a profound researcher and author of many books concerning largegroup behavior in international conflicts: Where do you see the correlation between trauma and identity?

Yugoslavia, Georgia, Kuwait, Turkey, Greece and elsewhere. How does yours and your team’s involvement in crisis regions work?

Vamik Volkan: There are various types of societal trauma. They can be due to natural causes, accidents by members of the same large-group but not initiated on purpose, dictators and divided societies or people with another large-group identity that harm you, kill you, rape you deliberately. Only within this last kind of massive trauma, every new experience that is linked to society also will be linked to large-group identity, representing thousands or millions of people sharing same sentiments. What is the role of societal traumas in the process of large-group identity building? When entering into a dialogue with people of another large-group identity, one would notice something that I call Chosen Trauma: Past historical traumas at the hand of the Other become inflamed when there is a new societal conflict with another large group. Due to time collapse, people feel as if they were right now involved in a past period of time. Greeks, to name a specific example, were under Ottoman Empire for almost four hundred years. To process this trauma of oppression, they eliminated all Turkish words from their language in a process called purification. If you have identity issues, it is an important process to purify yourself from any element of the Other. We can observe different levels: Purifying your language is, of course, less harmful than purifying through a genocide by killing the Other. However, as soon as nowadays Greeks feel any kind of attack or humiliation, they suddenly start talking about 1453 when the Ottomans conquered Constantinople. Russians, to take another example, start talking about Mongolian invasion. Every large group has a past historical event of which shared image has changed function and has become a significant identity marker. In 1987 you started field work by examining difficulties between the Soviet Union and United States, later you worked in the Baltic Republics, Albania, former

Every large group has a past historical event of which image changes function and becomes a significant large-group identity marker.

In informal meetings we, my multidisciplinary facilitating team, bring influential representatives of enemies with different largegroup identities together. We tell them to express whatever comes to their minds. The participants and the facilitators are together all day long except when they go to bed. Often, at the outset of a dialogue meeting, a disruptive situation evolves abruptly and absorbs the energy of all participants. I call such a situation a mini-conflict. When the facilitating team resolves the mini-conflict serious dialogues start. The opposing parties first do not sit together, they may even be yelling at each other. But later an Arab man, for example, starts dancing with an Israeli woman. We call this Accordion Phenomenon: First they are enemies and avoid each other, but suddenly they sit next to each other and even get lovey dovey. Realistic negotiations can be carried out when the alternating between distance and togetherness – the squeezing and pulling apart of an accordion – is no longer extreme and each can easily hold on to their group identities. The process of getting to know each other is time consuming, especially with initial conflicts. Is “time” generally an important factor in this kind of conflict resolution via identity building? Yes, time is of course important. For example, before we started to arbitrate between Estonians and Russians, we literally spent a year talking to high school kids, taxi drivers, the Estonian president, parliamentarians, university professors and others in order to choose influential society figures for unofficial dialogues. Opposing large groups form teams of 16 to 18 people with whom we work about three times a year for four days until the problems are solved. This process can take two, three, four years, but I want to tell you something: No one ever missed a session, because they get so much involved. We call this method the Tree Model. The dialogues represent the trunk of a tree, however, in order to influence government and society we have to reach to the branches. This happens when the participants go out after the dialogue series sessions and talk Peace Workers - 15

to other people within society and actually start certain activities that build and represent peaceful co-existence. Identity in Europe and the USA today is challenged by a separation of far right and left movements, mediation is necessary. How can we deal with identities in nowadays world politics? There is a worldwide trend towards a “whoare-we-now”-society. After a war, the death of a leader or an economic crisis people question themselves: Who are we now? What is new in these regard is the globalization of this question. Meanwhile, incredible advances in communication technology create constant identity confrontations on a personal level. At the present time many individuals vote for a political leader like Donald Trump when they feel that a physical wall will protect their large-group identity from Others who are perceived as dangerous.

be under one new umbrella, there is a need for a common “enemy” to build up their large-group identity. In America racism became “the Other”. Also, personal identity issues are involved in finding a large-group enemy. ISIS, for instance, recruits people that have questions about their personal identity. Everybody may have a crack in his

You never give up your large-group identity even when you suffer because of it or use it for destructive purposes.

What is the role of identity in the future of Europe?

In this case refugees function as enemies to strengthen the large-group identity. How important is the enemy in identity building? To get people within an ethnic, national, religious or political ideological large group closer you need an enemy. One of my book titles is “The Need to have Enemies and Allies” and I put enemies first. If there is certain pressure, the creation of an enemy is psychologically necessary. But also extremely dangerous... Of course! Especially in synthetic countries like USA and Israel where people from different cultures come together and want to

or her personal identity to one degree or the other. Some wanted to be under a God-like umbrella that ISIS offered them. Personal traumas can be covered up in adulthood by wearing the umbrella of a new large-group identity. Is there a possibility to avoid the enemy in the process of large-group identity building? You have reparative and destructive leaders. Imagine a pie. You cut out a piece so

Latest releases by Vamik Volkan: Enemies on the Couch: A Psychopolitical Journey Through War and Peace (2013) Psychoanalysis, International Relations, and Diplomacy: A Sourcebook on Large-Group Psychology (2014) Immigrants and Refugees: Trauma, Perennial Mourning, Prejudice, and Border Psychology (2017) Religious Knives: Historical and Psychological Dimensions of International Terrorism (With Jouni Suistola) (2017)

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that you have a big part, the political leader and the society, and a small part, the minority within the country or the enemy outside. You squeeze some lemon on the minority or the enemy section so that it doesn’t taste good anymore. If you have a reparative leader, he would put sugar on that piece of pie, make it sweeter and it will fit to society. A destructive leader sees the small piece as stinky and pushes it away or even tries to destroy it. Today in Europe, I would say Merkel is trying to stay as a reparative leader, but it is very difficult. What is happening in Hungary right now is the complete opposite. In the United States racism raises, they want a certain type of individuals not to enter the country and some other type of people to leave.

When they established the European Union, they developed a new identity, a new umbrella covering over many countries, aided by many different committees basically dealing with economic issues. But no single committee dealing with psychological issues existed. In the beginning they didn’t struggle, but with terrorism and refugee crisis, EU is in trouble. In the future, there can be a new kind of civilization that may be fantastic or we may have another big war. We are right now on the track of finding new ways of understanding world affairs. Realistic negotiations between representatives of opposing large groups can be carried out when the alternating between distance and togetherness – the squeezing and pulling apart of the accordion – is no longer extreme and each group can easily hold on to the own large-group identity.

CLARA MAIER lives in Innsbruck where she studies European and International Politics after having completed her studies of Journalism and Communication in Vienna and Aarhus/Denmark. She writes for diverse magazines about political, environmental, and social issues and joined the Many Peaces Magazine editorial team in 2018. Contact: mail@claramaier.com

ÂŠ Fatma Boudokhane

LESSONS LEARNT AS A HUMANITARIAN AID WORKER BY FATMA BOUDOKHANE

More than ever, humanitarian aid workers are faced with dan-

gers when working in violent contexts. According to the Aid Worker Security Report published in 2017 by Humanitarian Outcomes, 158 major attacks against aid operations occurred in 2016, in which 101 aid workers were killed, 98 were wounded and 89 kidnapped. 2016 was not an exception or rare case and rather, these horrifying numbers have been stable for the past decades indicating an overall rise in the direct and indirect attacks against aid workers.

Humanitarians, like all civilians, are protected under the International Humanitarian Law, but wars are no longer fought across battlefields. As a matter of fact, most of the ongoing conflicts are happening in cities, where civilians are paying the highest price for their lives and livelihoods. Aid workers are no different than the people they serve and working on the frontlines has become the new normal in the field. Whether the attacks against humanitarians are deliberate or not, the aftermath is often ugly. These violent attacks have negative impacts on aid workers, on the people they serve and on the overall operations of their organizations. First and foremost, such attacks leave deep mental and physical scars on the victims, their colleagues and their loved ones. They also often lead to a decrease if not complete shut-down of their operations which, unfortunately, delays or cuts aid to those who need it the most. This reality leads to the question of how do humanitarian aid workers survive missions in violent contexts? With an increase in frontlines postings/missions, one might ask how people of this profession cope with extremely challenging mental and physical conditions and what mechanisms are in place to guarantee their safety and wellbeing. In this article, I look back at my experience in wartorn countries, and I speak sincerely about how it has impacted me. I reflect on what I have learned, both the challenges and the moments of gratitude that I owe to these experiences. Peace Workers - 17

Taking Risks

At the Limits

With the complexity of the multiple conflicts we are witnessing today, After 8 months of sleepless nights under heavy bombings, I was it is very difficult to define a situation of violence. Even with my hum- completely devastated and could not recognize myself anymore. I ble experience of five years in the field, I have already witnessed dif- knew I had to do something about it and one day I woke up and ferent threats and dangers in each of my missions, each impacted me decided it was time for me to leave. My management showed great differently and each taught me a different coping mechanism. When support and understanding. At the end of an intense and emotional I have landed my first job as an aid worker, I was barely 24 years old, week where I felt ashamed of my decision to quit, I was supposed to a fresh MA graduate from the Midattend my farewell dinner and take dle East who, ironically, had never my flight home. Then, something I will not get into what I believed was a lived in a conflict zone. At the time, I unimaginable happened. I took a thought the toughest part of the journap and I simply could not sit up or recovery period but five months later, I ney was convincing my family that my bed. My body completely was boarding a flight to Baghdad. It took leave for the next year of my life, I would shut down, I experienced the worst me only two days after arriving to under- migraine and the strongest fatigue of be living in a remote area in Northern Niger, with very basic amenities my life. All I had to do was to gathstand the mistake I had made as I was in order to do the job I have always er myself and go to the airport but I simply not ready to go back to the field dreamed of. A few weeks later, I was could not manage to do it. My body and certainly not to be in Iraq. at my duty station taking a security revolted and refused to cooperate briefing. In this moment, I realized at this time. I missed my flight and that this was actually happening and was taken to the hospital and it took that I was, the only female and the youngest staff member among 44 me three days to be able to walk again in order to board my flight male colleagues. Up until that point, I had not thought about how my home. To do so required the assistance of a colleague, who luckily gender would greatly shape my field experience and the ways I would was taking the same flight and helped me to go through security and deal with security challenges as a result. buckle my seatbelt. At that moment I felt as though I was a wreck of In Niger, for instance, dangers of kidnappings were elevated as a human being. we worked at the doors of the greatest desert of the world. In the I will not get into what I believed was a recovery period but Sahara, smuggling and arms trafficking, kidnapping and extortion five months later, I was boarding a flight to Baghdad. It took were common activities. In this particular region women are not me only two days after arriving to understand the mistake I expected to take up certain jobs and certainly were not to be living had made as I was simply not ready to go back to the field and alone. Because of this context, I was more aware of my surrounding, certainly not to be in Iraq. The reality was tough. We were 24/7 the way I dressed, the way I talked with my male colleagues and confined, and the sound of suicide car bombings that we hear interlocutors. I tried to create a safety net of trusted colleagues. In all day long have become unnoticeable by colleagues who were Yemen, I arrived in the summer of 2015, in the middle of air strikes, there for months. I knew deep down that I needed to do someground fighting and the security vacuum that was created by the thing about it but leaving was not even an option. “How could war. On top of this the criminal activity was rising in surrounding I quit again”, I wondered. So I just told myself that I needed to cities. After a few weeks of lying to my family that the situation was focus on my work and look forward to my next vacation. Here, not as bad as it was reported in the news, I found myself with an I was working in a large office with strict security measures, but AK-47 pointed to my head, going in a place like Baghdad, the threat down the stairs and thinking to myis always there, you simply mitiself how on earth I ended up in such gate the risks and hope that you situation. The situation was resolved are never at the wrong place at the What I have learned from working with no one physically harmed but wrong time. Every time, we were in these situations of violence is that no on the same night, it was making passing a checkpoint, I would susone is immune to physical or emotional the headlines on Al Jazeera. I will let pect every car and imagine the you imagine the agony and fear that stress. I have also come to understand that blast. “What if this field trip is my family lived without being able my last?” I frequently wondered. we as individuals are responsible for to contact me as my colleagues and These negative thoughts were takour own well-being. myself were still stuck in a safe house ing over me. This continued unwaiting for evacuation. Luckily, I til one day, among all colleagues, was in fact safe the next day. I was I was indeed at the wrong place offered psychological support by my at the wrong moment, and again employer and the possibility to quit my assignment. My thinking found myself in another security incident. Luckily, no one was was so blurred and only one idea took over me: I did not want to harmed, colleagues praised my calm response. But on the way fail my colleagues and the people I was assisting. So, after one week, back, I was so upset, so disappointed in myself, asking “how did I headed back to Yemen. Only this time, I was much closer to the I not learn my lesson? How did I betray my family and my loved frontlines. ones again?” This was definitely the final straw for me. 18 - Many Peaces Magazine #8

Not a Sign of Weakness Once I opened up about my feelings and everything I was going through, I was offered on-spot consultation and advice. I was given the opportunity to terminate my assignment or continue in a site with less field and risk exposure. I accepted the latter option. With the help of the psychological staff, I started acknowledging what happened and began dealing with feelings of shame and guilt. Therapy helped me to look back and realize that what happened was not a mistake on my part but rather an unfortunate situation that taught me one of the biggest lessons of my life. I learned that sometimes we have to be human and kind to ourselves, to be forgiving and not to be afraid to stop and say I cannot do this. It is not a sign of weakness but rather a representation of maturity and strength. Shortly after, I started meditation for the first time in my life. I decided to give this a try because I felt that I had nothing to lose. Two weeks into the breathing and meditation practice on web/mobile application called headspace - yoga practice, and reading about mindfulness, I started seeing a difference in my energy, in my sleep, in my overall wellbeing. Sure, I was exposed to much less violence in the new context, which I believe it helped, but I also felt that I was starting a long road of recovery through this new awareness and opportunity to connect with myself.

I learned that sometimes we have to be human and kind to ourselves, to be forgiving and not to be afraid to stop and say I cannot do this.

All photos: ÂŠ Fatma Boudokhane

What I have learned from working in these situations of violence is that no one is immune to physical or emotional stress. I have also come to understand that we as individuals are responsible for our own well-being. I feel grateful for having my husband and my family always by my side. Furthermore, despite the stress my work situation put them through, they always showed great trust in me and supported me to carry on the job I always dreamed of doing. Over these years, I have grown a lot personally and professionally. Additionally, I have sharpened my skills in terms of security assessment and networking which I partly owe to my organization and colleagues. However, beyond security management, it is very important for aid agencies to have support mechanisms in place, whether by offering psychological support, self-care workshops or simply by training managers to listen to their employees and show sympathy and flexibility. FATMA BOUDOKHANE has been working as a humanitarian aid worker at the International Committee of the Red Cross since 2014. She holds a MA in migration and intercultural relations from the University of Oldenburg, Germany and is currently based in Geneva. Contact: fatma.boudokhane@hotmail.fr

Peace Workers - 19

ÂŠ Akram Al Rasni

DIFFERENT COLOURS ...OF VIOLENCE IN PEACE WORK BY MANSOOR ALI | PHOTOS BY AKRAM AL RASNI

In this article, I explore the relation and impact of violence on peace workers in the context of humanitarian assistance. During this exploration, I use my twelve years of extensive experience as a peace worker and mentor. Furthermore, I bring up how the violent context triggers the peace workerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s internal world. This triggering has a definite impact on how peace workers work, live and interact with other peace workers and local people. 20 - Many Peaces Magazine #8

I have worked as a peace worker to provide humanitarian assistance for more than a decade from the Northern Himalayas of Pakistan to Burkina Faso, from Iraq to South Sudan, from Libya to Yemen, from Somalia to Syria. I have also been deployed to precarious contexts such as active war zones, post and pre-civil wars, natural disasters, malnutrition emergencies and epidemics. Currently, I am based in Innsbruck and supervise humanitarian assistance programs in countries which are affected by natural disasters and armed conflicts. Besides this I am also mentoring Heads of Missions for another well-known international humanitarian organization. Trained to Help Others Some weeks ago, after an intense session of mentoring with a Head of Mission, I engaged in my own reflection. I realized that it is quite easy to work in war zones and to negotiate with tough governmental and non-governmental authorities but that it is quite challenging to deal and interact with some of the team members. As I am writing this article, I also realize that it is perhaps even more so challenging

to deal with one self while working in this type of violent context. This process of raising self-awareness can prevent burnout if it Why is it at times challenging to deal and interact with team is continuously incorporated as part of peace work. Therefore, it members? The nature of the work pushes peace workers towards must be addressed before the start of each mission and beyond its extreme physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual experi- completion. The question of one’s own needs and limits should ences. This triggers internal chaos and anger. Peace workers are be raised already before going on mission, while taking care of usually open and well trained to help others in violent environ- oneself during the mission is another crucial part in this process. ments but they are rarely aware or trained to help themselves, After the mission is done, self-reflection to understand what the especially with regard to their peace work has done to one self own internal violent context, that and working on the process of concerns their inner struggles, integration of challenging expeconflicts and also traumatic exriences — that entails emotionperiences they may have had in al pieces one carries back with the past. Not paying attention to them as fragments of memories Peace workers are usually these intra-personal dimensions — needs serious consideration open and well trained to help of conflicts can lead to severe inin order to allow peace workers others in violent environments terpersonal conflicts with other to smoothly integrate back into team members. I have been retheir families and communities. but they are rarely aware or trained peatedly confronted with such Peace workers have to find to help themselves. situations where collaboration a way to know themselves and with other team members had betheir limits. Knowledge of percome almost impossible. sonal limits means being aware Peace workers spend vast of when to stop, when to say amounts of energy and consideryes and when to say no to situation on obtaining more data and ations they find themselves in. information about the situation and what is happening, in order This is not accomplished as a one-time task or evaluation. Rather to understand and make decisions. Yet the awareness, consider- this requires constant practice and also self-discipline. We are ation and integration of the effects such work has on the peace all transforming all the time. When you know yourself and your workers is lacking. Often, the emotional effects of the violence limits you can take better care of yourself and your team. Selfpeace workers encounter in their missions leaves them with a care practices such as cooking, reading, yoga, dance and breathfeeling of loneliness. Ignoring their own needs makes them lose ing, to name just a few, may be excellent courses of action to connection with themselves and the people they are connected address this issue. Such practices allow peace workers to be conto. On the mid- and long term, not remaining empathic to our- nected with themselves. selves may not only lead to conflicts in the peace worker’s team but is also a prominent sign of burnout. MANSOOR ALI has worked as a humanitarian worker

Working as a peace worker in violent contexts demands awareness of external as well as internal dimensions of conflict — a readiness to also listen to one’s emotions and feelings. This realization allows peace workers to search for a balance between outer and inner realities simultaneously.

in more than a dozen countries since 2005. He is currently based in Innsbruck and working in the headquarter of an international humanitarian organization. He is a researcher in fields of Peace, International Conflicts, Consciousness and Self-Awareness. He is an alumnus of the MA Program for Peace, Development, Security and International Conflict Transformation at the University of Innsbruck’s Unit for Peace and Conflict Studies. Contact: mansoorali11@gmail.com

All photos: © Akram Al Rasni

Self-Awareness

Peace Workers - 21

LIBYAN WOMEN A STRONG VOICE WOMEN HOLD A MARGINALISED POSITION IN THE POLARIZED CONFLICT IN LIBYA. ZAHRA’ LANGHI TRIES TO CHANGE THIS UNDER CHALLENGING CIRCUMSTANCES. BY CLARA MAIER AND ADHAM HAMED

The news of the death of her beloved colleague reached her via

phone, “Salwa was found dead in her house in the outskirts of Benghazi. She was stabbed and shot in the head.” Zahra’ Langhi was both shattered and enraged when she learnt about the assassination of her friend Salwa Bugaighis with whom she co-founded the Libyan Women’s Platform for Peace (LWPP). This incident is not a single case in Libya: A myriad of political actors regularly operate with highly repressive means against critical voices within the marginalized peace movement. Zahra’ Langhi and Salwa Bugaighis committed themselves to the inclusion of women within the post-Gaddafi peace movement with one of their central aims of raising awareness for gender-based violence amongst a broader public. They constantly contradicted the dominant political actors in the Libyan conflict that have reached ever more aggressive methods since the Arab protests started in 2011. Bugaighis had to pay for this commitment with her life. Langhi is continuing on her path from her Cairene exile.

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Critical Voices

The case of Libya is a clear example for how there is no universally applicable model for successful peacework. In the broader On June 25, 2014, the day of her assassination, Bugaighis tried to mo- context, North Africa is characterized by political systems with, bilize the public for the presidential elections. Through this she pub- in some contexts, weak statehood and a multitude of concurring licly expressed criticism towards the regime on social media platforms political actors: Old, tribal structures with traditional mechanisms – which by some political opponents was perceived as an act of prov- and continuous rivalries play a substantial role in conflict transocation. The fact that her political opinion has eventually claimed her formation. Additionally the strong presence of different armed life elucidates the highly sensitive groups has a significant influence and dangerous situation of people on the political processes. Many in polarized Libya, who seek for of these parastate actors refuse third positions between the former to subject to the nation state of The fact that her political opinion Gaddafi-supporters and militias. InLibya and consequently also to has eventually claimed her life cidents like Bugaighis’ assassination the norms of international reelucidates the highly sensitive and strengthen the repression and wreck lations. Hence, it is also crucial hope in the establishment of freeto address local levels within dangerous situation of people in dom of speech and expression. peacework and inquire for — popolarized Libya, who seek for third Women are hit particularly hard litically as well as culturally — positions between the former by the dynamics of marginalisation differentiated approaches to con— far beyond Libya. Peace within the flict transformation that seek to Gaddafi-supporters framework of international armed bridge the messy contradictions and militias. conflicts is still mainly negotiated by that necessarily become visible men, while female perspectives are in such efforts. mostly systematically excluded. They are rather portrayed as a vulnerable Bridge Building group and have their agency revoked instead of being integrated in the process of peacebuilding as central actors and crucial stakeholders. Together with her fellow activists at LWWP, Langhi refers to both levels: On the one hand she promotes the effort of the UN Security International versus Local Council with reference to international law. On the other hand she seeks local potential in order to change the system and the political The United Nations Security Council took action towards gender structures and transform armed conflicts towards a broader political equality, when enacting Resolution 1325 in the year 2000. A num- representation, towards a Libyan situation of mutual trust amongst ber of further resolutions followed in subsequent years. Therein they the myriad of societal actors. explicitly demand that women shall be involved in peace building Langhi is eager to meet this challenge of implementing both levefforts and participate in the reform processes of state institutions els in the Libyan peace building process. Her work shows that peaceon all political levels. Ever since, women can rely on a significant work can be a tough endeavor, which often entails severe personal legal basis on an international level when they are effected by and risks and demands the willingness not to be daunted by frustration involved in peacebuilding processes. However, these resolutions are and allegedly unbridgeable opposition. Bugaighis and Langhi have only slowly implemented in international peace work and go largely committed themselves to this course through remarkable effort and unnoticed in local contexts. personal sacrifice.

web: http://claramaier.com web: http://adhamhamed.com

CLARA MAIER first met Zahra’ Langhi during an academic excursion to Cairo. She has ever since been involved with the politics and society of the Middle East and recently joined a workshop on migration in Alexandria. She lives in Innsbruck where she studies European and International Politics after having completed her studies of Journalism and Communication in Vienna and Aarhus/Denmark. She writes for diverse magazines and joined the Many Peaces Magazine editorial team in 2018. Contact: mail@claramaier.com

ADHAM HAMED is a research fellow at the University of Innsbruck’s Unit for Peace and Conflict Studies, as well as University Assistant at the Department of Political Science at the same university. He is a founding member of the Many Peaces Magazine to which he currently serves as Editor in Chief. Adham Hamed is the author of Speaking the Unspeakable: Sounds of the Middle East Conflict and Editor of Revolution as a Process: The Case of the Egyptian Uprising. Contact: adham.hamed@uibk.ac.at

Peace Workers - 23

ÂŠ Juliana Krohn

This year marks the 13th anniversary of the weekly protests against the Israeli separation barrier around the small West Bank village of Bilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;in, 12 kilometres west of Ramallah. After I had spent several months in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, I decided to take my camera and go there myself to get an idea about the famous protests I had, up until then, only heard about. However, showing pictures and using words to talk about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can be a dangerous business. Almost every word seems to have historical connotations and multiple reasons for and against the use of them. 24 - Many Peaces Magazine #8

BIL’IN –EVERY FRIDAY A Fraction of a Conflict Caught in Pictures BY JULIANA KROHN

JULIANA KROHN is currently based in Innsbruck and writing her master thesis at the MA Program for Peace, Development, Security and International Conflict Transformation at the University of Innsbruck. She holds a bachelor’s degree in literature studies and law and is working as a freelance photographer since 2011. She is a managing editor at the Many Peaces Magazine. Contact: juliana.krohn@posteo.de

When I am writing about the Israeli separation barrier, it does make a difference whether I am using the word “barrier” or “fence”, which it in large parts is, or whether I am writing about the “wall”, a word with a long historical connotation, which points to other historical walls that have separated people before. Just as my choice of words, every picture, like this one showing two young Palestinian girls, can have a manipulative effect as well. I want you to keep this in mind and nevertheless try and share my words and pictures about one of the uncountable facets of the Middle East Conflict with you. Many Insights - 25

All photos: ÂŠ Juliana Krohn

I would like you, who is looking at these pictures and reading these lines, to just imagine all the multi-faceted stories that lie behind each and every person in these pictures, and try to neither agree nor disagree.

If I have learnt one thing about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during my stay there it is that categories like ‘knowing the truth’ or ‘being right’ do not make sense, at least for me, being a visitor to this piece of land between the Mediterranean Sea and the river Jordan. Learning about the conflict, for me, was and is about going there, listening to people’s stories and staying open-minded and open-hearted for every person and every story. This is why these lines and pictures just provide a small glimpse into this complex conflict, which I want to share with you nevertheless.

Following the beginning of the construction of the Israeli West Bank barrier starting in 2000, which had cut Bil’in off from about 60 percent of its farmland, villagers started to organize weekly protests. Since 2005, every Friday a group of villagers joined by other Palestinians and Israeli as well as international human rights activists, protest against the barrier.

In 2004 the International Court of Justice stated in a nonbinding ruling that the construction of the barrier is against international law. They declared it to be a political measure and a de facto land grab, instead of a security measure. Also, due to the weekly protests and after a petition filed by an Israeli Nongovernmental Organisation in 2007, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that the 1.7 km long part of the separation barrier, which in this part is a concrete wall that cuts through Bil’ins farmland, has to be rerouted. Many Insights - 27

Four years later in 2011, the barrier was moved a few hundred metres to the west, still deviating from the Green Line, the demarcation line from both the Six-Day war in 1967 and the Armistice Agreement of 1949. Yet, on the other side of the barrier, the Israeli settlement Modiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;in Ilit, as all other settlements in the Palestinian occupied territories considered to be illegal according to International Law, is still growing.

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ÂŠ Juliana Krohn

Many ManyInsights Insights- 29 - 29

Up until now, two Palestinians have been killed during the protests, both of them belonging to the Abu Rahmah family, who is playing a leading role in the non-violent resistance. The death of Bassem Abu Rahmah, who had been shot with a tear gas canister by an Israeli soldier in 2009, was captured on video. It appeared in the 2011 Oscar-nominated documentary 5 Broken Cameras. Bassemâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s memorial was built at the site of his death, surrounded by flowers growing in tear gas canisters. His sister Jawaher Abu Rahmah died of tear-gas inhalation in 2010.

30 - Many Peaces Magazine #8

ÂŠ Juliana Krohn

Many Insights - 31

Abdullah Abu Rahmah has already spent over a year in Israeli prisons for organising the protests, which are, according to the Israeli military law, illegal and considered as incitement and thus indictable in the occupied territories.

All photos: ÂŠ Juliana Krohn

Although the protests are meant to be non-violent, they often end in clashes between stone-throwing demonstrators and Israeli police and soldiers firing tear-gas, stun grenades and rubber-coated bullets. There are rumours that undercover Israeli security officers, disguised as Palestinians, were blending into the crowd and throwing stones. Marshall B. Rosenberg writes in his book Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life about an encounter he had in the course of a workshop in the West Bank: “I was presenting Nonviolent Communication in a mosque at Deheisha Refugee Camp in Bethlehem to about 170 Palestinian Moslem men. […] On the way into the refugee camp, I had seen several empty tear gas canisters that had been shot into the camp the night before. Clearly marked on each canister were the words ‘Made in U.S.A.’ I knew that the refugees harboured a lot of anger toward the U.S. for supplying tear gas and other weapons to Israel. I addressed the man who had called me a murderer.” Our dialogue continued, with him expressing his pain for nearly twenty more minutes, and I listening for the feeling and need behind each statement. I didn’t agree or disagree. I received his words, not as attacks, but as gifts from a fellow human willing to share his soul and deep vulnerabilities with me. Once the gentleman felt understood, he was able to hear me as I explained my purpose for being at the camp. An hour later, the same man who had called me a murderer was inviting me to his home for a Ramadan dinner.” (Marshall Rosenberg)

Many Insights - 33

Innumerable pictures have already been taken of the weekly protests in Bilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;in, countless lines have been written and so many hours have been taped on video. This is how I want to share one story about Bilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;in with you now. One out of too many stories about violence in its many forms which I feel are important to be witnessed.

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Art - 35

Â© Juliana Krohn

Â© Akram Al Rasni

CONFLICT TRANSFORM 36 - Many Peaces Magazine #8

MATION AROUND THE WORLD

p.38-43

STRUCTURAL VIOLENCE AND MORAL IMAGINATION MOBILIZATION AND CREATIVITY AS TOOLS FOR SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION IN THE CASE OF HONDURAS’ POLITICAL CRISIS OF 2017 BY SHEILA SERÓN HERNÁNDEZ

Peace is not the absence of violence. Complex situations are

taking place around the world without being necessarily defined as armed conflicts or wars; nonetheless, they do hamper the right to live without violence. This article follows upon Johan Galtung’s (1979) conception of structural violence in order to analyze the layers of systematic social and political interactions in a country like Honduras and observe how those interactions can have a direct impact on the population. In this context, Jean Paul Lederach’s (2005) concept of moral imagination will be used to examine the recourse to social mobilization and creativity as political tools. 38 - Many Peaces Magazine #8

Thinking about peace and violence can be determined by the presence –or not– of war and conflict. Vittorio Bufacchi argues that violence can be understood as either the use of a force that deliberately causes damage by physical means (minimalist approach) or the transgression of a norm that results in a violation of rights (comprehensive approach). That is, direct and structural violence. According to Galtung, structural violence is the combination of physical or organizational structures that block the capacity to satisfy basic needs. Those needs go beyond food, water and shelter. Galtung refers to security as survival need to avoid violence; welfare as sufficiency need to avoid misery; identity as the need for closeness to avoid alienation; and freedom of choice as the need to avoid repression. Even in the absence of ‘formal’ armed conflict, the failure to meet such needs evidences the fragility of peace in contexts where structural violence in multiple forms coexist. Honduras, a country of less than eight million people, was known in 2012 as the most violent country in the world due to its elevated homicide rate, i.e. 90,4 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants according to the National University Institute on Democracy, Peace and Security. Since then, the government has responded by dismantling drug cartels, purging corrupt

police officials and creating a military police force. In 2017, the official records showed that the homicide rate had decreased by more than 50%. Thereon, the government concluded that the dropping numbers were the result of tightening security policies, and hence of a reduction of violence. Does this mean that Honduras has now become a peaceful country? Following on Galtung’s needs approach, other needs such as freedom and wellbeing keep requiring urgent action in Honduras. According to Galtung, the need for security is satisfied through survival means that keep individuals and communities away from violence and prevent conflicts from escalating. In Honduras, people live in communities with highly violent dynamics. Forced displacement exemplifies how the state has failed in protecting its people from the impact of violence caused by gangs, drug trafficking, gender violence, political persecution and large-scale development projects. Indeed, from 2004 to 2014, 174,000 people were internally displaced. Most of them were children and young people forced to leave their homes in order to protect their lives. According to UNHCR, the number of Honduran refugees and of refugee status claimants worldwide increased respectively by 151% and 140% in one year. Both refugees and internally displaced people fled to fulfil their need for security from life threats, sexual violence, forced recruitment by gangs, extortion,

Forced displacement exemplifies how the state has failed in protecting its people from the impact of violence caused by gangs, drug trafficking, gender violence, political persecution and large-scale development projects.

All photos: © Sheila Serón

home and land dispossession. The reports evidence the urgency to link security measures to prevention, assistance, protection and durable solutions that can meet the needs of welfare and freedom. Increasing femicides are another example of structural violence. From 2003 to 2017, 5,515 women were victims of violent deaths; on average, more than one woman was killed every day in the past 14 years. Yet, due to deficiencies in criminal investigative procedures, half of those crimes cannot be classified as femicides, and most remain unpunished. Public policies focus on the domestic power relations and hence, fail to acknowledge the intersections between gender, ethnicity, age and occupation in public spheres characterized by generalized violence. The inaction and negligence of the state to thoroughly investigate, sentence, ease access and protect women generates impunity, thus legitimizing a system that violates women’s rights. On the contrary, a response to structural gender-based violence should involve deconstructing oppressive laws and institutions as well as reinforcing those that promote women’s economic, political and physical autonomy. When it comes to freedom, Galtung states that people and institutions must develop capabilities so as to avoid repression in terms of liberty to express one’s opinion and move freely, social consciousness, mobilization, among others. In Honduras, the most recent Conflict Transformation Around the World - 39

manifestation of structural violence against freedom was perpetrat- tion away from violence and towards constructive transformation. Massive marches strolled for days. Consumer boycotts to transed on November 26th, 2017 in the midst of questionable elections. President Juan Orlando Hernández was running for a second presi- national businesses were promoted. A national strike paralyzed dential mandate although the Honduran Constitution prohibits ree- roads, ports and major cities. Social movements of women, LGBT lections. Therefore, political parties against his reelection formed an groups and indigenous peoples organized communities, documentalliance and presented, with great popular support, Salvador Nasral- ed and disseminated information throughout their regional and la as the single presidential candidate. A preliminary Supreme Elec- global networks. Groups of young people organized to deliver water toral Tribunal (TSE) report stated that, on election night, 57.18% of and food to protesters on the streets. People shared memes, phothe scrutiny was complete and Nasralla was ahead by 45.17% –an tos and videos documenting human rights violations through social irreversible trend. Nonetheless, TSE later informed that the ballot- media. Communities organized to rebel against the state of siege ing software had crashed for several hours and, once it was fixed, and marched around their neighborhoods banging pots and pans. For one hour every night, banging, Hernández was leading by 1.6%. firecrackers and music could be The Coalition Against Impuniheard from every corner in the big ty (2018) reported that the alleged cities. A local band became famous electoral fraud had led to over 90 As a result of the crisis, diversity, with the song “J.O.H. (Juan Orlanprotests nationwide. The police and do Hernández) you’re on your way military were given the order to creativity and imagination are seen as out”, which was adopted as a protest repress and, on December 1st, one political tools that can contribute to anthem. People found alternatives protester was shot dead by a milisocial transformation, thus fracturing to be informed, mobilize, denounce tary officer. That night, Hernández and participate, so as to satisfy their issued a decree installing a state of the spiral of violence. siege to restrict free mobilization persistent need of freedom. for ten days. Outrage over the sysHernández’ reelection was rectematic human rights violations ognized by the international comshook the country and continuous munity and organizations despite protests were carried out for a month. The excessive use of force by fraud allegations, and so, his government reinstalled in January 2018. military or police resulted in 33 people killed and 232 injured; 126 However, the popular demands had reached international media and repressed protests; 1,085 detainees; 72 victims of torture; one miss- human rights defenders, thus making pressure on Hernández to open ing person; 34 persons displaced by violence; and 12 documented a dialogue with the opposing parties in order to address the demands attacks on journalists. Structural violence was the foundation upon resulting from the electoral crisis. Political leaders from the opposition which direct violence committed by state representatives was legit- should also use the moral imagination to establish transitional justice imized. The struggle transcended the electoral scenario. The crisis mechanisms, and citizens to install follow-up mechanisms where they constituted a breaking point for citizen indignation over direct vi- can participate directly. As a result of the crisis, diversity, creativity olence such as femicides and the impact of generalized violence, as and imagination are seen as political tools that can contribute to social well as the surrounding repression, corruption and impunity. transformation, thus fracturing the spiral of violence. By being aware However, this time, the once most violent country did not choose that other ways of doing things are possible, Hondurans walk towards violence, but rather exercised the right to demonstrate in the face of becoming transformation agents who demand equality and social jusrepression. Hondurans regained consciousness by setting forth the tice from the state, participate actively in social and political matters moral imagination that, according to Lederach, emerges from the and mobilize support to respond to violence. This might be the first combination of outrage and hope. It cultivates the capability to im- steps on the path of deconstructing and transforming other forms of agine a relationship with enemies, feeds curiosity beyond dualities, structural violence and comprehensively building peace that entails uses creativity as a tool for social change and motivates to take ac- security, well-being, freedom and equality.

SHEILA SERÓN HERNÁNDEZ currently works in the field of internal displacement due to violence. She has also worked with UNHCR and UNAIDS in human rights and institutional strengthening projects. Sheila holds an MPhil in Peace, Conflict and Development Studies and a BA in International Relations. Contact: sheila.seron@gmail.com

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MODERNIZING ENERGETIC PRACTICES ON THE VIOLENT POTENTIALS OF ASHTANGA YOGA BY CHRISTINA PAULS

While placing Ashtanga Yoga in the context of violence sounds

like a fundamental contradiction, I take my own lived experience as a point of departure for illuminating the violent potential within Yoga. The Ashtanga Yoga method has been popularized by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois as a set series of asanas and transitions with strict connections between breath and movement (vinyāsa).

Control is central to the practice of Ashtanga Yoga, as Sri K. Pattabhi Jois writes in his book Yoga Mala (2010): ”By the strength gained through this practice, we can come to know the method for bringing the mind and sense organs under control. Thus can we achieve yoga. For it is only through the control of the mind and sense organs that we come to know our true nature.” This strong emphasis on control bears the danger of extending control over body, breath and thoughts to a level that is not always possible to uphold. Life, as I understand it now, is inherently messy and escapes the need to control. Despite the philosophical framework of Ashtanga Yoga being one of liberation, I found myself enslaved within an idealized image of the Yogin with a serious Eating Disorder by its prescriptive tendency. I am aware that I might do the rich cultural and philosophical heritage of Yoga harm by placing aspects of it in such critical perspective, but I believe that this revaluation of values and the cultural appropriation of the spiritual practice in the West not only affects me but other practitioners as well. Both as instructor and practitioner, I daily meet individuals who long for a practice that promises both a peaceful life and a toned body. The Ashtanga Yoga practice is known as one of the most physically demanding schools of Yoga with the potential to fulfill these desires within a framework of discipline. Conflict Transformation Around the World - 41

Eclectic Spirituality

ciples of Ashtanga Yoga carry a high potential of violence and are direct reminders of the driving forces of my anorexia. One of my regular habits was to perform cleansing rituals and fasting that I justified under the principle of saucha, one of the niyamas that calls for cleanliness and purity of body and mind. This eclectic puritanical base perverted my Ashtanga practice into a rigid, destructive and violent regime.

Some popular and current manifestations of Yoga practice in the West are an eclectic import of only certain aspects of the Yoga philosophy, largely reduced to physical posture (āsana). Therefore, there are several dynamics that evoke and exacerbate body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. A prominent example is the marketing of an idealized Yoga body in Western Yoga culture, which is fostered by Prescriptive Tendency celebrity and media endorsement. Although it might seem contrary to Ashtanga Yoga is a prescriptive the practice of Yoga, there is an immethod that relies on the transfer of minent danger of ego-inflation witha specific model or sequence from in the practice, as renowned Yoga and through a Yoga teacher, who is scholar Georg Feuerstein points out usually seen as expert in the practice. Although it might seem contrary to in The Yoga Tradition. Its History, Expressed with the words of peace Literature, Philosophy and Practice thinker John Paul Lederach (1995), the practice of Yoga, there is an (1998): “Narcism, or body-orientits focus lies primarily “on trainees imminent danger of ego-inflation ed egocentrism, is as great a danger mastering the model through cogwithin the practice among hatha-yogins as it is among nitive understanding of the stratebodybuilders. A strong will is necesgies and practical experimentation sary in all spiritual traditions, but it with the techniques and skills” by can never be a substitute for discernprescribing a particular sequence ment and renunciation, especially of postures, including their correct the renunciation of self-will. But haphysical alignment, the activation tha-yogins, like other practitioners of energy locks (bandhas), breathing of Yoga, occasionally end up with (prānāyāma), and gaze (drsti). inflated rather than transcended egos.” A prescriptive tendency also lies in the mechanisms of the exI believe that this tendency is prototypical of a larger tension pression of asanas. Although there are a variety of modifications and between Eastern spirituality and a Western mindset of modernity variations that can be offered for each posture, my modern mindthat is based on the tendency to modernize energetic practices by set of competitiveness and a desire for achievement finds its way the desire to reach a level of expertise and perfection. This mech- into the Yoga practice. Donna Farhi reminds us in her book Yoga anism is part and parcel of my personal journey through the vio- Mind, Body & Spirit (2000) that “asanas are useful maps to explore lence of Ashtanga Yoga. yourself, but they are not the territory. The goal of asana practice Among the niyamas, the second limb of Yoga, are disciplines that is to live in your body and to learn to perceive clearly through it”. foster the internal purification of both of the body and the mind. In But what happens when the practitioner confuses the maps with the his interpretation of yogic thought Patanjali and Yoga (1975), Mir- destination? cea Eliade describes them as disciplines that foster the “internal purification of the organs (this is achieved through a series of artificial Pushing a bit deeper by activation of my thighs and toes, I have to ‘purges’, on which Hatha Yoga particularly insists).” The centrality of grab my wrist firmly in order not to slip away through the sweat, purification and ethical superiority within the philosophical prinI wonder how I look from the outside… I sense a towel being put

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on my back, the instructor leans onto my back and pushes me fur- olence within them. Inherent to the practice, I understand that the ther into the posture, squeezing my belly further down onto my prescriptive tendency and the focus on control and discipline in the thighs. I am dissatisfied, silently asking: Please push a bit more! I yoga practice can be misinterpreted, especially when single aspects am longing for the pressure, the weight that lies on me gives me a are decontextualized. I perceive structural tensions that conflict trasensation of power that my body can be shaped into perfection just ditional Yogic systems of knowledge with spiritual practice, particuas clay, with a little help from the body weight of another person. larly in Western cultures. These tensions are by no means reasons to I could bear even more than this on my back. Still I notice my bel- distance ourselves from Ashtanga Yoga, but rather reminders of the ly pushing against my thighs, and need for sensitivity and self-awareyet I cannot fully surrender myself ness in the context of such practice. to myself, my upper body to my Breaking the silence and exposlower, despite them touching and ing my experience has been a way being pressed against each other, for me to make the unconscious physically close but emotionally driving factors of my own violence separated; it feels artificial, inauaccessible, which, as Carl Gustav thentic, violent. I am just a shape Jung argues in “Yoga and the West” In the practice, without essence, an empty shell. (1936), is the prerequisite for an authentic, benevolent Yoga practice: I recognise a lust for pain This paragraph of my personal jour“Yoga technique applies itself exand going to, and even beyond, nal notes exemplifies my bodily senclusively to the conscious mind and the limits. sations during a recent Yoga pracwill. Such an undertaking promises tice of a seated forward fold that is success only when the unconscious statically held for five deep breaths. has no potential worth mentioning, The verbalization of the sensations that is to say, when it does not conin my body brings to light the retain large portions of the personaliverberations of my anorexia, which ty. If it does, then all conscious effort I also see mirrored in practitioners remains futile, and what comes out that study with me. In the practice, I of this cramped condition of mind is recognise a lust for pain and going to, and even beyond, the limits. a caricature or even the exact opposite of the intended result.” Of course, anorexia is the extreme overemphasis of these tendencies, Going through my own shadows has transformed my personbut it is crucial to realize that the foundations of these tendencies are al practice in many ways. The process has enriched my teaching present in all of us. through the way I convey instructions in class, rendering me a wounded healer who empathically understands these tensions withIntegrating the Shadows in the practice. I hope that this contribution could speak to those who notice similar tendencies within their personal behavior, and Concluding, I can see that the perversion of spiritual practices into possibly inspire them to find a healthy balance between the dedicaintrapersonal violent tools is performed by the practicing individual tion to a spiritual practice and all the other facets that constitute the who shifts the approach often towards a modern or moral tendency. richness of human life. Despite, or particularly because of, my experiences with the violent potential within myself that has been mirrored and exacerbated by Yoga, I do still practice Ashtanga Yoga. I also see the sensitive asFurther Reading: pects of the Ashtanga Yoga practice that carry the potential of viJois, Sri K. Pattabhi. 2010. Yoga Mala: The Seminal Treatise and Guide from the Living Master of Ashtanga Yoga. Kindle Edition. Jung, Carl Gustav. 1936. “Yoga and the West”. In The Collected Works of C.G.Jung, edited by Sir Herbert Read, Michael Fordham and Gerhard Adler. Volume 11. Psychology and Religion: West and East. Lederach, John Paul. 1995. Preparing for Peace. Conflict Transformation Across Cultures. web: www.amani-yoga.com (only in German) CHRISTINA PAULS is completing her Master Thesis at MA Program in Peace, Development, Security and International Conflict Transformation. With the intention to stay a life-long student of life itself, it has been motherhood in particular that has enriched her perspectives dramatically. She is also studying and sharing Ashtanga-based Yoga in Northern Germany.

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ÂŠ Akram Al Rasni

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HANNAH ARENDT INTER-ACTIONS THAT MATTER – AN ARENDTIAN APPROACH TO ELICITIVE CONFLICT TRANSFORMATION1 BY ANDREAS OBERPRANTACHER

In the second volume of his seminal trilogy Many Peaces, Wolf-

gang Dietrich suggests that transrational peaces and elicitive conflict transformation are the two most promising threads in the delicate tissue called Peace and Conflict Studies. While the term “transrational” has been discussed in detail by Dietrich in a number of his publications that received considerable attention over the past decade, be it his famous Call for Trans-Rational Peaces (2006)2 or his epistemological treatise Interpretations of Peace in History and Culture (2008)3, the term “elicitive” retains a strange vagueness to this day. In my contribution, I will investigate to what extent an Arendtian approach could be favorable to further refine the paradigm of elicitive conflict transformation in theoretical terms. 46 - Many Peaces Magazine #8

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) can be portrayed both as an uncomfortable and as a discomforting thinker whose complex legacy cannot be reduced to a simple denominator. She repeatedly preferred to engage in a Thinking Without Banisters (Denken ohne Geländer) and without committing to or founding an own school of thought.4 Out of the many “stars” that belong to Arendt’s universe of (political) thinking - e.g. Eichmann in Jerusalem (1963); On Revolution (1963); On Violence (1970) - the book The Human Condition (1958) is probably the one that shines the brightest. In fact, major arguments of The Human Condition are directed against the (a-political) obscurity surveyed in her previous study The Origins of Totalitarianism (1951). Whereas The Origins of Totalitarianism deals with the catastrophe of totalitarian terror vis-à-vis the advent of modern antisemitism (part one) and modern imperialism (part two), The Human Condition addresses first of all the miracle of birth, that is, natality in its plurality. In consideration of this programmatic inversion, it is indeed plausible to argue that The Human Condition is a promising and an inspiring book written against the background of what she refers to as Dark Times.5 Let us first of all recall that Arendt’s discussion of the human condition begins with a commemoration of the classical distinction of “three fundamental human activities: labor, work, and action.”6 Against the background of the historic tensions promoted by the Cold War, Arendt insists that neither labor nor work, but solely action - and speech - is what makes us equally and distinctively human, for any life primarily defined by labor or work “is literally dead to the world”7. What matters further in the context of this distinction is that Arendt argues in favor of a radical reconsideration of our twofold “insertion” into the world. We are not just born once into the world, writes Arendt, but, surprisingly, twice. Whereas the first birth is a birth out of necessity, the second birth is a birth into freedom, for we are transforming ourselves the moment we learn to live with others.

Arendt’s political thought is eminently elicitive, as it reflects the conviction that the “fabric” of human relationships and affairs can neither be “fixed,” nor should become a “fixation,” yet it may be transformed – preferably in sensible political terms.

Arendt insists that neither labor nor work, but solely action – and speech – is what makes us equally and distinctively human.

Arendt’s argumentation is indeed extraordinary as she is suggesting that what makes us human and what generates chances of political interaction is the innate ability “to perform what is infinitely improbable”8, that is, the genuine capacity to begin - even in the most detrimental of circumstances - new beginnings. For this reason Arendt maintains that both action and speech are certainly uncertain in the sense that these faculties defy “the overwhelming odds of statistical laws and their probability”9, which is also why they are so unexpectedly empowering. Arendt is evidently a passionate thinker that insists - against all odds - on the power of unanticipated beginnings, but she is certainly no “naïve” thinker that tends to idealize the difficulties in this respect. Quite to the contrary, she is ready to argue that human interactions cannot be but fragile, which is to say that the - all too human - yearning for security from adversity is detrimental to the “web” of human relationships as it tends to “cement” and ultimately corrode all that what might be in-between us. It should be comprehensible by now why Arendt is an appealing thinker who changed the way how we may conceive political interactions. The question needs to be addressed, nonetheless, if her thoughts are also elicitive, that is, relevant for what matters in terms of a non-prescriptive conflict transformation. I would dare to say that Arendt’s political thought is eminently elicitive, as it reflects the conviction that the “fabric” of human relationships and affairs can neither be “fixed,” nor should become a “fixation,” yet it may be transformed - preferably in sensible political terms. Considering the pivotal significance of Arendt’s vindication of natality, it may first of all be argued that her political thought condenses the effort to shift our attention from the basic necessities of life to a variety of situations wherein we may relate to one another in (relative) freedom. This is to say that, following Arendt, we are Peace Thinkers - 47

Her writings are bearing witness to the conflicted situations that she personally experienced as well as to the traumas of the last century.

not bound to what we are conditioned to be. Quite to the contrary, her argument that, by confirming and taking upon ourselves the nudity of our existence, we are already transforming actively who we are, signals that there are chances of regeneration. As Arendt puts it, such an elicitive transformation does not happen in solitude, however. It is a relational event10 insofar as the very experience of disclosing oneself, which demands courage (to overcome shame for example), is made in the face of others. What is more, Arendt is also suggesting that such a second birth or re-birth can be stimulated (facilitated) but never enforced by others, that is, it retains its strange freedom. Arendt’s political thought is elicitive in a further sense too, for the miracle of natality evokes responses. In other words, the second birth is not a mute spectacle since it occurs primarily as speech. Even though Arendt maintains that both speech and action reveal the “unique distinctness”11 of being someone amongst others, she emphasizes that “the affinity between speech and revelation is much closer than that between action and revelation”12. This affirmation is consistent with the arguments that she presents in the essay On Violence where she stresses that violence is not an expression of power that emerges in-between, but a matter of command and obedience that involves words only inasmuch as they are instrumental to “communicate” coercion13. In other words, the faculty of speech is that faculty which is capable of articulating all sorts of differences - be-

ANDREAS OBERPRANTACHER is Associate Professor at the Department of Philosophy, University of Innsbruck. He is also Faculty Member of the UNESCO Chair for Peace Studies, Deputy Speaker of the Doctoral Programme “Dynamics of Inequality and Difference in the Age of Globalization” and Member of the Research Center “Migration & Globalization”. Contact: andreas.oberprantacher@uibk.ac.at

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tween subjects - , while violence usually begins when speech either ends or is reduced to a mere means of communicating “objective” interests. Accordingly, speaking with others (which encompasses also the art of listening) is tacitly peaceful and elicitive too, suggests Arendt, since it articulates our very presence. And finally, there is another major aspect that may be considered as evidence that Arendt’s political thinking reflects - between the lines - an elicitive approach to conflict transformation. It is indeed plausible to contend that her writings are bearing witness to the conflicted situations that she personally experienced as well as to the traumas of the last century: be it the disappointment that several intellectuals decided to make career under the Nazi Regime and to give up on their friends, the desolation of being uprooted and forcefully displaced as a stateless person like countless others, the establishment of concentration and annihilation camps that were utterly devastating, also in political terms, or the discrimination and marginalization after having published the Report on the Banality of Evil and dared to criticize Israel’s violent Zionism. What is surprising in this respect is not so much the density of conflicts that are being discussed and mediated in Arendt’s writings, but rather the apparent lack of resentment on her part. This is not to say that Arendt is an unemotional or even dispassionate thinker. Rather, it indicates that she is trying to make sense of conflicted situations as much as she can, while simultaneously focusing on chances to transform our relationships, so that novel modalities of being-with-others are evoked, that is, elicited. 1 This contribution is a short version of the following essay: Oberprantacher, Andreas. “Inter-Actions that Matter: An Arendtian Approach to Elicitive Conflict Transformation.” Transrational Resonances: Echoes to the Many Peaces, edited by Josefina Echavarría Alvarez, Daniela Ingruber, Norbert Koppensteiner. Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2018, pp. 135-150. 2 See Dietrich, “A Call for Trans-Rational Peaces.” 3 S ee Dietrich, Variationen über die vielen Frieden, Band 1: Deutungen, 319-404. 4 Cf. the forthcoming publication Arendt, Thinking Without Banisters. 5 Cf. Arendt, Dark Times. 6 Arendt, The Human Condition, 7. 7 Arendt, Human Condition, 176. 8 Arendt, Human Condition, 178. 9 Arendt, Human Condition, 178. 10 This event comprises an intra-, inter-, and, eventually, also trans-personal transformation. 11 Arendt, Human Condition, 176. 12 Arendt, Human Condition, 178. 13 See Arendt, On Violence, 79; 83.

References: Arendt, Hannah. Men in Dark Times. San Diego: A Harvest Book, 1983. Arendt, Hannah. On Violence. San Diego: A Harvest Book, 1970. Arendt, Hannah. The Human Condition. 2nd edition. Introduction by Margaret Canovan. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1985. Arendt, Hannah. Thinking Without Banisters: Essays in Understanding, 1954-1975, edited and with an introduction by Jerome Kohn. Translated by John E. Woods. New York: Schocken Books, to be published in 2017. Dietrich, Wolfgang. “A Call for Trans-Rational Peaces.” Virtual Peace Library of the UNESCO Chair for Peace Studies. January 2006. https://www.uibk.ac.at/peacestudies/downloads/peacelibrary/transrational.pdf. Dietrich, Wolfgang. Variationen über die vielen Frieden, Band 1: Deutungen. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 2008.

MARSHALL ROSENBERG NONVIOLENT COMMUNICATION BY JULIA MICHEL | ILLUSTRATIONS BY TILLY SÜNKEL

This article elaborates the concept of Nonviolent Communica-

tion (NVC) according to Marshall Rosenberg. NVC is a linguistic method of conflict transformation that helps communicating in a more compassionate and authentic way in four steps: observing a situation, expressing the feelings that are triggered by it, identifying the underlying needs and finally formulating a wish or request. Marshall Rosenberg (1934-2015) was a clinical psychologist seeking a tool to improve communication and create a more peaceful dialogue between conflicting parties during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement in the United States of America (USA). At that time, he mediated conversations between rioting students and school administrators regarding the topic of desegregating public schools to make them accessible to every American citizen irrespective of skincolor. These events led to the foundation of the Center for Nonviolent Communication in New Mexico and a spread of Rosenberg’s communication techniques, which proved to be very effective in conflict transformation. Peace Thinkers - 49

We can then respond to particular needs in an empathic manner so that emotions that may lead towards destructive behavior, such as anger and frustration, are transformed.

Communicating without Judgment NVC is based on the assumption that “it is our nature to enjoy giving and receiving in a compassionate manner”1 and to interact empathetically. It is an approach that focuses on individual human needs and how leaving them unfulfilled can trigger conflicts within ourselves and between ourselves and others. Its aim is to respond to the underlying needs that result in violent verbal communication or violent actions and to enhance authentic speaking and empathic listening. The core component of NVC is empathy. In his book Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life, Rosenberg states that “staying with empathy, we allow speakers to touch deeper levels of themselves”2. This means listening to people’s’ feelings and needs without judgment to see behind the words they express. Everyone has certain needs and listening with empathy can have surprisingly positive effects, such as preventing or stopping cycles of violence, because it allows us to see others not as “monster[s]”, but as human-beings of equal worth who deserve to be treated with dignity3. We can then respond to particular needs in an empathic manner so that emotions that may lead towards destructive behavior, such as anger and frustration, are transformed. However, Rosenberg emphasizes that “we need empathy4 to give empathy”. If we lack empathy from others, we might not be able to fully see and receive our fellow humans’ expression empathetically. He proposes that we should not depend solely on the other, but activate our own resources: stop for a while, take a deeper look inside and provide ourselves with the empathy we need. We can then take a time-out to calm down our emotions and gain a more distant, more reflected view on the situation and get back to being able to show empathy again. Rosenberg suggests four steps that guide through such practice. Steps of Nonviolent Communication NVC is a process that involves four steps: observations, feelings, needs, and a following request. 50 - Many Peaces Magazine #8

All illustrations: © Tilly Sünkel

Here is the situation: Two friends, Sarah and Amber, meet for lunch. Whereas Amber is eager to have a conversation about the new topic she is dealing with in her studies, Sarah is constantly looking at her phone. At one point, Amber rips the phone off Sarah’s hand and puts it aside, saying loudly in an annoyed tone: “How can you be so addicted to your phone?” This question represents a judgment of Sarah’s behaviour instead of the expression of her own unmet need, which is having the attention and feeling the presence of her friend during their lunch. If Sarah took it personally by listening with so called ‘wolf-ears’, the reply to Amber’s question would be: “I am not addicted to my phone!” This way, the direction of the conversation turns into a discussion about phone addiction and blaming the other person, missing the actual underlying reasons for Amber’s reaction. Instead of going down the road of judgment, Sarah’s empathic reaction according to the four steps of NVC would take place as follows: First, Sarah observes that her friend responds in a rough way to the fact that she was sending messages on her phone. Second, she identifies this reaction as a feeling of anger. Third, she realizes that this anger is triggered by an unmet need: They met up to have lunch together and instead of focusing on the lunch and listening to her friend, she was focused on her text messages. While being receptive towards the feelings and needs behind the reaction, by listening with so-called ‘giraffe-ears’, she gives the following response: “I am sorry I looked at my phone so much, I didn’t mean to disappoint you and give you the impression that I am not willing to listen to you”. In the fourth place, a request can follow: “Is it okay if I finish the last message and then I will be fully yours for the rest of the lunch?“ Rosenberg calls this way of communicating ‘Giraffe-language’, because of all land animals the giraffe has the biggest heart, which is the faculty we need for empathic engagement with each other.

Conclusion To sum it up, NVC aims to encourage us to be connected to our own needs and thereby leads to more honest expression in order to consciously communicate what we feel and need in a situation. Moreover, it encourages us to empathetically listen to the needs of others to understand their behaviour in a different way, not as a personal offense but an expression of their own needs. Therefore, NVC has the potential to transform the violent use of language and to enhance a more peaceful, understanding and respectful human interaction. 1 Rosenberg, Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life, 1. 2 Rosenberg, Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life, 102. 3 Rosenberg, Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life, 113-127. 4 Rosenberg, Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life, 103.

References: Rosenberg, Marshall. Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life. Encinitas, CA: Puddle Dancer Press, 2005.

Further Reading: web: https://www.cnvc.org web: https://www.uibk.ac.at/peacestudies

JULIA FELICITAS MICHEL is a current student of the MA Program Peace, Development, Security and International Conflict Transformation at the University of Innsbruck. Before starting the Master, she graduated from Windesheim Honours College in the Netherlands and received her Bachelor of Business Administration specialised in Global Project and Change Management in summer 2017. Contact: julia_michel@ish.de

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PESTUGE PROJECT PRACTICING TRANSRATIONAL AND ELICITIVE APPROACHES TO INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION: THE EXAMPLE OF THE PESTUGE PROJECT BY JOSEFINA ECHAVARRÍA ALVAREZ AND LIRIDONA VELIU

In the Summer of 2015 we received the good news that our pro-

posal PESTUGE (creation of the Graduate Curricula in Peace Studies in Georgia) had been accepted as an Erasmus+ project for capacity building in higher education. It was the second time we had applied and pursued this significant grant that would allow us to work with four universities in Georgia, two in Dublin and one in Northern Ireland towards the wider objective of “instilling a peace-oriented mindset in Georgian society by creating interdisciplinary graduate curricula in peace studies” (PESTUGE project description). While we had been approached by two of the Georgian universities initially to support them in their curriculum development because of our transrational peace philosophy and elicitive approach, the realities of international cooperation presented some challenges to our philosophy in praxis. The project framework works along the lines of modern notions in which ‘experts’ have (better/more correct) knowledge about peace studies courses providing technical and financial support to universities in non-EU countries. We were

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in charge of the Work Package ‘Curriculum Development’ and so we had a significant role to play. We made the conscious decision to undertake our project commitments in the spirit of elicitive work, taking heed of and adhering to the fact that conflict participants have the key to unlocking the great potential of conflict transformation. By extrapolating the elicitive principles to international project work, we believed that the local partners knew more profoundly the conflictive setting and hence also the needs for curriculum development. In that spirit, we twisted our role to be catalyzers and facilitators. Appreciative of our technical and personal resources in terms of teaching, we wanted to share our experience and knowledge by creating a safe space in which cooperation, trust, congruent communication and team spirit were valued in the concrete relations among the project partners. During the life of the project there were four moments that we have chosen as illustrative of what our elicitive approach has meant. Circulation of the course syllabi (January 2016) As the main objective of PESTUGE was to design, develop and introduce the first curricula of its kind in peace studies in Georgia, the

The main objective of PESTUGE was to design, develop and introduce the first curricula of its kind in peace studies in Georgia

All photos: © Liridona Veliu

initial step in the development of the modules was the introduction to conceptual, comparative and practical elements of peace studies through sharing of the course syllabi. Our MA Program in Peace Studies shared with the Georgian universities 17 syllabi inclusive of a diverse range of topics which covered theoretical and practical components of peace studies, such as those on the transrational shift in peace politics; elicitive methods of conflict transformation; elicitive conflict mapping; embodied means and skills of conflict transformation; and others. These were accompanied by literature and sources essential to the curriculum of the MA Program in Innsbruck. Furthermore, the other EU universities also shared key syllabi, including teaching resources and materials, and we were able to create a generous pool of information to be shared horizontally. Elements of trust in the transpersonal intelligence of people for the transformation of conflicts were translated into the syllabi of 32 new and old updated courses, well exceeding the initially envisioned 16 courses of the original proposal. The process of capacity building was grounded upon a voluntary selection of required and needed educational components by our Georgian partners, resulting in an innovative context-specific mix of conflict transformation theories and practical tools with relevant regional specificities. Innsbruck School of Peace Studies - 55

The study visit to the MA Program in Peace Studies (July 2016)

cussions explored personal ideas and meaning of peace(s) and were after visually presented in flipcharts (see Picture 3) opening the way to alternative manifestations of knowledge exchange.

The project foresaw that Georgian partners would tour the different EU universities’ peace studies programs and learn their diverse approaches to the academic field, as well as the pedagogical and diCross-Reading in Ireland and Northern Ireland (November 2016) dactical methods. From July 4th to July 11th, 2016 a study visit to Innsbruck took place. The Tyrolean Education Institute - Grillhof For the study visit to Ireland and Northern Ireland, we proposed welcomed 20 members of staff from our Georgian and European to conduct a face-to-face feedback session about the new syllabi partner universities in parallel to the onsite presence phase of the being developed for Georgian universities. The moments we spent Summer Term 2016 student cohort. together in formal and informal The PESTUGE visitors arrived durencounters during the study visits ing the Second Modular Period and had already created a good atmosjoined the group of students during phere of collegiality and friendship, The PESTUGE experience shows the lectures. yet our group was and is (gladly so) how elicitive principles, methods and Participants were also introduced very diverse – especially in what to components of the Third Modular concerns styles and patterns of comresources can permeate international Period with the design of a special The reciprocity of the projects designed in modern frameworks munication. plan as an excursion-tutorial concross-reading seminar in the framesisting of courses, field training and work of the MA Program, in which excursions on questions of negative every student’s paper is reviewed by peace and direct violence. Simuthe group, could not be translated lations of practical training and reactive roleplaying by our army one-to-one into the project activities, since the EU partners had sent partners and the alumni team were presented to the guests. Our col- their course syllabi in advance and did not receive feedback on their leagues also took part in a Theatre for Living workshop, resembling work. The Georgian professors sent their designed courses prior to exercises for the Fifth Modular Period. Armin Staffler supported the study visit, such that we all had the opportunity to read them in and facilitated an inspiring forum theatre day where issues of con- advance and, following newly-designed formal and content quesflict (transformation) relevant for the participants were set on the tions to the syllabi, we prepared our suggestions in the best spirit of stage. The cognitive and experiential knowledge gains further rein- Non-Violent Communication: seeking a connection from the heart, forced the ties of the PESTUGE learning community. suspending judgement and trying to be as factual as possible while The study-visit to Innsbruck also granted the partners with an staying present in our interactions. introduction to the Preparatory Online seminar (First Modular According to the professors’ impressions, the quality of the new Period) and Cross- Reading seminar (Second Modular Period). and updated courses benefited greatly from recommendations in Curriculum and didactics meetings were organized with Professors terms of resources such as bibliography, but furthermore also in Daniela Ingruber and Shawn Bryant. This enhanced the horizontal terms experiences for trying new didactic and pedagogical formats approach of learning, which recognizes potential as residing within in teaching work. the participants as first-hand witnesses and representatives of the contexts that they are coming from, hence feedback and peer-reQuality visit to Tbilisi (April 2017) view sessions are facilitated among peers rather than taught prescriptively by staff using a traditional vertical approach. Part of the quality control and monitoring mechanism envisioned Another example of such a horizontal approach of learning was by the project were mid and final evaluations of the curriculum and the World Café, which brought together Georgian and European teaching materials, as well as monitoring and evaluation of the modvisiting staff members with students of the Summer Term 2016. Dis- ule implementation process and assessment of the qualification of

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Georgian faculties. We saw the evaluation and monitoring as a further opportunity to live, enhance and adapt the elicitive principles to project work. In the online seminar and in the cross-reading, we have learned to use feedback not only for summative and evaluative assessment, but mainly for formative purposes and aiming for a positive and motivational impact. While online student questionnaires were conducted by the European partners (including the University of Innsbruck), in attempts to transcend expert relationships of ‘observers and observed,’ we proposed a World Café that would give us the information necessary for the reports and move beyond towards creating, sustaining and nurturing communities of enquiries around ‘questions that matter’. The aim was to elicit a conversation and engage in dialogues by actively listening to professors teaching the new subjects and students enrolled (or with the intention of enrolling) in the courses. In each Georgian university, three stations were set up and facilitators engaged in discussions to explore: What have you learned or what would you like to learn from the courses? How have your expectations transformed by taking the courses? And how do you view and define a peace/peaceful mind-set and how do you contribute to building it? Separate of these rounds, meetings with the professors took place and feedback was provided based on the insights collected. Stories of success and challenges were shared amongst European and Georgian partners, in the spirit of supporting and learning from each other. Conclusion The PESTUGE experience shows how elicitive principles, methods and resources can permeate international projects designed in modern frameworks. In April 2018, we had an extraordinary meeting in Innsbruck. It was extraordinary because it was not initially included in the project description and we were able to redirect savings from past travels. And it was extraordinary also in another sense: our partners asked us to host the meeting because of our approach. After two and half years of working together, they did not mean only our approach as it can be read in books, but the ways in which we related to them in elicitive, respectful and appreciative ways and to their work and who they are. This request has been the best recognition of our elicitive project work.

web: http://pestuge.iliauni.edu.ge

After graduating from the PhD Program in Peace, Conflict and Democracy at the Universitat Jaume I in Spain (2004 – 2006), JOSEFINA ECHAVARRÍA ALVAREZ joined the Core Faculty of the MA Program in Peace Studies at the University of Innsbruck, where she currently works as Senior Lecturer. Josefina has designed and developed curricula for peace, conflict and reconciliation studies in Austria, Georgia, Colombia, Brazil and Nicaragua. LIRIDONA VELIU graduated from the MA Program in Peace Studies at the University of Innsbruck in 2018. She is currently a second-year PhD student at the School of Law and Government at Dublin City University. Congruently, Liridona is supporting the Erasmus+ European Commission funded project on the creation of the graduate curricula in Peace Studies in Georgia (PESTUGE) as part of the University of Innsbruck staff.

Thanks to “Haus der Begegnung” for supporting this Volume. They proudly present the following workshop: „Die Innere Musik“ – Workshop mit Meditation und Musik In spanischer Sprache mit Übersetzung. Mit Eduardo Ribeiro (Brasilien) und Matthias Gossner (Österreich) 27th - 29th of July 2018 €220 bzw. €195 mit Frühbucherrabatt web: www.hausderbegegnung.com contact: hdb.kurse@dibk.at

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SUCCESSFUL KICKOFF-MEETING APPEAR-FUNDED PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN HARAMAYA UNIVERSITY AND THE UNIVERSITY OF INNSBRUCK BY ADHAM HAMED

In January the Project Team of the new APPEAR-funded pro-

ject “Partnership for Capacity Building in Peace and Conflict Transformation”, had its kickoff meeting at the University of Innsbruck’s Unit for Peace and Conflict Studies. During ten days of intense workshops, lectures and detailed project planning, the team members, under the overall coordination of Dr. Gutema Imana Keno from Haramaya University, Ethiopia assessed the status quo of capacity building efforts for Peace and Development Studies in Ethiopia. Besides planning activities, there was also time for team-building efforts, such as a guided tour of the old town of Innsbruck, through which the project team learned about the almost 350 year old relationship between the City of Innsbruck and the University of Innsbruck, which was founded in 1669. 58 – Many Peaces Magazine #8

Peace Studies at Haramaya University The newly formed team has ambitious aims for the two and a half years of cooperation ahead: First, they will redesign already existing MA and PhD curricula at Haramaya. Second, they will jointly work to strengthen capacities in peace and development education, administration and research at Haramaya University. Third, HU Staff and Students will acquire skills in conflict analysis and peace facilitation, following an elicitive approach to conflict transformation, as has been developed at the University of Innsbruck, and fourth, they will develop a vision and plan for a Centre for Peace and Development at Haramaya University. In this initial project phase, a solid understanding for the peace and conflict studies didactics and methodologies at the University of Innsbruck is of utmost importance. To this end the project team was introduced to the Peace Studies MA curriculum, organized in five different modular periods, for which the University of Innsbruck has become well-known internationally within the Peace and Conflict Studies field. Each semester the international group

Merging Social Science, with findings from humanistic psychology, Dietrich has conceptualized peace as a plural term, suggesting that there are as many interpretations of peaces as there are lived human experiences

All photos: © Adham Hamed

of students start with an interactive online preparatory seminar. This is followed by horizontal teaching formats and approaches to experiential learning. The Military Commander of the Tyrol, Maj. Gen. Mag. Herbert Bauer, introduced the didactics of an excursion week to the project team, in which the students are trained in applied peace work in armed conflicts in the roles of civilian United Nations Peacekeepers, by the Austrian Armed forces, while Prof. DDr. Wolfgang Dietrich delivered introductory lectures into Peace and Conflict Studies to the project team. During these lectures the workshop participants discussed the University of Innsbruck’s innovative approach to Peace and Conflict Studies, elicitive conflict transformation, including at its core a human centered approach to conflict work. This concept was first introduced by US-American scholar John Paul Lederach, who has extensive experience in applied conflict transformation work around the world, and then developed further by Wolfgang Dietrich, the first UNESCO Chairholder at the University of Innsbruck’s Unit for Peace Studies. Merging Social Science, with findings from humanistic psychology, Dietrich has conceptualized peace as a plural term, suggesting that there are as Innsbruck School of Peace Studies - 59

many interpretations of peaces as there are lived human experiences, based on factors such as culture, socialization and psychological influences. A crucial dimension of the Innsbruck School of Peace Studies is an engagement with different experiential aspects of peace and conflict transformation work and research. Each semester students are hence introduced to a different set of conflict transformation methods that are used within the field of elicitive conflict transformation. In this context, Mag. Armin Staffler introduced the audience from Haramaya University to Theatre for Living – a forum theatre method that has been derived from the Brazilian theatre artist Augusto Boal’s work. Finally, a group of alumni introduced three distinctive alumni initiatives that have emerged from within the active Peace Studies alumni network at the University of Innsbruck: The Peace Studies Fund, an initiative that supports students from the Global South to finance their studies in Innsbruck, the Many Peaces Magazine, a bi-annual magazine focusing on peace research and conflict transformation initiatives inspired by the Innsbruck School of Peace Studies, and the Peace Elicits, a group of alumni that engages in peer-trainings for applied peace and conflict transformation facilitation work. Institutional Capacity Building Besides the fruitful debates that emerged from these different formats, the main focus of the kickoff meeting was an assessment of the already existing framework for Peace and Conflict Studies at Haramaya University: In the past winter term, a significant step had already been taken at Haramaya University as the first cohort within a new PhD Program in Peace and Development Studies started its doctoral studies. With such committed ongoing activities at Haramaya, the team members from both the University of Innsbruck and Haramaya University are very optimistic with regards to the coming project phases. In April the University of Innsbruck’s project team will visited Haramaya University for three weeks of teaching and capacity building workshops. This shall support the overall efforts to lay the foundation for the establishment of an engaged Centre for Peace and Development at Haramaya University.

web: https://appear.at

APPEAR is a programme of the Austrian Development Cooperation.

All photos: © Adham Hamed

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IN MEMORIAM

EKKEHART KRIPPENDORFF MARCH 22, 1934 IN EISENACH (GERMANY) – FEBRUARY 27, 2018 IN BERLIN (GERMANY) The international family of peace research is grieving for Prof. Dr. Ekkehart Krippendorff, who died aged 83 in Berlin on February 27th 2018. Already before 1968 Ekkehart was a prominent spokesman of Berlin’s academic youth movement against the Vietnam-war. In the 1970s he became one of the most influential pioneers of Peace Studies in the German speaking world and wrote path-breaking keytexts for the young discipline. Due to his practical, rebellious and non-violent stance he was often misunderstood as radical during the Cold War. However, as a historian, philosopher and political scientist he was internationally trained at the Universities of Freiburg, Tübingen, FU Berlin, Columbia, Harvard, Yale and he held professorships in Italy, England, the USA, Japan and Germany. Due to his deeply humanist formation his understanding of peace studies was influenced by the transdisciplinary approaches of Anglo-Saxon schools and often disputed among German idealists. He was highly interested in literature, theatre, arts and in spirituality and published extensively on these topics. Thus, Ekkehart Krippendorff was a trailblazer for the Innsbruck School of Transrational Peace Studies. He helped us in our pioneer days by giving trendsetting classes to our first student generations. We will never forget them. Ekkehart’s encyclopedic work will live on in all our efforts. Wolfgang Dietrich UNESCO Chairholder for Peace Studies at the University of Innsbruck

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AN OPEN APPROACH BOOK REVIEW OF NORBERT KOPPENSTEINER’S “TRANSRATIONAL METHODS OF PEACE RESEARCH: THE RESEARCHER AS (RE)SOURCE” BY FATMA HARON

in: Echavarría Alvarez; Ingruber; Koppensteiner (Eds.): Transrational Resonances: Echoes to the Many Peaces

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This review focuses on Norbert Koppensteiner’s article ‘Transrational Methods of Peace Research: The Researcher as (Re)source’ which also forms the first chapter in the second section: Scholarly Resonances. The author is a Senior lecturer of the Peace Unit in Innsbruck. In his research, he focuses on the transrational methodology and its significance in Peace Studies. Transrational Resonances, published by Innsbruck’s Unit for Peace Studies in honor of its Head Wolfgang Dietrich, deals with the transrational and elicitive peace approach in many peace fields. It is divided into four parts: I. Resonances to Wolfgang Dietrich and His work, II. Scholarly Resonances, III. Practicioners` Resonances and IV. Artistic Resonances.

Taking the reader through a journey in which the methodology is to intrapersonal and transpersonal aspects, knowing through heart, be seen ‘through the lens of the researcher’ (Koppensteiner 2018: 59) feeling, results. From the heart Koppensteiner draws the connecKoppensteiner flips what has been taught in positivist and modern tion to the mind and defines knowing through the mind, thinking, research. He emphasizes the effect of the researcher`s perspective and its congruence with the body and heart as the main difference within the research process. Claiming that ‘research can be more between the modern and postmodern methodologies. The fourth than the dry and distanced gathering of knowledge’ (ibid. 60), Kop- form of knowing is “the integrative aspect that balances body, heart pensteiner describes the development within research as a holistic and mind” (ibid. 70) known as the soul. It becomes apparent how process. This requires not only a receptive state of mind but also the various forms of knowing are built on each other and connecta receptive body. I advise the same when reading his article, too. ed. Refering to Lederach, Koppensteiner highlights that intuition is The article is built up in six seca witnessing all in one. This angle tions: a sketch of the importance of traces the path to the transpersonal modern and postmodern research aspect, where “knowing (..) emergmethodologies for Peace Studies; es through experiential recognithe transrational methodology tion of cosmos and human being (divided in ontology, epistemoloas enfolded in each other” (ibid. gy and ethics); the position of the 71). Koppensteiner proclaims the researcher as resource and source unthinkable connection of this in the research process; the conseperspective in the transrational quences of this approach; its ethical approach. Without it only an unaspects; the researcher as a source dermined understanding can be Koppensteiner proclaims the very and resource; from the latter, Kopachieved. gravity of the ‘I’ in the research process pensteiner develops five forms of The reader infers that these five – something that has mostly withered knowing: sensing, feeling, thinkforms of knowing are not only seping, intuiting and witnessing. arate splits, but are also a wholein the field of academic literacy. When explaining the modern some body in the research proand postmodern methodologies cess. The five forms mold a whole young researchers might get slightconstruct out of five blocks. What ly confused, since Koppensteiner might be missing, is the facet of not proclaims the very gravity of the knowing. In the sense of Donald ‘I’ in the research process – someRumsfeld`s speaking at the US Dething that has mostly withered in partment of Defense in 2002, about the field of academic literacy. If the known and non-known knowlreaders keep an open mind as reedge. The connecting aspects bequired, Koppensteiner`s article will tween the different forms of knowlconfront them with their old quarrels and bring back rusty, intuitive edge and what we do not know and reject to know might determine presumptions from first encounters with a methodological process. the cognitive frame of the research practice. The question how in In denying their own experience, researchers hope to obtain an aca- the research process knowledge emerges out of these five forms, redemic objectivity. Additionally, it might lead to the assumption that mains unheeded. this approach is a spiritual and energetic Yogic method. Some scholTrying “to understand the researcher as resource, means making ars might criticise precipitately, that this approach might be wrong. use of her full human potential as contact – boundary at work in the Nevertheless, Koppensteiner already responds to that: ‘The very interplay between the intrapersonal, interpersonal and transpersonquestion of how a concrete human being is constituted or might be al aspects” (ibid. 67) shows that human assumptions are not evil. constituted differently thus becomes a relevant topic for postmod- Because rejecting the I within a research process might lose interestern research’ (ibid. 63). Koppensteiner, recalls that the researcher is a ing angles and essential outcomes in the analysis of methodological human being which consists of multiple layers and multiple aspects findings. When doing research these aspects should not be denied, and vehemently claims to apply these aspects and layers in the re- but integrated as an asset for an open understanding and approach searching process. in Peace Studies. By depicting five forms of knowing, the author differentiates between the various connotations of knowing. Knowing is more FATMA HARON is a PhD candidate at the University of than mere cognition but a process of understanding with diverse Innsbruck and researches on social remittances between parts of the researcher as a source. In a Jungian terminology KopTurkey and Austria. She obtained her B.A. degree in Social Sciences in Augsburg. Later she received her M.A. in Inpensteiner lists the forms of knowing: knowing through the body ternational Studies/ Peace and Conflict Research at Goethe (sensing), knowing through the heart (feeling), knowing through the University Frankfurt and studied a year abroad in Granada, mind (thinking), knowing through the soul (intuiting) and knowing Spain. After her studies in Frankfurt she moved to Ankara through the spirit (witnessing). Sensing, he clarifies, infers the expewhere she worked for two and a half years as a research riences through the body and consciousness and connects body and assistant on the Peace Process in Turkey. Contact: fatma.haron@uibk.ac.at mind. When the contact boundary is at work with interpersonal, Innsbruck School of Peace Studies - 63

NEW PUBLICATIONS

Wolfgang Dietrich

Josefina Echavarría Alvarez, Daniela Ingruber and Norbert Koppensteiner (Eds.)

Jennie Helene Sandstad

ELICITIVE CONFLICT MAPPING

TRANSRATIONAL RESONANCES:

BREATHING MEDITATION AS A TOOL FOR PEACE WORK

Echoes to the Many Peaces

A Transrational and Elicitive Method Towards Healing the Healers

This book completes Wolfgang Dietrich’s This book comprehensively gathers the Jennie Helene Sandstad brings together path-breaking trilogy of the Many Peaces; the foundation of the highly innovative approach to peace and conflict as taught and applied at the University of Innsbruck, Austria. Where Volume 1 elaborated the transrational philosophy of the many peaces and Volume 2 discussed the curricular and didactic aspects of elicitive conflict transformation (ECM), Volume 3 provides principles and examples of ECM’s practical application. The author drafts the easy use of ECM as a brand new method of conflict work that can be applied from both intra and interpersonal conflicts to the highest political and diplomatic level. This book would form an excellent basis for leadership and relationship training of future peace workers within the frame of elicitive conflict transformation.

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current academic literature, field expertise and artistic developments on Wolfgang Dietrich’s Many Peaces theory, in the ways it has been conceptualized and practiced by peace and conflict workers around the world. Both scholars and practitioners challenge and creatively explore the field of transrational peace philosophy, contributing their insights on elicitive methods and conflict mapping. The book is further enriched by artistic perspectives on integrative approaches to theatre for living and intercultural soundscapes. The articles collected here respond with innovative strength and vigor to the worldwide need for further research on peace and for practical approaches to conflict transformation. This book therefore equally appeals to scholars, peacebuilders and practitioners as well as artists engaged in conflict transformation.

theoretical concepts and personal stories in an exploration of trauma, and studies how breathing meditation can be a tool for peace work. Through the lenses of Humanistic and Transpersonal Psychology as well as Elicitive Conflict Transformation, this work provides useful insights into transrational methods and explores why practicing self-awareness is fundamental to Elicitive Conflict Transformation. As the author engages with her own traumas and emotional wounds, the reader will undoubtedly be part of, and co-explore a journey towards healing.

Ma s te r s of Peace

Marcella Rowek

Julia Metzger-Traber

UNESCO Chair for Peace Studies University of Innsbruck (Ed.)

THE POLITICAL NECESSITY OF TRANSPERSONAL WORK:

IF THE BODY POLITIC COULD BREATHE IN THE AGE OF THE REFUGEE:

MASTERS OF PEACE

Deep Democracy’s Potential to Transform Polarized Conflicts

An Embodied Philosophy of Interconnection

Marcella Rowek explores the paradigm of This book posits that the ‘refugee crisis’ Deep Democracy and its potential to transform polarized conflicts in the context of the refugee situation in Europe. Her approach to peace work and research is embedded in the Innsbruck School of Peace Studies’ philosophy of Transrational Peaces and Lederach’s Elicitive Conflict Transformation. At the heart of a deeply democratic attitude is the idea that all perspectives, experiences, feelings, body sensations and awareness levels of the conflicting parties have to be acknowledged and consciously worked with. Only then conflict transformation processes can unfold. This is linked to a systemic and transpersonal perspective, which assumes that not a single person, event or group triggers a conflict, but that it is systemically co-created. In a human system one side does not win alone.

may actually be a crisis of identity in a rapidly changing world. It argues that Western conceptions of the individual ‘Self ’ shape metaphors of political homes, and thus the geopolitics of belonging and exclusion. Metzger-Traber creatively re-conceives political belonging by perceiving the interconnection of each ‘Self ’ through its most immediate home – the breathing body. On an experimental literary journey through her own past and that of Germany, she puts political philosophy in conversation with somatic and spiritual insight to expand notions of ‘Self ’ and ‘Home’. Then she asks: What ethical imperatives arise? What kinds of homes and homelands would we create if we no longer thought we ended at our skin?

Masters of Peace is a book series edited by the University of Innsbruck’s UNESCO Chair for Peace Studies. It has been founded to honour outstanding works of young academics in the field of Peace and Conflict Studies. It is reserved for selected Master theses of the Innsbruck School and published twice a year. The Innsbruck School follows the principles of Transrational Peace Philosophy. It defines peace as a plural and regards all aspects of human nature relevant for the understanding of peace and conflict. Its applied method is Elicitive Conflict Transformation, a pragmatic approach to conflict rooted in Humanistic Psychology that entrusts the responsibility for finding alternative options of behaviour, communication and encounter to the conflict parties. Facilitators provide a safe frame, tools and methods for this quest without imposing their own solutions on the parties.

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INFORMATIONS ON THE PROGRAM IN PEACE STUDIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF INNSBRUCK – HOME OF THE MANY PEACES The Innsbruck School of Peace Studies Established in 2001, the MA Program in Peace Studies at the University of Innsbruck was strongly inspired by the UNESCO’s famous Manifesto 2000, which proposed to turn the new millennium into a new beginning, an opportunity to change, all together, the culture of war and violence into a culture of peace and non-violence. The six corner stones of the Manifesto 2000 are: - Respect the life and dignity of each human being - Practise active non-violence - Share time and material resources - Defend freedom of expression and cultural diversity - Responsible consumer behaviour - New forms of solidarity.

CHRISTINA EGERTER (WT 15/16, ST 16, WT 16/17) is living in Heidelberg (Germany) where she works at a multigenerational house as a coordinator and facilitator for intercultural projects. She trained in social care work for people with disabilities, has a BA in Theater and Performing Arts in Society and graduated from the MA Program in Peace Studies in 2018. She has been involved in several projects about female identity, community building and social arts. Contact: christina.egerter@gmail.com

ZWISCHEN.DRINNEN.VON MASKEN UND ANDEREN HÜLLEN Maskenarbeit als Methode Elicitiver Friedens- und Konflikttransformation

This research is based on my personal interest in the potential of

theatrical mask work as a procedural method for elicitive conflict transformation. The mask, as one of the oldest objects of humanity, located between spiritual connections and cultural meanings, is examined through its diverse meanings as well as reflected upon according to its historical contexts. Based on the understanding of a relational and transpersonal self, which is always embedded in conflicts, I examine the methodological and didactical values of a performance-orientated mask work. What can we express, hide and transform with masks? Why do we need covers and the well-known persona identity? To explore these and other questions, I travelled through literature across the globe and implemented a one-week practical mask project. Accordingly, the research is supplemented with the findings of this project as well as the sharing of the personal experiences of both the researcher and the participants. ***

The spiral path through mask work as a method for conflict transformation lead me through an encounter with my own fear of masks as well as my love to wear them. Masks enabled me to express something else, transgress the fixed self and see the diversity of masks humans wear. In facilitating a mask process for others, I got in touch with the vulnerable selves we all carry with us. In my experiences, masks appear as an image of our self we can dance with. They let us breathe, dream, speak and play differently. Masks gave me, in their playful way, another look at peace and conflict whose own masks may have many possibilities to transform when we see living more as a playground with different surfaces to explore.

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NEW MASTERS OF PEACE MARISA-ISABELLA GEISER (WT 14/15, ST 15, WT 15/16) graduated from the MA Program in Peace Studies at the University of Innsbruck in 2018. Currently based in Basel, she has been working as a research assistant at the University of Applied Science of Northwest Switzerland at the Institute of Social Planning, Organisational Change and Urban Development and as a social worker in the counselling of volunteer management. Contact: marisaigeiser@gmail.com

SNAPSHOTS OF HOME

‘Heimat’ and the Question of Belonging, Integration and Alienation: A Case Study About Home-Making Processes in Transnationalism Within the Urban Context of Basel, Switzerland

JANNIK GRESBRAND (WT 13/14, ST 14, WT 14/15) has lived and worked on various projects in Europe, Central America, Southern Africa and Southeast Asia and holds an MA in Peace Studies. As manager and facilitator of Peace Elicits, he believes that creating safe social spaces for elicitive peace work is key for Self-unfolding and peace. His thesis was supervised by Wolfgang Dietrich. Contact: jannik@manypeacescollective.com

ON BECOMING AN ELICITIVE PEACE WORKER

The thesis discovers the multidimensional aspects and interrela- This qualitative and interdisciplinary research builds on the findings tions of the phenomenon Heimat (home, homeland) in a transnational urban context. The research goes beyond traditional migration, transnational or cross-border studies and focuses on the source and impact of feelings and emotions. Concepts of peace, transnationalism and Heimat are disassembled beyond a merely rational approach through a broad theoretical foundation. More specifically, this is done by exploring the many different shades and levels of these terms according to the transrational peace philosophy and the Elicitive Conflict Mapping (ECM) of the UNESCO Chair of Peace Studies at the University of Innsbruck. In addition, an inductive empirical method, an Erzählcafé (storytelling café), combined with a qualitative content analysis provide a deeper insight on how these theories affect people’s everyday life in the community in the urban context of Basel. ***

Writing this thesis was not only a very enriching process personally and academically but also a challenging one. The exchange with the workshop participants in the Erzählcafé showed the importance of a dialogue about this topic in nowadays Europe, where right-wing politics and fundamentalism in youths with migration background are on the rise. A shift away from a rational discussion about such topic towards a more transrational perspective is not only fruitful but also indispensable. Living with strong transnational ties myself, the process has broadened my own perspectives on how to feel at home or how such feelings can be created more actively to find a little bit of imperfect peace.

of Humanistic and Transpersonal Psychology as well as on the Transrational Peace Philosophy. It investigates how peace and Self-unfolding processes of the peace facilitator’s clients resonate with the facilitator’s own processes of peace and Self-unfolding. As a tool for identifying and navigating possibilities for holistic conflict transformation, Elicitive Conflict Mapping invites introspection from social activity. Thus, peace workers are called to transform their own blockages, as those are part of all of us due to our imprinting socialisation experiences. Within my research, I found that an elicitive approach to peace work can be the very gateway towards a profound resonance of the external transformational peace work with the very internal processes of the facilitator. Due to its relational and holistic nature, elicitive peace work can be a useful approach for taking responsibility for the own intrapersonal conflicts and their transformation by understanding the healing journey of one’s clients as one’s very own healing journey, too. This way, the previously hindering blockages can unfold as one’s very potentials. ***

The research is based on my particular interest in intra- and interpersonal peace processes as elicitive peace facilitator. As transrational research aims at providing transformation opportunities for both the audience and the researcher – and logically invites for introspection as well – my research was accompanied by a challenging personal journey as also I confronted my own blockages. It resulted in a profound transformation towards an upright responsibility for my very own personal blockages and potentials, especially against the background of elicitively facilitating spaces for transrational peaces.

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INFORMATIONS ON THE PROGRAM IN PEACE STUDIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF INNSBRUCK – HOME OF THE MANY PEACES The Call for Many Peaces The Unit for Peace and Conflict Studies took the Manifesto 2000 as an argument to gather faculty and students from all around the world to fill these points permanently with new life, to explore our planetary understanding of peace and conflict transformation. From there we concluded that there are as many peaces in the world as there are human perceptions and that the challenge for an academic program is to analyse the relation between these myriads of interpretations, evaluate their predominantly harmonious flow and find ways of transforming the sometimes competing interests. Thereof resulted a Call for Many Peaces, formulating the specific character of this program. Gradually we developed a systematic understanding of different forms of peace. According to our findings the main “families” of peace interpretations are - energetic peaces - moral peaces - modern peaces - postmodern peaces - transrational peaces

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MIRKA HURTER (WT14/15, ST15, WT15/16) is half Swiss, half German and lives in the multicultural city of Berlin. Her background is in Social Management and Systemic Consultancy. Currently, she works for StARTInternational e.V. emergency aid for children and as a freelance facilitator in team building and group dynamics. Her thesis was supervised by Norbert Koppensteiner. Contact: m.h@posteo.de

EMBODYING THE UNFOLDING SELF

The Art of Dying and Becoming as an Elicitive Conflict Worker

This work explores the unfolding of human potential and the au-

thentic Self through the lenses of embodiment and the balance of intrapersonal and interpersonal layers. It is based on humanistic and transpersonal psychology, transrational peace philosophy and embodiment. Through the methods of 5Rhythms dance and Aikido and by investigating my personal experiences with death, I dive into an exploration of how conflicts can be transformed in a creative process of both dying and becoming. By interweaving theories with personal experiences, my research discusses how such a process can contribute to strengthening the different intrapersonal and interpersonal layers of embodied grounding, emotional expression, relational resonance, imagination and intuition. This thesis thus sheds light on how embodiment and experiences with death can enable a transformation of conflictive systems as well as a conscious and authentic becoming of the Elicitive Conflict Worker. ***

My investigation has been a journey into the unknown. Being confronted with death several times during my research and writing process led me to integrate this topic as an essential part of my thesis. Ultimately, the experience has been about much more than simply writing a thesis. It has been indeed about exploring an inner process of dying and becoming in practice, with all of its depth, and struggles as well as the processes of letting go and creatively unfolding the Self. I learned to let go of concepts and belief systems, to understand and incorporate conflicts as an inherent part of social relations, and I explored myself as a constantly changing being. It has been a transformative, liberating and unfolding process.

NEW MASTERS OF PEACE ANGELICA TAYLOR (WT 15/16, ST 16, WT 16/17) graduated from the MA Program in Peace Studies at the University of Innsbruck in January 2018. Angelica is continuing her journey by searching for a job that combines her passions of nature and research. Originally from Canada, she is currently based in The Hague, The Netherlands. Daniela Ingruber supervised her thesis. Contact: angelica.taylor@mail.utoronto.ca

A HUMAN JOURNEY OF RE-CONNECTION Venturing Through the Depths of Nature

LAURA ANDREA TORRES MONROY (WT 14/15, ST 15, WT 15 /16) graduated from the MA Program in Peace Studies at the University of Innsbruck in 2018. Since 2017, she has been working in Colombia as part of the Active Citizens facilitation program of the British Council, promoting processes of empowerment, reconciliation, inclusion and leadership in communities formed by victims and prosecutors of the civil war. Her thesis was supervised by Wolfgang Dietrich. Contact: lara_t16@hotmail.com

BEFRIENDING MONSTERS

The Role of Fear in Facilitation Processes in the Frame of the Transrational Understanding of Peace and Elicitive Conflict Transformation

Wilderness education and mindfulness practices are excellent Based on my personal struggles with facilitation spaces, I decidways to reconnect with nature and oneself. Through spending time in nature in a mindful way, one is able to become more aware of all parts of their being, as well as seeing the world beyond themselves, and develop an awareness of a dynamic interaction. As one focuses on deepening their self-connection, or their connection with nature, they are thereby increasing a level of inner and planetary peace. As one becomes more aware of their connection with nature, they can more easily interact with nature in a peaceful way. In answer to the research question, “how does spending time in nature affect individual feelings of connection?”, it has been found that spending time in nature affects individual feelings of connection through the five phenomena of restoration, the here and now, mirroring, facing the unknown, and unity. This conclusion has been drawn from a compilation of four storytelling interviews, together with a reflective personal journey into nature, and draws literary support from the fields of psychology, ecopsychology and spirituality. ***

The thesis process has been an enlightening chapter in my journey towards re-connection. I have learned a lot about myself, my issues with connection, my shadows, and my nature-self. I have been transformed through the research I have done on my own (one week in the wilderness), and with others (storytelling). The thesis research was highly personal and endowed with constant reflection and a struggle for integration. The research made clear that a bridge between the world of nature-connection/self-connection and citylife is necessary to fortify and traverse in order to stay connected. For me, the journey doesn’t end here, and may well continue for the rest of my life. But this is, of course, a journey towards greater connection, to myself, to the world, and to others.

ed to explore the influence of fear in the context of peace and conflict transformation. In my thesis, I aim towards the identification of methods that help me understand fear, not as an enemy but as an opportunity to identify our needs and limits out of the comfort zone. Some of my central questions are: How do we relate to fears? How to befriend fears in the frame of facilitation processes? First, I focus my attention on the physical, emotional, psychological and relational roots of fear in order to identify positive aspects of fear and its relationship with conflicts. Later, I engage with the perception of fear through different interpretations of peace. Finally, I explore creative methods in the frame of facilitation, which can transform the relationship that we hold with fear in a healing and meaningful way. ***

I deal with ‘monsters’ every day. They are constantly present, and they perform scary tricks using masks such as judgement, expectations and demands. The power that my monsters have in my decision-making processes and in the way I engage with facilitation spaces inspired me to write this thesis. I took the risk of opening myself and sharing some shadows that I had hidden under many masks. I experienced frustrating and inspiring moments during this journey, which contributed to my own personal healing. Nevertheless, even when facing my fears was a challenge, this process gave me the opportunity to embrace, love and respect myself in different levels; to acknowledge who I am and to recognize the potential of who I can become. Furthermore, it reminded me of the reasons that motivated me to fall in love with peace and conflict work and it taught me that my monsters will always be a natural and necessary aspect of my desire to keep on following this path.

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LIRIDONA VELIU (WT 14/15, WT 17/18) graduated from the MA Program in Peace Studies at the University of Innsbruck in 2018. She is currently a second-year PhD student at the School of Law and Government at Dublin City University. Congruently, Liridona is supporting the Erasmus+ European Commission funded project on the creation of the graduate curricula in Peace Studies in Georgia (PESTUGE) as part of the University of Innsbruck staff. Contact: Liridona.veliu2@mail.dcu.ie

TWEETING ON BROKEN BRANCHES

A Genealogical and Critical Study on the ‘Balkanization’ Discourse through Twitter Subjectivities

Balkanization’ is part of a long-standing discourse of otherness and

stereotyping whose application has moved beyond the geography of the Balkan Peninsula and represents the pejorative in many of its forms and substances. As such, it epitomizes constructed sources of knowledge that shape worldviews and actions. Through this thesis, I question ‘balkanization’ in its most current condition by examining its manifestations through the micro-blogging platform: Twitter. I employ a qualitative genealogical approach of historicizing and deconstructing ‘balkanization’ by applying Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to 1892 tweets that include “#balkanization”. The study reveals that first, ambiguity is the essential conceptual thread behind a set of meanings that the ‘balkanization’ discourse is built upon; and second, that this ambiguity preconditions and is then preconditioned by a continuous growth of recontextualizing and applying the term as descriptive of various scenarios and spaces. ***

I have been born within ‘the Balkans’ and ‘balkanization’ discourses, have lived, witnessed and perhaps even unconsciously contributed to normalizing them. Through this thesis, I have come to question the standardization of comprehension surrounding these discourses, which has inevitably resulted in questioning my own self. As such, it is not only on the subject of research that I have taken a genealogical epistemological approach, but also, one I have applied to the construction of my identity as an individual, ingrained within those of collective belonging. Starting with debunking my own name (From Albanian: Liridona: Don(a)(ё) - want; Liri - freedom) and reaching towards desubstantializing myself as someone coming from ‘the Balkans’, I can say that writing this thesis has been a challenging and hence rewarding experience. I have grown.

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INFORMATIONS ON THE PROGRAM IN PEACE STUDIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF INNSBRUCK – HOME OF THE MANY PEACES Native Challenge The Native Challenge is a well-established cooperation between the MA Program in Peace Studies at the University of Innsbruck and the Austrian Armed Forces. It is a one-week learning experience that is an integral part of every semester of the MA Program where students are trained in field-related aspects of peace and conflict work. The Austrian Armed Forces provides a learning frame by offering different lectures and handson training of field-related skills. The week ends with a 2-3 days simulation of a UN mission where students act as a UN field team in a simulated conflict area. Since summer 2012, alumni of the MA Program have worked together with the Austrian Armed Forces to provide additional civilian perspectives to the Native Challenge training. Alumni are in this context referred to as ‘roleplayers’ since they act as different characters in the simulated conflict. However, the alumni team is also an integral part of planning and coordination. Furthermore, the alumni component has gradually, in close cooperation with and with support from the Austrian Armed Forces, helped developed additional aspects to the simulation.

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EDITOR IN CHIEF

PUBLISHER ADHAM HAMED is a research fellow at the University of Innsbruck’s Unit for Peace and Conflict Studies, as well as University Assistant at the Department of Political Science at the same university. He is a founding member of the Many Peaces Magazine to which he currently serves as Editor in Chief. Adham Hamed is the author of Speaking the Unspeakable: Sounds of the Middle East Conflict and Editor of Revolution as a Process: The Case of the Egyptian Uprising. Contact: adham.hamed@uibk.ac.at

MANAGING EDITOR MANON ROELEVELD graduated in summer 2015 from the MA Program in Peace Studies at the University of Innsbruck. Currently based in Vienna, she worked at the International Peace Institute, volunteered with Don Bosco in the refugee camp Traiskirchen and with PROSA, organizing workshops with and for refugees. Additionally, she worked with a start-up NGO known as Switxboard which focuses on the development of different projects related to refugees. Since May 2016 she has been working as a doctoral program coordinator at the University of Vienna. Contact: manon.roeleveld@manypeaces.org

CO-MANAGING EDITOR JULIA FELICITAS MICHEL is a current student of the MA Program Peace, Development, Security and International Conflict Transformation at the University of Innsbruck. Before starting the Master, she graduated from Windesheim Honours College in the Netherlands and received her Bachelor of Business Administration specialised in Global Project and Change Management in summer 2017. In 2018, she joined the team of Managing Editors of the Many Peaces Magazine. Contact: julia_michel@ish.de

PAUL LAUER is based in Graz and works as a consultant in the field of sustainability and diversity – currently facilitating seminars on Conflict Transformation for companies within the project div-in-co (diversity - inclusion – consulting, Caritas Steiermark). His research interests are focused on the intrapersonal layers of conflicts. Contact: paul.lauer@manypeaces.org

CO-MANAGING EDITOR JULIANA KROHN is currently based in Innsbruck and writing her master thesis at the MA Program for Peace, Development, Security and International Conflict Transformation at the University of Innsbruck. She holds a bachelor’s degree in literary studies and law from the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich where she also volunteered with Refugio, a counselling centre for refugees and victims of torture. She is working as a freelance photographer since 2011. Juliana is a founding member of the charitable association Peace Studies Fund e.V. Contact: juliana.krohn@posteo.de

THE EDITORIAL TEAM

EDITORS (IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER) ALEXA CUELLO MIEDZYBRODZKI is a children rights expert currently supporting different projects for SOS Children’s Villages International and UNICEF. She is also a board member of TIGRA, a Tirolean NGO committed to challenge everyday racism and discrimination in the community. Alexa has studied at the universities of Innsbruck, Jaume I of Castellón and de la República in Montevideo. She holds a BA in Political Science and an MA in Peace Development, Security and International Conflict Transformation. Contact: alexa.cuello@manypeaces.org

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LENA DRUMMER is a PhD candidate at the Doctoral School Inequality and Difference in the Age of Globalization and a founding member of the Research Center for Peace and Conflict at the University of Innsbruck. She has a particular interest in the relationship between Europe and the MENA region, as well as Muslims and non-Muslims in Europe. In her research she focuses on the role of culture in the transformation of conflicts, as well as approaches to peace within Muslim feminist debates. Following the tradition of the Innsbruck School of Peace Studies she is a conflict transformation facilitator focusing on elicitive aspects of intercultural dialogue. Since 2018 she has been part of the editorial team of the Many Peaces Magazine. Contact: lena.m.drummer@gmail.com

THERESA GOTTSCHALL graduated in summer 2016 from the MA Program in Peace Studies at the University of Innsbruck. After finishing a Yoga Teacher Training Course in March 2016 in India and a training course in dance and expression pedagogy in November 2016, she currently takes part in the basic TaKeTiNa rhythm teacher training led by Reinhard Flatischler, the founder of this method. Additionally, she continues her academic career as a PhD student at the Universitat Jaume I. Her research focuses on the significance of TaKeTiNa as a method in peace and conflict work. Contact: theresa.gottschall@manypeaces.org

ISABELLE GUIBERT is a lecturer based in Innsbruck. She teaches languages (French, Spanish), peace studies and conflict transformation. As a facilitator, her deepest aspiration is to create a hospitable space for her students/ participants to connect to their self and discover their potentials. For years she has taken part in diverse projects in South America and Africa. Among her research interests are language(s); writing as a means of (self-)exploration and expression; trauma and memory. She studied at the universities of Nantes, Oxford and Innsbruck, and holds an MA in English studies and an MA in Peace Studies. Contact: isabelle.guibert@manypeaces.org

FATMA HARON is a PhD candidate at the University of Innsbruck and researches on social remittances between Turkey and Austria. She obtained her B.A. degree in Social Sciences in Augsburg. Later she received her M.A. in International Studies/ Peace and Conflict Research at Goethe University Frankfurt and studied a year abroad in Granada, Spain. After her studies in Frankfurt she moved to Ankara where she worked for two and a half years as a research assistant on the Peace Process in Turkey. Contact: fatma.haron@uibk.ac.at

INTERNATIONAL EDITORS (IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER) RANA HAROUN graduated from the MA Program in Peace Studies at the University of Innsbruck in 2015. Since her graduation, she has been working in the U.S., coaching high school students from all walks of life with developing the skills and knowledge necessary to successfully plan their academic and professional future. Her thesis was supervised by Winfried Wagner. Contact: rana.haroun90@gmail.com

MAYME LEFURGEY is a graduate of UPEACE and the Innsbruck School of Peace Studies. She is a Ph.D. Candidate at The University of Western Ontario where she is pursuing a collaborative degree in Women’s Studies & Feminist Research and Transitional Justice & Post-Conflict Reconstruction. Her dissertation explores yoga as a method of elicitive peacebuilding, specifically looking at community rehabilitation and conflict transformation efforts in post-conflict settings. Contact: malefurgey@gmail.com

SHIBANI PANDYA was born and brought up in Mumbai, India, and is currently working at a crisis shelter for women experiencing domestic abuse in Singapore. She is passionate about promoting gender equality and combating rape culture. Her thesis explored the connection between rape culture and mythology, which she then further explored with the Singaporean community through her work at UN Women. She welcomes any other opportunities to redefine dominant cultural narratives that promote inequality. Contact: shibanipandya@gmail.com

VLAD TOMA is a graduate of the MA Program in Peace Studies at the University of Innsbruck. His passion lies in exploring consciousness and he is currently organizing the setup of a multi-disciplinary academic retreat centre in Nicaragua. Vlad’s thesis was centred on Mindfulness, Buddhism and the Perception of Reality. Vlad is based in Toronto, Canada, where he teaches tourism management and researches the evolution of socio-economic systems. Contact: vlad.toma@alumni.utoronto.ca

ARTIST OF THE VOLUME AKRAM AL RASNY was born in Taiz, Yemen. He has a Diploma in graphics from the Universal University in Taiz. He is a field photographer who is participating in documenting the conflict in Taiz since it erupted in Yemen in March 2015. He is also working as a TV editor for several media agencies. Akram produced a number of documentaries, flashes and clips. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Akram.Alrasny

ILLUSTRATOR TILLY SÜNKEL is a student of Political Science and English at the University of Innsbruck. In her free time she expresses herself artistically by drawing the things and people which surround her, especially while traveling. The University of Innsbruck’s excursion to Cairo, in summer term 2017, was her greatest journey so far and a politically as well as creatively demanding experience. Contact: tilly-suenkel@t-online.de

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ABOUT OUR MAGAZINE The Many Peaces Magazine was conceptualized and launched in

2014 by Adham Hamed, Mayme Lefurgey, Paul Lauer and Isabelle Guibert. It was created as an outlet to showcase the work of alumni, students, cooperation partners and friends of the Master of Arts Program in Peace, Development, Security and International Conflict Transformation and the UNESCO Chair for Peace Studies located at Universität Innsbruck, Austria. Our magazine is published twice a year, in January and July of each year. The Many Peaces Magazine team has changed and developed over the past volumes and is currently coordinated by a team spread out over three continents and features authors and stories from around the globe. Many of the articles, stories and contributions that can be found in the magazine relate to the field of Peace Studies in some way, but more specifically to the fields of Transrational Peace Philosophy and Elicitive Conflict Transformation. The UNESCO Chair for Peace Studies have outlined five main interpretations of peace in history and culture: energetic, moral, modern, postmodern and transrational peaces. The UNESCO Chair explains that, each of these types of peaces has a specific key value, “energetic peace privileges harmony, the moral interpretation emphasizes justice, the modern understanding of peace calls for security, and the postmodern approach deals with the question of truth(s)”. Lastly,

a transrational understanding of peace, combines all of the above in a holistic manner, both applying and appreciating the rationality of modern sciences while simultaneously transgressing its limits. Elicitive Conflict Transformation is understood to be the applied method of Transrational Peace Philosophy, as it “draws out, highlights, and catalyzes existing or communally held knowledge related to transforming conflicts between individuals, groups, and communities” as opposed to more prescriptive and top-down models of peacebuilding (UNESCO Chair for Peace Studies, 2017). More information on Transrational Peace Philosophy and Elicitive Conflict Transformation can be found here. The Many Peaces Magazine is founded on the idea that there are many peaces, many interpretations and expressions of what peace is, and our work seeks to embody the philosophies and theories of the UNESCO Chair for Peace Studies while showcasing the creative work of the students and alumni who have been a part of the MA for Peace Studies. Each volume has its own theme and rhythm and we invite you to explore the previous volumes of our magazine. If you are interested in partnering with us, sponsoring the magazine or contributing an article, artwork or advertising, please contact: magazine@manypeaces.org.

With the kind support of:

Imprint: PUBLISHER: Paul Lauer, Rosenberggürtel 21, 8010 Graz, Austria EDITORIAL: Alexa Cuello, Lena Drummer, Theresa Gottschall, Isabelle Guibert, Adham Hamed, Fatma Haron, Rana Haroun, Juliana Krohn, Julia Michel, Paul Lauer, Mayme Lefurgey, Clara Maier, Shibani Pandya, Manon Roeleveld and Vlad Toma LAYOUT: Paul Lauer COVERPICTURE: Akram Al Rasni ILLUSTRATIONS: Tilly Sünkel

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The Many Peaces Magazine is made possible by the financial support of cooperation partners, sponsors and donors. If you would like to support our project, please contact us: magazine@manypeaces.org

VOLUME 8 2018 - 07 “DESPITE THE CURRENT HORRENDOUS SITUATION, THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF YOUTH WHO STILL HAVE HOPE IN THEIR COUNTRY AND AIM FOR A BRIGHTER FUTURE.” Jawaher Asa’ad Page 9 “YOU NEVER GIVE UP YOUR LARGE-GROUP IDENTITY EVEN WHEN YOU SUFFER BECAUSE OF IT OR USE IT FOR DESTRUCTIVE PURPOSES.” Vamik Volkan

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“I LEARNED THAT SOMETIMES WE HAVE TO BE HUMAN AND KIND TO OURSELVES, TO BE FORGIVING AND NOT TO BE AFRAID TO STOP AND SAY I CANNOT DO THIS.” Fatma Boudokhane

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“PEACE WORKERS ARE USUALLY OPEN AND WELL TRAINED TO HELP OTHERS IN VIOLENT ENVIRONMENTS BUT THEY ARE RARELY AWARE OR TRAINED TO HELP THEMSELVES.” Mansoor Ali

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“IN THE PRACTICE, I RECOGNISE A LUST FOR PAIN AND GOING TO, AND EVEN BEYOND, THE LIMITS.” Christina Pauls

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“ARENDT INSISTS THAT NEITHER LABOR NOR WORK, BUT SOLELY ACTION – AND SPEECH – IS WHAT MAKES US EQUALLY AND DISTINCTIVELY HUMAN.” Andreas Oberprantacher

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