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Friedensakademie Rheinland-Pfalz, RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau

Kaufhausgasse 9, 76829 Landau in der Pfalz

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friedensakademie-blog@rptu.de

 

 

WHY A PEACE ACADEMY BLOG
The Peace Academy Blog combines research and practiconers' perspective on topics of civil conflict resolution and crisis prevention. Thereby, it contributes specifically to strengthening dialogues on peace studies and peace policy between academia, practice, civil society and politics.

Call for Contributions

Soziale Bewegungen: Neue Dynamiken zwischen Translokalität, Vereinnahmung und Radikalität

Latest english contributions

"Believe people who tell you about their experiences of violence!" - An interview with AFK Women's Representative Madita Standke-Erdmann on violence and abuse of power in German-language peace and conflict studies

By Majbrit Hüttenhein - In the wake of the #MeToo movement, cases of violence and abuse of power have gained new publicity since 2017. The problem does not stop in the film industry, but is also reproduced in academic structures in particular. It is precisely in situations in which power hierarchies exist between people that this relationship is repeatedly exploited. The fact that violence and abuse of power also occur and remain concealed in German-language peace and conflict research is all the more serious, as this field also conducts research into the dismantling of structures of violence and social justice!

How Protests against MONUSCO shape the Discourse around Peacekeeping in the DR Congo

By Lucas Steinbach - Peacekeeping Operations are considered one of the most effective tools available to the UN to support a member state on its path from conflict to peace. Yet, their effectiveness does not go unquestioned: In the past years, protests against the peacekeeping operation in the DR Congo have spiraled in the eastern provinces of the country. This has strongly influenced the discourse around the UN peacekeeping operation MONUSCO and led to the decision of withdrawing the mission early by the end of 2024. This article sheds light on this dynamic and contextualizes the impact of local resistance on international peacebuilding efforts in the country.

The socio-economic transition of Somali pastoral communities in Northeastern Kenya

By Amina Aden Maalim - Somali Pastoral populations of Northeastern Kenya have lived for centuries in the semi-arid and arid regions of Northeastern Kenya. These groups have traditionally led a nomadic lifestyle, depending on their herds of cattle, sheep, goats, and camels for economic well-being and food. Nonetheless, these settlements have undergone a substantial socioeconomic shift in recent decades due to a complex interaction of variables including market forces, government regulations, climate change, and environmental degradation. The numerous facets of this continuous change will be examined in this essay, along with its effects on the livelihoods and lives of the Somali pastoralists in Northeastern Kenya

Moving Peace Education - Learning in polarizing conflicts as a visiting scholar in the USA

By Annalena Groppe - Understandings of peace and corresponding approaches to peace education are shaped by their context's conflicts and violence (Salomon 2002). Moving between places allows one to see specifics more clearly. As my dissertation project explores peace education in polarizing conflicts over democracy in Germany, this text reflects on learning and facilitation in a peace studies department in Virginia, USA, the societal context from which the concept of polarization originates. Showing the didactical relevance of those conflicts, I explore the tension and complementarity between elicitve/process- and actor-oriented, critical/ self-reflective, and trauma-sensitive approaches to Peace Education.

Latest contributions

"Believe people who tell you about their experiences of violence!" - An interview with AFK Women's Representative Madita Standke-Erdmann on violence and abuse of power in German-language peace and conflict studies

By Majbrit Hüttenhein - In the wake of the #MeToo movement, cases of violence and abuse of power have gained new publicity since 2017. The problem does not stop in the film industry, but is also reproduced in academic structures in particular. It is precisely in situations in which power hierarchies exist between people that this relationship is repeatedly exploited. The fact that violence and abuse of power also occur and remain concealed in German-language peace and conflict research is all the more serious, as this field also conducts research into the dismantling of structures of violence and social justice!

Perspektiven auf (Post)Kolonialismus und Forschung im Globalen Süden

Von Christopher Rohles - Fortbestehende Machtverhältnisse der Kolonialzeit sind auch heute noch für globale Abhängigkeitsbeziehungen und Marginalisierung mitverantwortlich, die sich auf Wissenschaft und Forschung auswirken. Daraus entwickeln sich, oftmals unbewusste, latente Rassismen. Um Menschen aus dem Globalen Süden und deren Perspektiven in Wissenschaft und Forschung zu stärken, muss das Bewusstsein für Postkolonialismus geschärft werden und weite Teile des Globalen Nordens müssen proaktiv dazu bereit sein, ihre Privilegien kritisch zu hinterfragen und aufzugeben.

How Protests against MONUSCO shape the Discourse around Peacekeeping in the DR Congo

By Lucas Steinbach - Peacekeeping Operations are considered one of the most effective tools available to the UN to support a member state on its path from conflict to peace. Yet, their effectiveness does not go unquestioned: In the past years, protests against the peacekeeping operation in the DR Congo have spiraled in the eastern provinces of the country. This has strongly influenced the discourse around the UN peacekeeping operation MONUSCO and led to the decision of withdrawing the mission early by the end of 2024. This article sheds light on this dynamic and contextualizes the impact of local resistance on international peacebuilding efforts in the country.

The socio-economic transition of Somali pastoral communities in Northeastern Kenya

By Amina Aden Maalim - Somali Pastoral populations of Northeastern Kenya have lived for centuries in the semi-arid and arid regions of Northeastern Kenya. These groups have traditionally led a nomadic lifestyle, depending on their herds of cattle, sheep, goats, and camels for economic well-being and food. Nonetheless, these settlements have undergone a substantial socioeconomic shift in recent decades due to a complex interaction of variables including market forces, government regulations, climate change, and environmental degradation. The numerous facets of this continuous change will be examined in this essay, along with its effects on the livelihoods and lives of the Somali pastoralists in Northeastern Kenya