Rewriting peace and conflict
The Virtual Encyclopaedia represents a compilation of theory and empirical research in peace and conflict studies from de- and postcolonial approaches, emphasising the contributions from the research network ‘Postcolonial hierarchies in Peace and Conflict Studies.’
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Podcast: Confronting Hierarchies
In the six episodes of the podcast, we question dominant narratives in dialogue with a diversity of voices within and beyond academia and critically engage with theories and research practices. Join us in our journey of confronting hierarchies.
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Video: Peace and Conflict in Latin America.
In this video we invite a group of renowned scholars to discuss the colonial legacies and continuities and their connection to dynamics of peace and violence in the region. We conclude with a brief overview of post and de-colonial debates in Latin America.
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Pluriversality
Myriad other worlds already exist... the pluriverse is not something that needs to be created, but... recognized (Querejazu, 2016, pg. 4, cited in Fitzgerald, 2023).
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Hierarchies
"The colonial matrix of power hierarchically reorganises the world under the historically constructed domination of European, capitalist, military, Christian, patriarchal, white, heterosexual males." (Grosfoguel, 2011, as cited in Sunca, 2024).
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Rewriting peace and conflict

While peace and conflict studies (PACS) is a burgeoning and diverse field, it still grapples with its colonial roots and trajectory. Postcolonial and decolonial approaches have pointed out that research and practice in PACS are based on West-driven epistemological and ontological grounds resulting from colonial structures of power that hinder and often misconstrue our understanding of peace, conflict, and violence and contribute to the reproduction of the structures sustaining different forms of violence. Dominant dynamics of knowledge production in the field have marginalized non-Western and indigenous epistemologies and worldviews. For a critical engagement that contests the effects of colonialism and coloniality of knowledge, scholars have emphasised the need to interrogate and problematise foundational concepts in the different disciplines of Social Sciences. Such endeavour also entails unsettling the patterns of (in)visibility by bringing the voices and different forms of knowledge of traditionally marginalised groups to the centre.

Against this background, the Virtual Encyclopaedia offers an interdisciplinary compilation of crucial theoretical and conceptual debates, empirical analyses, and thorough reflection on methods and knowledge production in the field from de- and postcolonial approaches, with an emphasis on the contributions from the collaborative network Postcolonial Hierarchies in Peace and Conflict. Rather than unambiguous and all-encompassing definitions, the Virtual Encyclopaedia aims to provide readers with the tools to critically approach peace and conflict studies through the lenses of postcolonial theory and decolonial thought.

 

Taking seriously the critique of the coloniality of knowledge and its effects on the field, the Virtual Encyclopedia aims to address epistemic hierarchies and inequalities by promoting the inclusion of multiple and diverse voices (in terms of fields, regions, and career stages) and plural perspectives, as well as fostering cooperative networks.

Entries

Classified into the two clusters ‘Theoretical and conceptual debates’ and ‘Methods, Knowledge production and dissemination’, the entries aim to provide an insight and orientation on key concepts and theories as well as empirical analyses which are important for a post-/decolonial perspective on peace and conflict. Each entry has a number of tags through which it is linked with other entries sharing those tags. The entries are  furthermore interconnected and draw from a diverse body of knowledges in dialogue including different formats such as audio, images or storytelling.

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Living well and quilombo teachings

The concepts of living well, of the indigenous peoples, and of quilombo teachings, born out of the resistance of the black peoples, afford lived experiences and organizations that are distinct from the colonial and capitalist modernity. Both challenge the logic underlying modern exploitation by proposing new forms of coexistence that are based on ecological harmony and collectiveness. This article explores how these two traditions, originating in different contexts, converge by ‘re-signifying’ the relation between human beings and nature and by promoting more just, sustainable, and inclusive societies, all the while keeping alive teachings and practices that transcend the colonial logic.

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Abraham Hand Vargas Mencer & Ana Carolina Pasolini Gonring
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Justice from Below

In the form of a dialogue, this piece explores the diverse and contested meanings of justice, and how these meanings shift when justice is understood as a collective and grassroots endeavour. It foregrounds the role of emotions in shaping concepts of justice, and frames people’s justice as a situated, relational practice that operates across multiple scales, drawing together different knowledges and ways of feeling.

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Tribunal Popular en Siloé: Abelardo Aranda Velasco, José Benito Garzón Montenegro, Ana Marrugo Gómez, María Italia Pérez Rengifo & Sara Vásquez Rodríguez
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Policy Paper: Mobilisation, Resistance and Popular Memory

Scientific scholarship does not always recognize the knowledges produced by activist actors as valid or rigorous, often marginalizing their insights from academic and policy-oriented debates. This exclusion is both problematic and paradoxical, particularly given that those most directly affected by (state) violence in its various manifestations are continuously engaged in critical inquiry —analyzing the conditions that shape their lives and actively developing responses and pathways out of politically complex, often violent, situations. As authors of this policy paper, we are primarily concerned with creating a communication channel to uplift activist and academic voices, thereby contributing to position them at the center in both scientific and practice-oriented discussions. In March 2024, we met virtually with social

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Viviana García Pinzón & Fabricio Rodríguez
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PLURIVERSAL
PEACEBUILDING

COLONIALITY
OF PEACE

TRANSITIONAL
JUSTICE AND
DECOLONISATION

FUTURES-THINKING

DECOLONIAL PEACE &
RESISTANCE THEORY

EPISTEMIC
VIOLENCE

POSTCOLONIAL
AND DECOLONIAL
DIFFERENCES

COLLABORATIVE
RESEARCH

INTERSECTIONALITY

SECURITY.
SPEAKING WITH FANON?

INTER-SUBALTERN
HIERARCHIES

SYSTEMS OF
CONFLICTIVITY

TERRORISM -
THE IRREDEEMABILITY OF A CONCEPT

Participating
institutions

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