Talking peace: Young women's agency and peacemaking in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Abstract

As violence reignites in Israel and Palestine, prospects of attaining a sustainable peace agreement appear bleak. Youth engaging in collaborative peacemaking face increasing obstacles to demonstrate their agency. Through critical feminist and phenomenological analyses, this thesis examines the agency of youth in Creativity for Peace (CfP) through an investigation of their capacity to act for peace.

CfP is a charity facilitating dialogue between young Israeli and Palestinian women in a bid to grow the next generation of peacemaking leaders in the region, through providing leadership training and support. This research aims to develop gender-specific analysis of inter-group peacemaking in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, distinguishing how the young women of CfP practice their agency in navigating obstacles they encounter. Recommendations will then be offered for how CfP can improve its initiative to better address the challenges the participants face.

This investigation places emphasis on how the dynamics of the girls’ age and gender hinder or assist them in practising their agency. Drawing on qualitative data gathered from interviews, focus groups and participant observation, the challenges the girls encounter and the ways these are negotiated are explored.

The research findings suggest the dominant challenges to participation in peacemaking are structural challenges; the societal stigma towards peacemaking, the internal conflict the young women experience and the emotional commitment required to sustain their engagement. The means by which the girls negotiate these challenges largely comes back to practising non-violent communication learnt with CfP, and creating and sustaining supportive personal networks within the CfP community.

This study challenges the representation of young women as passive victims of this conflict and examines how they can be powerful actors for peace in the Middle East. Findings may be applicable to similar dialogue-based organisations working with young Israelis and Palestinians in peacemaking. Best practice may then be shared.