Local Actors in the Philippine Context By Wendy Kroeker A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Gra

333 Pages·2017·2.15 MB·English

by  Wendy Kroeker

Multidimensional Peacebuilding: Local Actors in the Philippine Context
By
Wendy Kroeker

A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of
The University of Manitoba
in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Peace and Conflict Studies PhD Program
Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Manitoba
Winnipeg

COPYRIGHT © 2018 BY WENDY KROEKER
Abstract
Key Words: Philippines, Mindanao, peacebuilding, peace, local peacebuilders, local actors,
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), dialogue, peace processes, Bangsamoro

This study contributes to the discussion of local actors in a zone of protracted conflict.
Much writing in the area of local actors and peacebuilding has focused on conflict contexts in
which international actors are also present. The contribution of this study has focussed on
uncovering the local peacebuilding resources generated in a multiethnic and protracted conflict
context—the case study focussing on the Philippines and the Bangsamoro struggle in Mindanao.
Intersecting considerations—including a colonial legacy, tri-peoples’ interactions, environmental
issues, and economics—undergird the quest towards naming the peacebuilding assets of local
actors or peacemakers.
Based on qualitative research and the interviews of thirty-six peacebuilders in the region,
this study has traced two levels of peacebuilding work. Attention was given to peacemakers who
have focused their peacebuilding work specifically towards addressing the movement of the
peace processes pertaining to Mindanao as well as intersecting with those who have aligned their
work with efforts towards enhancing peace, or building a culture of peace, in the region with
activities such as education, awareness building, dialogues, or reconciliation processes. This
study takes a collaborative approach grounded in the direct insights of those participating in
peacemaking endeavours.
The research gathered contributes to the examination of the Philippines as a resource for
multidimensional peacebuilding strategies in conflict impacted communities and the significant
contribution of a local community of peacebuilders focussed on collaborative work and
i
intersection with the effected participants in the conflict. Although grounded in a particular
context, it expands the research devoted to understanding the efforts of peacemakers in their own
context and suggested directions for building the strength and resources of the local context. And
importantly, it opens space to peacemaker voices, to those who have struggled for decades to
realize peace in the complex and rich social fabric of Mindanao. This consolidation can have
implications for national policy building and strengthening of relationships to overcome regional
divides.
ii
Contents
Abstract .......................................................................................................................................................... i
Dedication .................................................................................................................................................. viii
Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................................... ix
List of Tables ................................................................................................................................................ xi
Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations ......................................................................................................... xii
Chapter One: Opening the Conversation ...................................................................................................... 1
Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 1
Purpose ..................................................................................................................................................... 2
What will it add? ................................................................................................................................... 3
1. Highlight the Philippine voice. ...................................................................................................... 3
2. Open the range of options. ........................................................................................................... 4
Scope of the study .................................................................................................................................... 7
Significance of the Study ........................................................................................................................... 9
Context of Study ..................................................................................................................................... 12
Overview of the Chapters ....................................................................................................................... 16
Chapter 2: Setting the Context ................................................................................................................... 19
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 19
Historical Survey of the Philippine conflict in Mindanao: Impacts on the Tri-people ............................ 21
Colonial History and Independence ........................................................................................................ 23
Settler practices of colonization ............................................................................................................. 26
Seeking rights and identity: Emergence of Muslim national organizations ........................................... 29
The MNLF and emergence of the MILF ................................................................................................... 30
Peace Processes ...................................................................................................................................... 32
Recent Events .......................................................................................................................................... 33
Summary ................................................................................................................................................. 34
Chapter 3: Seeking out the roots of conflict ............................................................................................... 35
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 35
Colonization ............................................................................................................................................ 36
Definitions and Forms of Colonialism ................................................................................................. 38
Colonial tactics and impacts: The Role of Settlers in pacification ...................................................... 40
Philippine authors on colonial history and legacy .............................................................................. 43
Tan: Tracing the Spanish period and transition to the U.S. ............................................................ 43
iii
Ileto: Philippine revolutionary movements .................................................................................... 46
Abinales: Transition from American colonial rule to Philippine elite state-building ...................... 47
Gonzalez: Gender and colonization ................................................................................................ 48
Post-colonial critique .............................................................................................................................. 50
J.M. Blaut: “The Colonizer’s Model” ................................................................................................... 51
Power and violence ................................................................................................................................. 52
Decolonization and Power .................................................................................................................. 52
Political inequalities and Violence ...................................................................................................... 54
Theoretical Frameworks ..................................................................................................................... 56
Intrastate war and violence ............................................................................................................ 56
Culture, Values, Identity ................................................................................................................. 59
Summary ................................................................................................................................................. 65
Chapter 4: Grounded in the local ................................................................................................................ 67
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 67
Local Actors and Peacebuilding .............................................................................................................. 68
Local Actors ............................................................................................................................................. 69
Defining local actors in peacebuilding ................................................................................................ 69
Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 69
Terminology—local actor ................................................................................................................ 70
Terminology—civil society .............................................................................................................. 73
Lederach’s Levels of Leadership ..................................................................................................... 78
Peacebuilding .......................................................................................................................................... 79
Defining peace and peacebuilding ...................................................................................................... 79
The ranges in defining peace .......................................................................................................... 79
Variations in Defining Peacebuilding .............................................................................................. 86
Challenges for Peacebuilding .................................................................................................................. 93
Roles for local actors ............................................................................................................................... 99
Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 99
Opening: Diversity of local roles ................................................................................................... 100
Lederach: Integrated Framework ................................................................................................. 102
Funk: Privileging the local ............................................................................................................. 103
Rudy and Leguro: Collaborative Development Project - Philippines ............................................ 104
Mac Ginty and Fitznor: Indigenous practices................................................................................ 104
iv
Anderson: the relationship between NGOs and local actors ........................................................ 105
Barnes and Reardon: Power, civil society, and the state .............................................................. 106
Adrian-Paul and Ekiyor: Gender Issues and local contexts ........................................................... 107
Challenges to civil society involvement ........................................................................................ 108
Everyday Resistance and Peacebuilding ............................................................................................... 111
Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 111
Everyday resistance .......................................................................................................................... 113
Everyday Peacebuilding .................................................................................................................... 115
Summary ............................................................................................................................................... 117
Chapter 5: Speaking of the Trauma .......................................................................................................... 119
Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 119
Trauma .................................................................................................................................................. 120
Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 120
Theoretical Frameworks: Trauma, Violence, and Peacebuilding ...................................................... 123
Summary ............................................................................................................................................... 129
Chapter 6: The research and the researcher ............................................................................................ 131
Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 131
Methodology ......................................................................................................................................... 132
Researcher background and identity .................................................................................................... 133
Researcher identity ........................................................................................................................... 134
Case study selection .......................................................................................................................... 135
Data Collection: Sources and Methods ................................................................................................. 136
Lenses for Data Collection .................................................................................................................... 137
Thick Description and Identity .......................................................................................................... 139
Conflict sensitivity approaches ......................................................................................................... 140
(Cross) Culturally sensitive approaches ............................................................................................ 142
Research Questions: Data Collection .................................................................................................... 144
Research Participants ............................................................................................................................ 147
Interviewees as peacebuilders .......................................................................................................... 149
Data Analysis and Approaches .............................................................................................................. 151
Grounded Theory .............................................................................................................................. 152
Rooted in Phenomenology ............................................................................................................... 155
Methodological constraints or problems: Ethics and Limitations ........................................................ 158
v
Summary ............................................................................................................................................... 159
Chapter 7: Findings from the Forest and the Trees .................................................................................. 163
Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 163
Tinikling ................................................................................................................................................. 166
Bamboo style peacebuilding ................................................................................................................. 171
Finding #1: Insiders of both worlds: Peacebuilders as Go-betweens ............................................... 174
Keep looking to the forest: New approaches and enthusiasm ..................................................... 181
Building simultaneously: Horizontal and Vertical Peacebuilding ................................................. 184
We’re doing all-out-peace: Creativity and fun as tools ................................................................ 185
The rest is history: Recognize turning points ................................................................................ 190
Findings #2: We are in the context: Peacebuilders coming alongside ............................................. 195
We are able to do something in this place: Action matters ......................................................... 198
It is attached to me: Everything is peace work ............................................................................. 203
Building a critical mass: Grassroots emphasis .............................................................................. 205
You could get killed: Pushing deliberately and courageously ....................................................... 212
Summary ............................................................................................................................................... 217
Contextual Definitions of Peace ............................................................................................................ 218
Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 218
Findings: Definitions of Peace ........................................................................................................... 222
Well-being: personal towards the collective ................................................................................ 223
Structural dimensions: social towards political ............................................................................ 226
Good relationships: from community to the national .................................................................. 231
Doing Peace: It’s a process ............................................................................................................ 234
Comprehensive: the big picture .................................................................................................... 235
Summary ............................................................................................................................................... 238
Performativity and Dialogue ................................................................................................................. 239
Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 239
Dialogue as Performativity: Straddling Findings and Further research ............................................ 243
Summary ........................................................................................................................................... 247
Chapter 8: Looking ahead ......................................................................................................................... 250
Recommendations ................................................................................................................................ 253
Watch and listen for wisdom and peaceful actions in others .......................................................... 254
Be pragmatic and committed ........................................................................................................... 255
vi
Stay on [the peace and non-violence] track ..................................................................................... 255
Put energy into the technical expertise ............................................................................................ 256
Be clear about the methods used and their purposes...................................................................... 257
Ensure that media is part of the peacemaking and that information is disseminated .................... 258
The negotiation parties need strong engagement with civil society ................................................ 258
Strive for transparency and accountability ....................................................................................... 259
Reveal the role and presence of funders .......................................................................................... 260
Remember the big picture ................................................................................................................ 260
Stake your ground ............................................................................................................................. 261
Listen to the youth ............................................................................................................................ 262
Be faithful .......................................................................................................................................... 263
Future Directions .................................................................................................................................. 266
About the Participants .............................................................................................................................. 269
Bibliography .............................................................................................................................................. 293

vii
Dedication
To Gord, life friend and partner. I am deeply grateful for your support.
To Silvie and Micah. When you read this, know that this is part of your story.
To the friends within these pages. Your words of strength, creativity, and courage are a gift. To
me. To the world.
viii
Acknowledgements
The five-year process that has culminated in this study has been a collaborative effort.
Without the support of many people and organizations I would not have made it to this point.
Thank you to Jessica Senehi, my advisor, for her careful reading and encouragement throughout
the writing and revisions. I am also thankful for the insights and support of my committee
members, Charlotte Enns and Al Fuertes. Thanks to Susan Ducharme for logistical assistance.
Although it is difficult to begin to name those whose support has been invaluable, I want
to acknowledge some significant efforts in this journey.
• Thanks to family members and friends who made meals, noticed my stress, and
offered short walks and coffee breaks.
• Thank you to Lakan and Joji and the Peacebuilders Community who offered a bed
and friendship during my research stint.
• Thanks to the Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute staff who helped me connect with
many of the people within these pages and hosted my preliminary findings party
for the local peacebuilding community.
• Thanks to Darnell and Christina for conversation, airport runs, meals, and a bed
when I went in and out of Manila.
• I am thankful for the receipt of the Janice Filmon Award in Peace Studies for
support towards my research on location in the Philippines.
• Thanks to Karissa and Kriz for their attentive assistance in transcribing some of
the many hours of recorded conversations.
ix