Encountering the unknown other

In a world where societies are becoming increasingly divided, and conflict prolonged and protracted, initiatives have emerged that focus on involving youth in the peacebuilding processes. Can psychologists' work here help to move from a culture of conflict to a culture of peace? Might we facilitate this through education scenarios that foster critical thinking, and challenge dominant narratives that perpetuate divisions/conflicts?

Research in post-conflict settings has shown that societal sectors are exposed to different narratives that can then orient their emotions, beliefs, and actions towards conflict, sometimes, evidencing gaps and apparently irreconcilable differences. Psychology can help to expand societal narratives in order to take into account the multiple realities experienced by 'unknown others'.

One such example can be found in Colombia, a country experiencing internal armed conflict for more than six decades. There, we have explored the potential of the encounter between different societal actors through the consolidation of educational settings as part of university curriculums. 

We have worked with urban youth, the internally displaced population and a rural community of former guerrilla members (also known as peace signatories) who share their everyday lives, experiences and beliefs through informal scenarios and activities.

This work has been done for the past five years as part of our contribution as academics to the peacebuilding efforts in Colombia, where division between the urban and rural settings is one of the main challenges.

The case of Colombia

The signature and implementation of the August 2016 peace agreement with the oldest guerrilla group in Latin America, the Revolutionary Armed Forces, People's Army (FARC-EP), faced and continues to face multiple challenges. The final results from the plebiscite (also known as referendum) aiming to ratify the peace agreement, showed the extent of the country's division, which was particularly salient between urban and rural communities. 

Most of the urban citizens voted against it, while rural dwellers, heavily affected by the internal armed conflict, and geographically located in the peripheries, voted in favour. This, as Eleonora Dávalos and colleagues in 2018 pointed out, is a result of the visible support of the opposition to voting against the agreement based on conflict-related narratives. After multiple protests by peace agreement supporters and discussions with opposing parties, a modified peace agreement was eventually signed in November 2016.

A similar situation was evidenced in the past presidential elections in Colombia. Urban areas, with their distinct economic, social, and political dynamics, often leaned towards candidates advocating for urban-centric policies and rightist politicians, while rural regions, mostly affected by the armed conflict and structural violence, tended to support candidates who placed emphasis on security concerns, rural development and were more left wing.

In both cases, as examined by political scientist Shauna Gillooly in 2022, this rural-urban division revealed the persistent complexities of Colombia's socio-political landscape, where historical and regional disparities continue to influence voting patterns and exacerbate polarisation. This mirrored the deep-seated divisions that emerged during the peace referendum, which would probably persist over time. 

So, how can we rebuild a broken social fabric and promote societal reconciliation?  

Overcoming deep-seated divisions like those in Colombia requires innovative approaches. One such approach is the creation of transformative social spaces that foster encounters between historically, politically and geographically distant social groups and sectors of society. These spaces can serve as a bridge between different groups by promoting a safe space for critical dialogue, sharing experiences and encountering new representations of the self and the others.

These types of spaces were initially implemented in the healthcare field, with marginalised individuals coming together to discuss and gain insights of issues affecting their overall well-being, and exploring practical ways to address underlying causes. The aim of these spaces was to foster dialogues that promote critical thinking and eventually social change.

In the case of peacebuilding efforts, emerging research has shown the potential of transformative spaces to bring together different worldviews among social groups and by sharing them, tackling stigma, re-presenting the other and consolidating a culture of peace. As early career Colombian researchers, we explore the potential of such spaces for peacebuilding, sustainable peace and reconciliation, by analysing the encounter between urban youth and conflict-affected social groups.

A shared fabric

'Unión de Costureros' is a collective created by an internally displaced woman living in Bogota, aimed at enhancing the well-being of victims of the armed conflict and fostering meaningful interactions between them and members of their host community. In a study conducted in 2019, one of us (Mónica) explores the involvement of urban youth in this collective as they join this initiative as part of their undergraduate social psychology training. 

The study investigates the way in which participation in this collective enables social change and peacebuilding efforts among of victims of the armed conflict – working together with urban undergraduate students to sew personal and collective stories in large pieces of fabrics.

Results point out that members of the host community (urban youth) redefined their perceptions of internally displaced persons (IDPs), effectively transforming stigmatising representations of displacement, armed conflict, and victimhood. 

This in turn reduced a sense of marginalisation by participating victims. In addition, urban youth began to recognise themselves as indirectly affected by the armed conflict through structural and symbolic violence. This realisation prompted them to acknowledge themselves as agents of social change, committed to maintaining peacebuilding efforts and supporting conflict-affected actors within and beyond this setting.

The space provided a platform for encounter and interaction between IDPs and urban youth. Working together on a shared fabric with a common objective – denouncing structural and symbolic violence – in an environment where everyone was regarded as equals, facilitated the reduction of prejudice, and enabled both groups to transform their perceptions of each other and themselves. They began to identify commonalities rather than differences, fostering a sense of unity and shared purpose.

By fostering a broader and shared collective memory and new emotional orientations on Colombia's armed conflict, urban youth established meaningful relations with IDPs and collaborated in their mutual pursuit of improved conditions for all Colombians. This collaborative effort already demonstrated signs of social change by bridging the division that had previously hindered joint action.

Territorial spaces

Another example of a creative approach to peacebuilding comes from one of the Territorial Spaces for Training and Reincorporation (ETCRs in Spanish). These are rural communities created for and by former guerrilla members in rural areas to support their reincorporation process.

The historical presence of the FARC-EP in the south of Colombia limited the access of urban populations to this area for more than 50 years and sustained high levels of stigma and marginalisation of their inhabitants. However, in 2018, students from a private, urban university participated in a service-learning course in one of the ETCRs, located in La Montañita, Caquetá, as part of their social psychological training. 

This education initiative aims to combine disciplinary training and everyday encounters with former combatants as a route towards peacebuilding and reconciliation, bridging historical and geographically distant social groups.

Since 2019, one of the authors (Laura) and Sandra Jovchelovitch, from the London School of Economics, have explored the potential of this education initiative for promoting reconciliation at the societal level and supporting sustainable peace. 

The study focuses on the psychosocial processes underpinning this encounter – the transformation of socially shared meanings and identities as students leave their known environment and come to meet, spend time, and share space and common activities with former guerrilla members.

Results point towards the importance of reconciliation as a process rather than an outcome, and the importance of everyday encounters to challenge stigma and negative representations of the other. By sharing households and everyday activities, both groups were able to share stories, ask questions and critically examine each other's position regarding peace and conflict. 

For students, this was an opportunity to question traditional representations of conflict and re-present former combatants as human beings committed to peace. They moved from being disengaged from the country's realities to becoming agents of peace. As urban youth engaged in conversations with former guerrilla members, their ideas about peace also evolved. 

Representations of peace and reconciliation changed from an external phenomenon related to the decrease of conflict, and a process between victims and perpetrators, to a collective endeavour which requires participation and dialogue of civil society in general. In this way, reconciliation is considered as a complex and broader societal effort that involves self-reflection and the recognition of the unknown other.

Nevertheless, as students return to the city after their visit, the new representations about former combatants and themselves are challenged by their families and social groups related to mainstream society. This occurs in a context of protracted conflict, in which high levels of exclusion and marginalisation of alternative sectors, especially among rural and urban areas have fuelled conflict for decades. 

Despite this tension, alternative representations enter the public sphere and are now part of the discussions in different social settings, which can slowly tackle the stigma and rejection of peacebuilding efforts.

A promising pathway

While many studies have talked about the power of friendships between different groups in fostering empathy, these two cases have shown how safe spaces can also be created with people who may not be friends or alike. Spending time with those from opposing groups or different societal sectors can change attitudes towards them, highlighting the importance of prolonged interactions and moving beyond the traditional victim-perpetrator dyad for conflict resolution and peacebuilding.

From a political psychology perspective, encounters between different sectors offer a promising pathway for healing a divided society. For divisive times, perhaps we need one transformative social safe space at a time.

Mónica González Gort is a psychologist by degree and has an MSc. in Social and Cultural Psychology from the LSE. She has worked on various projects in the psychosocial phenomena field, mostly related to armed conflict, forced displacement and migration in Colombia. Her areas of interest are community mental health,  critical social research and peacebuilding, as well as participatory approaches to work with different groups and communities.

Laura Fonseca is a social and community psychologist, Assistant Professor at Universidad de La Sabana, Colombia, and a PhD candidate at the London School of Economics and Political Science, UK. She is interested in understanding the psychosocial dynamics underpinning reconciliation and peacebuilding efforts in conflict-affected societies.