Social Policy in Conflict-Affected Contexts. A Feminist Approach to Violence and Peace in the Basque Country.

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Violence is not over when a ceasefire is declared, or peace agreements signed. Violence assumes multiple forms which can continue in the aftermath of violent conflicts. Thus far my research has generated new knowledge on the complexity of violence by examining women's experiences in armed conflicts, specifically Northern Ireland and the Basque Country. My proposed application of ethnographic research to social policy is based on the premise that actions designed to build peace, and thereby eliminate all forms of violence, are essential constituents of human and societal welfare (Galtung 1996; Mies and Shiva 1993; Porter 2003). My perspective is that social policy goes beyond the provision of services in welfare states, but should focus precisely on the well-being of societies that peacebuilding processes aim to create (Artaraz and Hill 2016; Vargas-Herna'ndez et al. 2011).My cross-national comparative study, using qualitative methodology (including ethnographic and participatory research methods), analyses issues of trust and inequality that affect current democracies, specifically in conflict-affected contexts. Trust in social and political institutions can be fatally flawed if sectors of the society are excluded in peace processes, such as numerous studies in Politics, Anthropology or International Relations have affirmed (eg. Aiken 2013; Bloomfield et al. 2003; Galtung 1996; Hamber 2009; Jarman 2004; Maddison 2015). A major exclusion highlighted by scholars (inter alia Bell and O'Rourke 2007; Cockburn 1998; Enloe 2000; Milner 2010; Porter 2008; Reardon 1993; Ruddick, 1989; Sharoni 2010; Wibben 2016), practitioners and international organisations regards the role of women during and after armed conflicts. Twenty years after the historical UNSC 1325 Resolution (United Nations 2000) on Women, Peace and Security, women still face exclusion from peace processes, resulting in detrimental impacts for the maintenance of international peace and security (United Nations 2019). My research makes an original contribution to international debates in relation to peacebuilding and transitional justice; to an emerging body of comparative research on women, conflict and peace; to Basque studies; and to social policy. My research advances the study of diverse forms of violence that pertain to armed conflict in order to contribute to trust and peaceful conflict transformation and to the well-being of societies. It does so taking into consideration the important role that gender plays in violence dynamics. My academic research is influenced by years working in Spain as a practitioner on the incorporation of gender mainstreaming in policymaking and on gender-based violence prevention. This provides me with a concrete, grounded understanding of social policy and practice that will strengthen the effective impacts of my proposed research. My commitment to influence social policy in building post-conflict societies that eschew violence will be developed during this Fellowship. I will contribute to the improvement of peacebuilding, institutional policies, and civil society initiatives through my placement at a regional governmental body working on the consequences of the Basque armed conflict; exchange meetings with civil society groups that have been part of my PhD project; and organising an international symposium that will bring together scholars and practitioners in order to enhance our collective research on gender, peacebuilding and social policy. Social policy as an area of research will benefit from the dissemination of my research, which I will achieve through the submission of three articles to high impact journal and conference presentations. After consolidating my research findings on study Northern Ireland and the Basque Country, I will advance comparative research for the implementation of social policy in an examination of the Colombian peace-process, a project for which I will apply for funding during the Fellowship.