ALTERNATIVE ways of handling conflict in intercultural settings

Inge Vanfraechem

Final ConferenceLeuven, 16-18/11/2015

Seventh Framework ProgrammeGrant Agreement Number: 285368

Outline of the presentation

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• Set-up of ALTERNATIVE• Concepts• Action-research• Comparative research and some results

=> challenge: presenting four years in half an hour

1. Set-up of ALTERNATIVE: a European FP7-project

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Context of ALTERNATIVE

• 7th Framework programme (EC): Collaborative research Project; Work programme topic: Topic SEC-2011.6.5-1 Conflict resolution and mediation [as a rather a-typical topic]

• Duration of the project: 4 years (2012-2016)

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Aims of ALTERNATIVE

• To provide alternative and deepened understandings of ‘security’ and ‘justice’,

• based on empirical evidence of how to handle conflicts in intercultural contexts within democratic societies,

• in order to set up security solutions for citizens and communities,

• which will be carried by the active participation of the citizens involved.

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ALTERNATIVE

• Alternative to securitisation (defining things/everything as a security issue)

• and alternative to criminal justice (through restorative justice approaches to conflict).

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Challenges addressed (1)

• Demographic changes (in Europe): from culturally homogenous societies to multicultural and multi-ethnic communities

• Increase in social conflicts, tensions and perceptions of insecurity

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Challenges addressed (2)

• Search for security and for justice often in competition: how to combine them in intercultural settings?

• A need for interpreting and doing justice beyond the framework of criminal justice and top down security approaches

Partners in the project

(1) Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven), Belgium (Coordinator)(2) Norwegian Social Research (NOVA) (3) European Forum for Restorative Justice (EFRJ), Belgium (4) Institute for the Sociology of Law and Criminology (IRKS), Austria(5) Foresee Research Group (Foresee), Hungary (6) Victimology Society of Serbia (VDS)(7) University of Ulster (UU), UK

Objectives (1)

• To develop a coherent theoretical framework for an alternative understanding of security and justice

• To develop empirically applicable knowledge on conflict and conflict transformation in intercultural settings

• To develop knowledge on RJ models and EU policies

Objectives (2)

• To design, apply and evaluate concrete action models (RJ approaches in practice) in four different intercultural conflict settings, at micro (Vienna), meso (Hungary) and macro-level (Serbia and Northern Ireland)

• To analyse the findings from the four pilot settings in a comparative way and to advance knowledge by integrating empirical results and theoretical insights

2. Concepts

Understandings of culture

• Culture derives not only from kinship groupings (tribe, ethnic group, nation)

• but also from other groupings (profession, occupation, class, region, religion, …).

Culture (K. Avruch)

– Is not homogenous – Is not a thing acting independently from the persons who

carry it– Is not uniformly distributed among members of a group– An individual usually possesses more than one culture– Culture is not just tradition/customs, but always flexible,

situational and responsive– Culture is not timeless, not stable

=> Any complex society is very likely multicultural

Culture and conflict

• Culture is rarely by itself the cause of conflict, but rather the lens through which differences are refracted and conflict pursued

• It is providing individuals with cognitive and affective frameworks for interpreting the behaviour and motives of others

=> Plurality of identities

Intercultural settings

• Settings perceived as intercultural: historically or through recent immigration

• Inter- and intra-ethnic conflicts• If and when issues/conflicts are framed as

‘intercultural’, can they be interpreted in terms of other social variables?

• ALTERNATIVE: ‘conflicts in intercultural settings’ instead of ‘intercultural conflicts’

The concept of security (1)

• Focus on human security• Objective (statistical risks of violence and

abuse) and subjective dimension (subjective experience of trust, control and safety)

• A view from below: from a question of surveillance to a question of mechanisms for social integration and development

The concept of security (2)

• Inspiration by critical security studies - Re-conceptualising ‘security’:– By bringing in and representing the experiences of

the voiceless (see Zwelethemba)– To conceive emancipatory approaches

The concept of justice

• Justice not as a monolithic ideal, but as a pluralistic notion with many dimensions and claims

• Justice as a process and as an outcome• Justice in intercultural settings as an

opportunity (as instrument for social change, not for social control)

… and restorative justice

• RJ: a focus on justice experiences• RJ in terms of its values and principles• Restorative justice approaches in the broad

sense: stretching the understanding of RJ towards restorative practices when dealing with conflict? And does that terminology matter at all?

3. Action research

The action research sites (1)

• Vienna: – Social housing rather recently open to “non-

Austrians” (EU directive 2003) thus conflicts may be framed differently (i.e. as cultural rather than as neighbourhood conflict)

– Cooperation with existing ngo’s in community work and some mediation

– Conflicts on garbage, noise, kids hanging around– AR = implementing workshops on communication

and circles for concrete conflicts

The action research sites (2)

• Hungary:– Village in which Roma and non-Roma live

peacefully together: island of peace– Conflict analysis: politics, religion, newcomers,

Roma (thus different factors at play)– No ngo’s on conflict-handling -> importance of

trust building (culture of silence)– AR = implementing circles for concrete conflicts;

filming; local learning group; restorative classes

The action research sites (3)

• Serbia:– Three villages on the borders– Quantitative research with action character:

conflicts often not addressed as inter-ethnic– Workshops with people from different

backgrounds, dealing with fictitious conflicts and try-out of circle

– Manual to raise awareness

The action research sites (4)

• Northern Ireland:– Catholics-Protestants; drug problems (knee-

capping); and youth gangs– Training on RJ for ex-combatants in prisons– Training at UU for various people and

organisations– David Kennedy (USA) as inspiration

The challenges of action research

• Different roles of researchers: involved and yet distant

• Leaving the field• How to compare these very different settings?

4. Comparative research and some results

Comparative research

• Evaluation grids• Logbook• Nvivo• Qualitative comparison

Some findings (1)

• Intercultural settings: conflicts can be (but not: must be) framed as intercultural, which is an interaction between political actors and the public

• Security: personal safety; freedom of fear; economic security; unsafety feelings towards the police; past and present conflict – complex interconnectedness of problems

Some findings (2)

• Justice:– Criminal justice system– Equality: “When we could all earn the same”– The majority rules– Reciprocity: “If there is anything, I can call him

and he can call me”– Injustice as the capitalist system

Some findings (3)

• Ambivalence of participation:– Strong leadership by public institutions + effective

socio-economic policies = lower participation and higher perceptions of personal safety (Vienna)

– Higher active participation + lower social public provisions = risk of exclusionary practices and securitising dynamics (Civil Guard Hungary)

– Pitfall for restorative justice: empowerment – responsibilisation (neo-liberalism)

Some findings (4)

• Restorative justice = ?– Vienna: neighbourhood mediation– Hungary: community work, workshops, circles– Serbia: working with groups in workshops with

fictive cases– Northern Ireland: community justice approaches

=> Broader than mediation!

RJ approaches

• Most time spent on preparing the ground -> relation to community work?

• Circles have the potential of including the community/communities

• Doing (social) justice through RJ• New model: restoration of communication,

restoration of trust and restoration of cooperation

More info?

• alternativeproject.eu• https://projectalternative.wordpress.com• alternativefilms.euforumrj.org

Various workshops tomorrow (marked by ALTERNATIVE)

inge.vanfraechem@law.kuleuven.be

Thank you for your attention

The contents of this presentation reflect only the author's views and the EU is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.