An Inclusive Peace Agreement and Sustainable Peace: is it possible? The case of Women in Colombia Photo: Graffiti wall in Cartagena - taken at TuCultura tour, with a sy An Inclusive Peace Agreement and Sustainable Peace Is it possible ? The case of rural women in Cartagena, Colombia Master thesis Conflicts, Territories and Identities December, 5Th 2017 Anne M.S. van de Donk Student number: s4162803 Supervisor: Dr. W.M. (Willemijn) Verkoren Second reader: Dr. Ir. M. (Mathijs) van Leeuwen Human Geography Master: Conflict, Identities and Territories Nijmegen School of Management, Radboud University Nijmegen - 1 - An Inclusive Peace Agreement and Sustainable Peace: is it possible? The case of Women in Colombia - 2 - An Inclusive Peace Agreement and Sustainable Peace: is it possible? The case of Women in Colombia Preface & Acknowledgements This master thesis has been written as a final part of the specialization programme ‘Conflicts, Territories and Identities’ of the Human Geography at Radboud University Nijmegen. The fact that you are now holding/reading the final version of my master thesis shows that I am able to overcome struggles like my ridiculously short attention span, a rehabilitation at the Sint Maarten Clinic for 4 months and three months of fieldwork in Colombia on my own. It showed me that if you are passionate enough you can reach anything. Writing about women’s inclusion has been something I wanted to do since the start of my bachelor in sociology at Radboud University, and I am so glad that it was possible to make it my final work. My friends and family know me as someone who is not shy of a discussion which is related to gender issues, and it would be amazing to build a future where this would be my work. This thesis is a good step in that direction. But this step wouldn’t be as good without the help of some wonderful people. First of all, I would like to thank my two lovely supervisors Mrs. Dr. Willemijn Verkoren and Mrs. Dr. Haley Swedlund, who were understanding and always where there to give guidance and advice. Haley has had (a lot of) patience while I was changing subjects from week to week. After my fieldwork, Haley went on maternity leave and left me in great hands, the ones of Willemijn Verkoren. From then on, Willemijn helped me to translate my passion and enthusiasm for the subject into a master thesis. For which I am very thankful. Another thank you goes to all the women who have helped me through interviews, discussions, many cooking sessions with coconut and Sunday nights of Zumba at Plaza de Trinidad. For three months they made my time wonderful in Colombia. In addition, thanks to my ‘research assistant’ as she will put on her resume when applying for her sociology bachelor in Cartagena. Maria Fernandez has helped me a lot with giving directions, where to take buses, she was responsible for some of the interviews transcriptions and taught me a lot on how to approach women who work for female victims. She also brought me in contact with her aunt who has given the ‘el Salado testimony’ which you can read in the results section. A sure thing is that you will get goose-bumps when reading her story. Maria Fernandez was a bright student but because of a lack of money, she had to drop out of school. With the money she earned helping me she was able to take English lessons which were valuable when searching for scholarships. I wish her all the best. The acknowledgments would not be complete without giving special thanks to Sarah Dresden of the academic writing centre. Thank you, Sarah, for all our conversations that made sure that my thesis was written according to a funnel model instead of a watering can model. Thank you so much for your patience and the ability to change my passionate rambling to something you can call a master’s thesis. Writing a thesis is hard, it is challenging and frustrating even without physical limitations. So last but not least, I want to thank David, my family, and friends who have supported me throughout this long and sometimes painful process. Special thanks to Naomi Kervel for proofreading some of the chapters. And of course, Julían for checking my Spanish summary! And David, who was even willing to visit me in Colombia during my fieldwork, who always supported me and lifted my spirits if I wanted to throw my laptop out of the window. Thanks to my parents for always supporting me throughout my studies and proofreading my essays, papers and finally my master thesis. Anne M.S. van de Donk Tilburg, 5 December 2017 I hope you enjoy reading this master thesis as much as I enjoyed conducting my field research in Colombia i An Inclusive Peace Agreement and Sustainable Peace: is it possible? The case of Women in Colombia ii An Inclusive Peace Agreement and Sustainable Peace: is it possible? The case of Women in Colombia Table of contents Preface & Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................................... i Table of contents ....................................................................................................................................................................... iii Resumen .................................................................................................................................................................................... vi Summary ................................................................................................................................................................................. viii List of abbreviations & Spanish words ....................................................................................................................................... x Chapter One: Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. - 1 - 1.1 What is known? ......................................................................................................................................................... - 2 - 1.2 Research purpose and questions .................................................................................................................................. - 4 - 1.3 Scientific and societal relevance .................................................................................................................................. - 4 - 1.3.1 Scientific relevance.................................................................................................................................... - 4 - 1.3.2 Societal relevance ..................................................................................................................................... - 5 - 1.4 Outline of this thesis .................................................................................................................................................... - 6 - Chapter Two: Theoretical background .............................................................................................................................. - 7 - 2.1 Peace agreements: Theories and concepts ................................................................................................................ - 7 - 2.1.1 So -how- does it work? .............................................................................................................................. - 7 - 2.1.2 This thesis: Instrumental perspective ........................................................................................................ - 9 - 2.2 Sustainable peace ....................................................................................................................................................... - 9 - 2.2.1 Challenges for reaching sustainable peace through a peace agreement ................................................. - 10 - 2.3 Inclusive peacebuilding ........................................................................................................................................... - 13 - 2.3.1 Challenges of inclusive peacebuilding .................................................................................................... - 14 - 2.4 Building blocks for sustainable peace ...................................................................................................................... - 16 - 2.4.1 The ‘Women-and-Peace’ Pillar ............................................................................................................... - 16 - 2.4.2 Women inclusion in peace processes ....................................................................................................... - 17 - 2.4.3 Critique on the ‘Women-and-Peace’ pillar ............................................................................................. - 19 - 2.5 Summary & Research Questions ............................................................................................................................ - 21 - 2.5.1 Summary .................................................................................................................................................. - 21 - 2.5.2 Research questions .................................................................................................................................. - 22 - Chapter 3: Research methodology .................................................................................................................................... - 25 - 3.1 Explanation