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Re-Imagining Peace Master Thesis in the frame of the MA Program in Peace, Development, Security and International Conflict Transformation at the University of Innsbruck Re-Imagining Peace Analyzing Syria’s “Four Towns Agreement” through Elicitive Conflict Mapping In order to obtain the degree Master of Arts Submitted by Lama Ismail Supervised by Josefina Echavarría Álvarez Innsbruck, 2019 Re-Imagining Peace Acknowledgments I dedicate this section to the many people that made the writing of this thesis bearable, and more importantly, possible. First, I thank my thesis adviser Dr. Josefina Echavarría Álvarez for accompanying me while writing the thesis, and for allowing me the space to grow through writing. When I took your Elicitive Conflict Mapping class, I struggled with some of the concepts at first. At some point during a private conversation, you told me: “every person in a conflict has a body.” That changed everything, and it was at that moment I decided I want to use Elicitive Conflict Mapping for my thesis. Thank you Josefina for everything you have done for me and for this thesis. I am so grateful for having worked on this project with you. I also thank all the faculty at the University of Innsbruck, especially Wolfgang, Norbert and Daniela for their continuous support since the first day we met. I also thank my parents for having so much faith in me and for listening to my ideas and challenging them. I thank my sisters, Sarah and Aya, for being my lighthouse. And to my sister Aya for spending hours on editing the form of the thesis. I thank all my colleagues at the International Commission on Missing Persons, especially Samira and Sana for reminding me to take care of myself while writing the thesis. I also thank my manager, Trefor, for proofreading parts of the thesis and always understanding my need to take days off from work, to work on and rest from the thesis. I also deeply thank the Syrian human rights lawyer, Noura Ghazi, who is a colleague and a dear friend, for being the strongest and most inspiring woman I have met. Writing about Syria became more meaningful since I met you. I also thank my friends, especially Lara, Dana, Pallavi, Miri, and Juliana for being the most loving and supportive friends during the process of writing this thesis. Finally, I thank Adriano for being in my life, and for being a source of tremendous love and support, especially at the crucial times. This thesis would not have come to life if it were not for our innumerable conversations. Many more people had an impact on the writing of this thesis, knowingly and unknowingly, so I also express my gratitude to everyone else who was part of the thesis process throughout this year. Re-Imagining Peace Table of Contents Acronyms ....................................................................................................................i List of Figures ............................................................................................................. ii 1. Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Author's Perspective ........................................................................................ 3 1.1.1 Childhood Journey .............................................................................................. 3 1.1.2 The Personal is the Political ................................................................................ 7 1.1.3 Who am I in relation to my topic? ...................................................................... 8 1.2. Research Landscape ...................................................................................... 10 1.2.1 Whole of Syria .................................................................................................... 11 1.2.2 The “Four Towns Agreement” ......................................................................... 16 1.2.3 Research Question ............................................................................................. 18 1.3. Research Methodology ................................................................................... 19 1.3.1. Elicitive Conflict Mapping .................................................................................. 20 1.3.2 Themes of Conflict ............................................................................................. 22 1.3.3 Layers of Conflict ............................................................................................... 26 1.3.4 Levels of Conflict ............................................................................................... 29 1.4. Literature Review .......................................................................................... 31 1.4.1. Peace and Conflict Research ............................................................................. 32 1.4.2. Institutional Documents .................................................................................... 34 2. Conceptual Framework ................................................................................... 36 2.1 Violence and Peace ........................................................................................ 37 2.2 Modernity ..................................................................................................... 39 2.3 Post-modernity .............................................................................................. 41 2.4 Energetic Peace ............................................................................................. 44 2.5 Moral Peace .................................................................................................. 45 2.6 Modern Peace ............................................................................................... 45 2.7 Postmodern Peace(s) ...................................................................................... 46 2.8 Transrational Peaces ..................................................................................... 47 2.8.1. From Greek Tragedy to Modernity ................................................................. 48 2.8.2. Quantum Physics ............................................................................................... 50 2.8.3. The Movement Structures of Conflict .............................................................. 53 2.8.4. Healing and Reconciliation ............................................................................... 58 Re-Imagining Peace 3. Background Information ................................................................................. 61 3.1. The Syrian Conflict ....................................................................................... 62 3.2. Opposition Groups ........................................................................................ 64 3.3. Regional and International Involvement ......................................................... 66 3.4. Peace Talks ................................................................................................... 68 3.5. Episode at a Glance ....................................................................................... 69 3.5.1. What .................................................................................................................... 71 3.5.2. Who ..................................................................................................................... 72 3.5.3. Where .................................................................................................................. 73 3.5.4. How ..................................................................................................................... 78 3.5.5. Why ...................................................................................................................... 81 4. The Themes: Securitization of the "Four Towns Agreement” ........................... 84 4.1 Securitization of the Agreement ..................................................................... 86 4.1.1 Beyond the Episode: The Syrian Security Dystopia ....................................... 91 4.2 Moral Reconciliation ..................................................................................... 95 4.2.1 Beyond the Episode: Syrians in Limbo ............................................................ 98 4.3 Who attacked? Who kidnapped? ................................................................. 100 5. The Layers: Re-imagining Home and Land .................................................... 106 5.1. The Mental-Societal Layer: The Reign of the Mind ....................................... 108 5.1.1. Land Trafficking .............................................................................................. 112 5.2. The Socioemotional-Communal Layer: Internal Homelessness ...................... 115 5.3. The Sexual-Familial Layer: Family Separation ............................................. 122 5.4. The Spiritual-Policitary Layer: Reconnections ............................................. 125 5.4.1. The Pain of the Laws ....................................................................................... 126 5.5. Beyond the Episode ..................................................................................... 131 6. The Levels: The Broken Web of Relationships ............................................... 135 6.1. Top-Leadership Level .................................................................................. 138 6.2. Middle-Range Leadership Level ..................................................................
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