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Project

A journey from violent conflict to peace – Taking inclusive restorative justice models aboard. A focus on Colombia’s transitional justice framework

The PhD project aims at providing an interdisciplinary investigation of inclusive restorative justice and its contributions to wider peace-making in transition contexts from violent conflict (or an oppressive regime) to peace (and rule of law-based democracy). Following the often referenced, yet under-researched rationale for the justice and peace nexus, the research will, on the one hand, consider the past, that is the disproportionate impact of conflict-related mass atrocities on marginalized communities and specific vulnerable groups therein. On the other hand, it will have a forward-looking focus considering their role in the wider peace-making process. At its core is the question of how an inclusive restorative justice model can contribute to long-term positive peace by deliberately engaging marginalized communities in the design and implementation of transformative measures. Anchored in the field of transitional justice, the research will thus zero in on the modalities of implementation of restorative justice models in peace-seeking contexts, with an emphasis on inclusion.  A theoretical part will assess the state of the art of restorative justice research in the field of criminology and relevant other disciplines and analyse levels of inclusion of existing restorative justice models. It will also elaborate on normative substance and core concepts. A complementary empirical part will investigate the different transition contexts and how restorative justice figured or figures in them. It will also incorporate a qualitative case study of Colombia which will look at the implications of applied restorative justice in a transition context, with a focus on the structurally marginalized, vulnerable groups in the ongoing peace-making and -consolidation attempts in the country. The final objective of the project is to carve out an inclusive restorative justice model for transformative peace-building processes, as well as to provide for research recommendations regarding issues of concern for inclusive restorative justice in transition contexts.

Date:19 Jan 2021 →  Today
Keywords:restorative justice, transitional justice, positive peace, inclusion, Colombia
Disciplines:Criminology not elsewhere classified
Project type:PhD project