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Planned Interventions and Piecemeal Peace-making. Karen Trew, Evanthia Lyons, & Christopher Cohrs CResPP, School of Psychology Queen’s University Belfast. Research, policy and practice. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Planned Interventions and Piecemeal Peace-making
Karen Trew, Evanthia Lyons, & Christopher Cohrs
CResPP, School of Psychology
Queen’s University Belfast
Research, policy and practice
There is a fundamental divide existing between scholars, our traditional research providers, and policy makers and practitioners, particularly in the field of conflict prevention and management. (Fitzduff, 2000)
One could draw a contrast with the last round of troubles in Ireland, in 1916-23. Then there were no academic researchers, roaming the country. There were no political scientists making elite studies, no social psychologists carrying out attitude surveys, no anthropologists studying specific communities. But the people muddled through to some kind of settlement, and indeed took considerably less long than this time around. From Irish experience one might deduce that research actually does harm: that the more work is done on a problem, the longer it takes to solve it. (John Whyte , 1983: Is Research on the Northern Ireland problem worthwhile?)
Why research?
Whyte (1983) suggested: Hope of influencing policy aiding future generations of scholars testing general theories
Opportunity for psychology to be involved in peace-building policy and practice
Background
Relevant psychological research in Northern Ireland: 1969-2000
The focus of current psychological research Overview of peace-building achievements
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Background:Historical role of psychologists
Little research before 1980 Interventions
• Workshops (Doob & Foltz, 1973, 1974) – Tavistock approach; American ‘academic tourists’
Focus on children Impact of Integrated schools Impact of community relations holiday projects
(in USA, in camps) Research on social categorisation and
development of social identity
Background: Examples of current psychological research
Social identity and intergroup relations ( e.g. multiple identities; intergroup trust and forgiveness; impact of contact; mediators and moderators of contact; impact and nature of integrated education; development of sectarian identities; meaning and content of socio-political identities, etc)
Coping with conflict (e.g. PTSD; well-being & identity; victims)
Perceptions of conflict and collective memories (e.g. patterns of collective memory; impact of media on knowledge and memory)
Main focus on individual as member of group but little research on societal factors such as community and ideology
Background: Peace-building
Good Friday/Belfast agreement (1998)/ St Andrew’s agreement (2006) Shared government (or shared out)?
Positive changes Legal changes and new institutions have reduced inequalities in
material distribution employment, housing welfare and income Decommissioning and de-militarisation reduced violence
Ongoing but not completed changes A Shared Future (published proposal) Victim policy Bloody Sunday Inquiry to be reported Policing reform
Projects which are not yet priorities Limited focus on truth and justice issues and promoting shared
identity and common symbols
Background:Funding & Reconciliation
Core funding from British and Irish governments
Specific large scale projects and programmes (funded by Ireland Fund and large charitable trusts, British lottery, major peace charities etc
The EU Programme for peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland and the Border Region of Ireland (over €2,000 million) PEACE I 1995 (€536 million)
Capacity-building philosophy - 13,000 projects PEACE II 2000 (€707 million)
Economically and job-creation focused - 5,000 projects PEACE II+ extension of Peace II to 2006 (€120 million)
Focused on reconciliation, and narrower project base – adopted Hamber & Kelly reconciliation definition based on research
PEACE III 2007-2013 (€433 million) Renewed emphasis on reconciliation More strategic approach based on local peace and reconciliation plans Retains strong emphasis on ‘grass roots up’ approach to development
Background: Overview
In Northern Ireland, there have been recent large scale research projects on social psychological dimensions of reconciliation such as trust, forgiveness, contact.
Individual psychologists are involved in training, evaluation and planning peacemaking policy and reconciliation projects
BUT There is little evidence of psychological theory or
explicit accounts of processes of change in the academic and official literature on the peace process or in the accounts of individual projects.
Questions arising from gap between research and practice
Why is there a problem for psychology?
Why has psychological research and theory not been more influential?
How can psychological theory and research become more involved in peace-building?
Question 1: Why is there a problem for psychology?
Useful social psychological ideas and expertise are overlooked by practitioners and policy makers.
By not engaging with real life problems psychologists do not have the opportunity to test their theories in the real world and therefore do not learn.
Hinders attraction of resources and students.
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Question 2: Why has psychological research and theory
not been more influential?
General concern (also in education, health etc) Timing Lack of consensus etc
Specific to psychology Discipline structure: Applied topics low status and journals low impact Evaluation of research by RAE and funders Our theories not easily communicable and applied especially if they are
complex and multi-layered Much psychology essentialist and therefore does not promote a focus
on variable change Unwillingness of social psychologists to engage or move from neutral
scientist etc Northern Ireland
Psychologists’ definitions of problems are narrow: Focus on individual beliefs
Question 3: How can psychological theory and research become more
involved in peace-building?
Employ methodological expertise e.g. contribute to evidence based practice (e.g. random control trials;
development of appropriate outcome measures such as measures of respect etc; use of qualitative approaches in a systematic way)
Develop partnerships and networks to: Strengthen communication channels with practitioners and policy makers Develop partnerships with practitioners to take account of their expertise and
localized knowledge Provide new perspectives to make explicit social psychological processes
contributing to reconciliation such as: Leadership roles and rhetoric (Rosler, 2009) The process of change and its concomitants (Shapiro, 2006) The function of community social norms and of societal beliefs and the
development of an ethos of peace (e.g. Bar-Tal & Halperin , 2009)
You cannot win hearts and minds without understanding social psychological processes of peace building
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