Thesis title:
Insurgent feminism: women’s agency and feminist politics in the context of transition from war to peace in Colombia
Abstract:
Extant literature on gender, conflict and peace has consistently pointed to the (re)-marginalisation and de-politicisation of female ex-combatants across diverse post-conflict spaces and temporalities. In direct opposition to this trend, however, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) announced it was formulating its own conception of feminism, named insurgent feminism, as it concluded peace talks with the government and transitioned into a political party in 2016. This thesis explores the factors that influenced the emergence of insurgent feminism, to argue that the 2012-2016 peace process was pivotal in constituting feminist politics within the FARC. Furthermore, the thesis examines the distinctive discourses and practices of insurgent feminism, in particular the different modes of political agency that emerge among female ex-combatants at the intersection of insurgent feminism and the dominant paradigm of liberal peace and politics in post-conflict Colombia. In doing so, this project seeks to add to a small but much needed body of literature that goes beyond narrow, de-politicising conceptions of women as victims of the (post)-conflict, to deepen understandings of gendered agency and feminist politics in the aftermath of war.
Social Media:
Twitter – https://twitter.com/jennybates7
First supervisor:
Vivienne Jabri
Pathway:
10 – International Development, Conflict & Human Security
Cohort:
2018-19