While there is an increasing focus within peace and conflict studies on how local contexts affect peacebuilding work, scholars have failed to investigate how local tools might promote local reconciliation processes. Simultaneously, the field of community mediation has exclusively been studied in contexts not directly related to armed conflicts. In this thesis, I bring these two fields together, addressing both these gaps by asking what effect community mediation has on local reconciliation. I argue that, by creating greater social cohesion and more vibrant communities, while legitimizing non-violent conflict resolution mechanisms, community mediation promotes the reconciliation process of its community. To address this question, I analyze the mediation conducted in Medellín, Colombia, by Juntas de Acción Comunal, which are local neighborhood committees. I conceptualize reconciliation by both discussing what reconciliation means at different levels of society and developing a set of everyday indicators collaboratively with a diverse array of people from Medellín. My analysis strongly supports my hypothesis, while offering it some nuance. I find that, while community mediation does promote local reconciliation, it can only do so in contexts of relative absence of violence.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-504172 |
| Date | January 2023 |
| Creators | Tamayo Ruiz, Lucas |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för freds- och konfliktforskning |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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