The Digitalization of Local Peacebuilding – Understandings from the Israeli & Palestinian Conflict
(2021) FKVK02 20211Department of Political Science
- Abstract
- During 2020 and 2021, the world has been experiencing a pandemic. In correlation to social distancing, the digital divide is more visible than ever since such a great part of our lives have moved to platforms like “Zoom”. Peacebuilding organisations has adapted to the changing context, using information and communication technologies (ICTs) within their activities. This thesis investigates local peacebuilding processes in the Israeli and Palestinian conflict during a time of digitalization. The aim with the study is so to contribute to the field of Peace Research with understandings of local peacebuilding within the conflict and in a digital era. The thesis further aims at understanding dimensions of physical security and power balances... (More)
- During 2020 and 2021, the world has been experiencing a pandemic. In correlation to social distancing, the digital divide is more visible than ever since such a great part of our lives have moved to platforms like “Zoom”. Peacebuilding organisations has adapted to the changing context, using information and communication technologies (ICTs) within their activities. This thesis investigates local peacebuilding processes in the Israeli and Palestinian conflict during a time of digitalization. The aim with the study is so to contribute to the field of Peace Research with understandings of local peacebuilding within the conflict and in a digital era. The thesis further aims at understanding dimensions of physical security and power balances within digital local peacebuilding processes. These topics are interconnected with issues of access, structural inequalities, and empowerment, which additionally are the central topics for the thesis. This qualitative case study analyses empirical data from sources such as UN agencies, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and three local organisations through theories on ICTs and local peacebuilding, and with a conceptualisation of ICTs’ affordances borrowed from Science and Technology Studies (STS). A conclusion that is drawn is that
challenges in the “analogue” world spread into the digital sphere and vice versa.
The analysis further concludes that various aspects of violence are hard to overcome within digital alternative spaces. The physical dimensions of both structural and direct violence can however be “avoided” since participants of local peacebuilding can meet digitally instead of taking risks associated with meeting physically. The result additionally suggest that the enabling character of ICTs have made it possible to overcome physical and structural barriers. Power-asymmetries might decrease, and groups may grow stronger from within when mobilizing digitally. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9046938
- author
- Söderpalm, Linn LU
- supervisor
- organization
- alternative title
- A qualitative case-study on ICTs’ affordances within local peacebuilding practices
- course
- FKVK02 20211
- year
- 2021
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- Local Peacebuilding, Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Digital Peacebuilding, ICTs, Physical Security, Empowerment, Digital Divide, Access
- language
- English
- id
- 9046938
- date added to LUP
- 2021-09-27 13:49:06
- date last changed
- 2021-09-27 13:49:06
@misc{9046938,
abstract = {{During 2020 and 2021, the world has been experiencing a pandemic. In correlation to social distancing, the digital divide is more visible than ever since such a great part of our lives have moved to platforms like “Zoom”. Peacebuilding organisations has adapted to the changing context, using information and communication technologies (ICTs) within their activities. This thesis investigates local peacebuilding processes in the Israeli and Palestinian conflict during a time of digitalization. The aim with the study is so to contribute to the field of Peace Research with understandings of local peacebuilding within the conflict and in a digital era. The thesis further aims at understanding dimensions of physical security and power balances within digital local peacebuilding processes. These topics are interconnected with issues of access, structural inequalities, and empowerment, which additionally are the central topics for the thesis. This qualitative case study analyses empirical data from sources such as UN agencies, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and three local organisations through theories on ICTs and local peacebuilding, and with a conceptualisation of ICTs’ affordances borrowed from Science and Technology Studies (STS). A conclusion that is drawn is that
challenges in the “analogue” world spread into the digital sphere and vice versa.
The analysis further concludes that various aspects of violence are hard to overcome within digital alternative spaces. The physical dimensions of both structural and direct violence can however be “avoided” since participants of local peacebuilding can meet digitally instead of taking risks associated with meeting physically. The result additionally suggest that the enabling character of ICTs have made it possible to overcome physical and structural barriers. Power-asymmetries might decrease, and groups may grow stronger from within when mobilizing digitally.}},
author = {{Söderpalm, Linn}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{The Digitalization of Local Peacebuilding – Understandings from the Israeli & Palestinian Conflict}},
year = {{2021}},
}