Principal Investigator
Dr Rachel Kerr
Co-investigators:
Professor James Gow, Dr Denisa Kostovicova, Dr Paul Lowe
Artist-in-residence:
Dr Milena Michalski
Research Institution
King’s College London, London School of Economics and University of the Arts in London
Project Summary
Although billions of pounds internationally have been invested in post-conflict reconciliation projects involving aspects of justice and the creative arts, there has been no study of this phenomenon as such. To date, only isolated studies of particular places and projects have been undertaken – a lack noted by UNDP (Western Balkans), one of the largest funders of such work, which seeks a ‘codified body of knowledge pertaining to reconciliation.’ This interdisciplinary project will innovatively investigate post-conflict reconciliation to address this major gap. It will do so by combining history, conflict resolution methodologies, art and creative practice, and both qualitative and quantitative social sciences in three strands:
- An historical investigation of the concept and practice of reconciliation through time and in different geographical regions.
- Interrogation of both the past use of art and related media in reconciliation initiatives and the potential of artistic practices and artefacts to play a role in inter-communal conflict resolution, remembrance, forgetting and forgiving. This will include critical evaluation of data generated by a series of initiatives using visual media to stimulate inter-ethnic dialogue and reconciliation, particularly with youth groups, run by the Post Conflict Research Centre (PCRC) in Sarajevo.
- Comparative empirical research ‘mapping’ reconciliation activities across countries and over time and analyzing discourses of reconciliation, applying computer-assisted quantitative and qualitative analysis to multi-language large text data from the Balkans. This will include a dedicated analysis of RECOM, a unique, locally-driven NGO initiative for reconciliation involving 5,000 civil society members from all countries and ethnic groups in the region, generating large data in various languages that remains both to be analysed and also its potential to inform understanding of reconciliation developed.
The three strands will be integrated in project workshops and exhibitions, co-authored academic outputs, and policy documents, including the production of a framework document for critical evaluation of reconciliation activity.
The project is a major collaborative effort involving an inter-disciplinary team of investigators (Dr Rachel Kerr and Professor James Gow of the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, Dr Denisa Kostovicova of the Department of Government, London School of Economics, and Dr Paul Lowe of the London College of Communication, University of the Arts London) and non-academic collaborators in its design, production and delivery, commissioning artists in a variety of media to create and develop practices and artifacts.
Impact
This research will be of benefit to three broad constituencies of interest, both academic and practitioner, in both public and private spheres.
Academic: the research will be of vital interest to all engaged in research on the history of ideas and practices relating to war and peace, as well as the history of conflict and peace processes and transitional justice; it will also be of great interest to those interested in fine art and memorialisation, both as practice and as application in social contexts.
Practitioner: the research will be of vital interest to practitioners engaged in post-conflict reconciliation initiatives seeking a ‘codified body of knowledge pertaining to reconciliation’ and an understanding of how critically to evaluate the variety of activities, including, notably, visual arts, funded under the umbrella of reconciliation in the Western Balkans.
The research will benefit NGOs/the third sector working on reconciliation. In particular, parts of the research design have been developed with two NGO initiatives in the Western Balkans (The Post-Conflict Research Centre, Sarajevo, and the Humanitarian Law Center, Belgrade), each of which has also generated substantial bodies of data that have remained un-interrogated and to which they will provide access for the project. Both organizations will work with the project, benefiting from the methodological innovation and critical evaluation of the material generated by the project, and facilitating pathways to impact.
Contact Information
For further information, please email Rachel at Rachel.kerr@kcl.ac.uk or via Twitter: @rachelclarekerr.
