Peace Without Peace? The Colombian Quest to an Everyday Without Violence

Sammanfattning: Environmental peacebuilding (EP) as a field of study has attempted to transition from Western notions of peace and development by including ecological rights. By looking at the case of the Colombian Peace Agreement 2016 that followed EP premises, this thesis aims to question the liberal approaches to human rights and peacebuilding. Specifically, indigenous knowledge shall act as a guideline to broaden the understanding of ecological destruction in natural resource extraction and its impact on society. The analysis is based on two research questions. Namely, how can the incorporation of indigenous perspectives on socio-environmental conflicts provide insights into human rights violations following the ratified Colombian Peace Agreement in 2016? In what ways can poststructuralism enhance our understanding of the diverse ontological perspectives surrounding the 2016 Colombian Peace Agreements and land dispossessions resulting from extractivism? As an objective, this study aims to contribute to the research gap by including multiple perspectives in the research of EP. Scholarship in this context tends to be based on Western knowledge-making, replicating the unequal power structures within scholarly work. In terms of methodology, qualitative content analysis is employed, guided by a research design that incorporates a feminist lens with a focus on marginalised groups. While there is not a specific feminist method, the feminist lens serves as a tool to inform the research question, theoretical framework, and overall research ethic throughout the process. With that in mind, findings and discussion are meant to portray how the indigenous philosophies’ perspectives towards Western liberal approaches can help to understand more comprehensively the ongoing conflict. The dominant discourse promoting economic growth has led to the neglect of marginalised and vulnerable communities, leading to various forms of direct and indirect violence.