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Participatory Communication for a Culture of Peace in a Post-Conflict Context

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Participatory Communication for a Culture of Peace in a Post-Conflict Context Hanna Sjödin, August, 2020 Participatory communication for a culture of peace in a post- conflict context A study of communication in the aftermath of the Abkhaz- Georgian armed conflict Communication for Development One-year master 15 Credits Spring 2020 Supervisor: Josepha Wessels Degree project, Communication for Development, Hanna Sjödin, August, 2020 Participatory communication for a culture of peace in a post-conflict context Abstract This study aims at researching how a sustainable culture of peace can be built through civic engagement in the Abkhaz-Georgian post conflict context. It does so by learning from locally based NGOs, working for a culture of peace in areas affected by the Abkhaz-Georgian armed conflict which occurred 1993 to 1994. The studied NGOs work for different components within a Culture of Peace such as; women’s rights, peace building, social and economic development, democratic participations and human rights. In order to answer the research question following sub questions are answered: What can we learn from the experiences of the studied organizations’ participatory communication for social change? How has the culture of communication in the Abkhaz-Georgian post conflict context been affecting the participatory communication for social change for the different organizations? The method to collect data to the research has been through a field study in Abkhazia and outside its border on the Georgian side, in the city Zugdidi which is the closest city to the Abkhazian border. Participatory observations and interviews with representatives from the different organizations working for a culture of peace were conducted during two and a half months. The theoretical framework used for the study consists of three theories. The first is the theory of “Culture of Peace”, used to analyze how the studied NGOs are working for a culture of peace. The second is the theory “participatory communication for social change” which is used to analyze the work of the studied organizations in order to know how they work for sustainable civic engagement. Lastly, the theory used to look at how the Abkhaz-Georgian post-conflict context is affecting the communication, is the theory “culture of communication”. The findings of the research present solutions of how to practice participatory communication to build a culture of peace in a post- conflict context. However, the research also discovers how certain public values and views in a post-conflict context can hinder effective work through participatory communication as well as ways of overcoming these challenges. Keywords: Communication for development, participatory communication, social change, civic engagement, culture of peace, peace building, post-conflict, communication culture, Abkhazia, Georgia 2 Degree project, Communication for Development, Hanna Sjödin, August, 2020 Participatory communication for a culture of peace in a post-conflict context Acknowledgements I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all people contributing to this study. The experiences and the people I have met throughout the field study conducted for this research impacted me deeply and taught me lessons for the rest of my life. I am particularly grateful for the warm and lovely hospitality I received throughout my fieldwork; for the assistance, time and warmth people gave me everywhere I arrived. I would like to offer my special thanks to all the respondents of the interviews, for sharing your experiences, wisdom and stories. I would not have been able to do this without them, the host-organizations, my host families, the interpreters, and the people constantly earnestly assisting me on the field. For the sake of anonymity those names will not be mentioned here. My great appreciation also goes to Dr. Minna Lundgren, researcher in sociology at Mid Sweden University who put me in contact with the host-organization from the beginning, and has been an invaluable support throughout the study. I also wish to acknowledge the help provided by Dr. Marta Lindvert, researcher in women’s entrepreneurship, as well as the support from Johanna Arkåsen, former representative for Kvinna till Kvinna in the areas I visited. My sincere appreciation also goes to my supervisor Josepha Wessels, who has helped me to find ways and solutions to conduct this study, as well as providing good encouragement and support. Lastly, I would like to thank Malmö Universitet for giving me the opportunity to study Communication for Development, and the important teaching it have been giving me through this master’s program. 3 Degree project, Communication for Development, Hanna Sjödin, August, 2020 Participatory communication for a culture of peace in a post-conflict context Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................................................................. 2 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................................................... 3 Table of Contents .................................................................................................................................................................. 4 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................. 5 2. Putting the research in the context of previous literature ........................................................................................... 10 3. Theoretical/Conceptual Framework .......................................................................................................................... 14 3.1 Culture of peace ............................................................................................................................................... 14 3.2 Participatory communication for social change adapted to the work of the organizations .............................. 16 3.3 Culture of communication ............................................................................................................................... 20 4. Methodology ............................................................................................................................................................. 25 4.1 Field study ....................................................................................................................................................... 27 4.1.1 Participatory observation ....................................................................................................................... 28 4.1.2 Semi-structured interviews ............................................................................................................................... 29 5. The studied organizations .......................................................................................................................................... 32 6. Analysis .......................................................................................................................................................................... 35 6.1 Applying the organizations’ work to a Culture of Peace ................................................................................. 35 6.2 How the organizations work with participatory communication for social change, and what we can learn from their experiences............................................................................................................................................................. 37 6.2.1 Inform .................................................................................................................................................... 38 6.2.2 Involve ................................................................................................................................................... 42 6.2.3 Collaborate ............................................................................................................................................. 45 6.3 What the culture of communication looks like in the Abkhaz- Georgian post conflict context ....................... 48 6.3.1 Views about family and gender norms ................................................................................................... 48 6.3.2 Political and public views of NGOs ....................................................................................................... 51 6.3.3 Views about ethnicities .......................................................................................................................... 53 6.3.4 Discussing solutions through the theory of culture of communication .................................................. 56 7. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................. 59 8. References ................................................................................................................................................................. 62 Table of figures Figure 1 : Map of Georgia with Abkhazia…………………………………………………………………………………………………....5 Figure 3: Research strategy ………………………………………….…………………………………………………………………..…..9 Figure 3: Table of culture of peace……………………………………………………………………………………………………….... 15 Figure 4: IAP2 Spectrum of Public Participation………………………………….………………………………………………..………19
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