Seminars by Dr. Rosario Figari Layús
Winter semester 2020-2021
Basic concepts and dilemmas in violence, peace and conflict research
Dr. Rosario Figari Layús
Thursdays: 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. (online)
The seminar begins with the analysis and differentiation of the basic concepts of peace and conflict research: violence, conflict, war and peace. At the same time, it examines the various modalities and dynamics of political violence and conflict, as well as the possibilities for promoting lasting peace. This includes an analysis of the causes of conflict, and consideration of the main actors and consequences of armed conflict and peace processes.
Conflict is a component of processes of social change. Peace processes, however, need to be implemented in a constructive and non-violent manner. The protection and guarantee of human rights, social and political participation, gender equality, social cohesion and the rule of law are fundamental to peace processes.
The seminar addresses the following questions: What are the main factors and the political and social conditions that lead to armed conflict? What challenges do societies face in post-conflict contexts? How can crises be prevented, conflicts overcome and peace promoted? What role do governments, victims and perpetrators play in the context of political violence.
The complex link between human rights, development and security
Dr. Rosario Figari Layús
Wednesday: 02:00-04:00 p.m. (online)
The course aims to provide a basic introduction to the topic of international human rights, peacebuilding and security, their conceptual and historical foundations, as well as the main international legal instruments, institutions and challenges. The implementation of security policies can become very controversial when it crashes with the state obligation of guaranteeing fundamental human rights for all citizens. Historically and in many regions of the world, many human rights have been violated in the name of protection and national security. The situation may become even more complicated in the midst of armed conflicts and in post-conflict contexts. The course will offer an overview on these very current dilemmas from a variety of disciplines and perspectives with a strong focus on human rights and peacebuilding challenges in post-conflict societies. Throughout the course, concrete case studies will be analyzed to illustrate the range and – often – contradictions between security policies, human rights and peacebuilding dilemmas in transitional and conflicted societies.
Past violence and the politics of the present from a Latin American perspective
Prof. Dr. Verena Dolle, Dr. Rosario Figari Layús, Prof. Dr. Laly Catalina Peralta, Prof. Dr. Stefan Peters
Latin America is a region convulsed by different types and forms of massive human rights violations (dictatorships, civil wars, etc.). Despite this, it is a region that has managed to design different mechanisms to deal with traumatic pasts and make the transition to democracy and/or peace. Such mechanisms are not limited to institutional and official spaces (truth commissions, criminal trials, reparation measures, etc.); there are also several decentralised mechanisms that emerge from everyday cultural and artistic practices promoted by citizens themselves (literature, cinema, and music). In this respect, Latin America offers a varied repertoire of lessons learned for future international transitional justice processes.
The course reviews different Latin American experiences (past and present) in order to understand and evaluate official and institutional mechanisms, as well as cultural and artistic practices that have been designed to deal with violent pasts. It will involve collaborative international online learning (COIL) modules and will be taught by four professors of different nationalities (Colombian, German and Argentinean) with different disciplinary backgrounds (law, literature, political science, sociology and anthropology). Each professor, according to his/her disciplinary focus, will work closely with a small group of students to analyse a particular case study. The results of the research will be presented during the course in audio-visual format on a project website.
Summer semester 2020
Human Rights, Peacebuilding and Security. A Janus-faced Dilemma? (Seminar in englischer Sprache):
Dr. Rosario Figari Layus
The course aims to provide a basic introduction to the topic of international human rights, peacebuilding and, their conceptual and historical foundations, as well as the main international legal instruments, institutions and challenges. The course will offer a variety of disciplinary perspectives on the subject of human rights and peacebuilding in post-conflict contexts. Throughout the course, concrete case studies will be used to illustrate the range of human rights and peacebuilding problems as well as the utility and legitimacy of the transitional justice paradigm at national and local level The combination of theoretical approaches, socio sciences analysis of concrete case studies will enable students to acquire key skills in the understanding and application of peace and conflict studies and human rights scholarship in the field of social sciences.
Political violence, conflict transformation and human rights in Latin America (taught in Spanish):
Dr. Rosario Figari Layus
The seminar examines the concepts of political violence, conflict transformation and human rights in post-authoritarian and conflict/post-conflict contexts in various Latin American countries (Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Central America). The incorporation and enforcement of international human rights standards as well as the construction of democratic, inclusive and violence-free societies remains a major challenge in the region. The use of violence as a mechanism of control and domination or as an instrument of resistance has different meanings, consequences and objectives depending on who and in what contexts it is used and who is targeted. At the same time, the absence of violence does not mean the absence of conflict. Thus, the concept of peace can take on different meanings depending on the context and the agent, and processes of democratisation and peacebuilding are presented as conflictive and dynamic processes that can lead to important advances, but also to nuances and setbacks. Conflict transformation processes are characterised by the participation of different actors - perpetrators, governments, victims, civil society - and are marked and affected by the dominant power relations and socio-political conditions existing both at the time of the political transition and afterwards.
Winter semester 2019-2020
Human rights policies and discourses during and after armed conflict
Dr. Rosario Figari Layus
The seminar analyses human rights policies and narratives during and after armed conflicts around the world. The new government's human rights policy and strategies to address political violence are related to how the respective violence is classified and perceived and what actors and interests are at play.
Depending on the context, governmental and non-governmental measures and human rights initiatives can play an important role. On the one hand, transitional justice instruments are intended to establish justice and compensation for victims. On the other, accused perpetrators should be reintegrated into society with the help of amnesties and reintegration programmes. The strengthening of state institutions in regions where they have functioned only weakly or inefficiently because of the conflict is seen as a fundamental factor on the road to peace. In this sense, the implementation of the peace policy poses many political and legal challenges. In the seminar, these complex relationships are analysed through case studies.
Truth and justice in Latin America: dilemmas and advances in the field of transitional justice (taught in Spanish):
Dr. Rosario Figari Layus
The seminar analyses and compares the role of state justice policies in confronting a past of systematic human rights violations in different Latin American countries. The seminar will explore the different conceptual baggage of so-called transitional justice, looking at its different modalities of application in different cases such as the Southern Cone and Central America. The concept of transitional justice has been widely used since the 1980s and 1990s, to refer to the implementation of a set of formal and informal measures that governments and societies apply to deal with a legacy of massive human rights violations. These measures are usually implemented in post-dictatorial or post-conflict transitional periods. Depending on which of these scenarios we are referring to, the role of these mechanisms may be very different. Transitional justice mechanisms encompass a wide range of judicial and non-judicial, state and non-state instruments, ranging from truth commissions, commissions of enquiry into the past, the implementation of criminal trials, amnesties, the establishment of reparation programmes or policies for victims, demobilisation processes for armed groups, the creation of memorial sites and museums, purges of former officials from official positions, and public apologies. The seminar proposes a comparative analysis of different Latin American cases in which transitional justice policies have been implemented. This approach will allow us to evaluate the possibilities that the use of these instruments of so-called "transitional justice" can offer, as well as what other aspects they render invisible or even hinder. Although the political realities of the four countries analysed in the seminar are very different, there are also common characteristics in terms of the use of political violence, which is fundamental to understanding subsequent developments.