Initial thoughts/directions

Fri Sept 15, 2006

I have finally narrowed down what I would like to research throughout the semester.
I have decided to approach a topic I do not know too much about, as a fresh start will probably help me have a balanced perspective.

In mainstream discourse surrounding various conflicts such as the ongoing conflicts in Chechnya and Sri Lanka, women are often framed as victims, helpless beings subjected to lists of human rights violations and trapped in war zones or refugee camps. While it is true that during war, women suffer considerably, whether in a war zone or as IDPs, it is often forgotten somehow that women have a larger role than 'victim'. Although women are largely shut out of the political processm, this does not mean that women are powerless.

Personally I would like to look at the experiences of the other half of the human race, not to suggest that mainstream discourses about conflict resolution and peace building is solely about males, however actors involved in those precarious political processes tend to be male which colours the whole process a particular way. The mainstream newsmedia is generally fraught with sexist undertones and overtones which has over the years coloured my own mindset a particular way when thinking about these issues.

I plan to study conflict resolution and peace building processes in Chechnya and in Sri Lanka, comparing women's role in these processes and seeing how the actions women have taken and have been permitted to have taken compare with the UN resolution 1325 which promotes a more active role for women in these types of political processes.

My interest to study this topic is mainly derived from:

i) interest in conflict resolution and peace building processes in general- much of my schooling in political science has been focussed in theory and I have never had the chance to underake such a study that looks at these processes in 'real time' so to speak; it will allow me look beyond rational words on paper into the complex, real world processes that have a real impact on peoples' lives.

ii) the two regions i have chosen to study, Sri Lanka and Chechnya, each have a unique story to tell whether it is from a Russian, Chechen, Tamil or Sinhalese perspective as the conflicts are ongoing and other than short blurbs in the paper here and there are largely ignored by the international community. I am not presumptous enough to believe that I can give voice to these stories, because they are not mine however I think it would be very interesting to contrast the way these women are dealing with conflict based on different notions on the acceptable role of women, how the particular conflicts have changed those perceptions etc.

iii) to look at the impact UN resolutions have (or don't have), to examine how particular carefully contructed prescriptions stand up to real life circumstances.