Victim-Centred Peacemaking

Victim-Centred Peacemaking is based on unique empirical research into Colombia's Santos-FARC-EP peace process (2012-2016). This book interrogates how, if at all, survivors and victims may assert agency and contribute to formal peacemaking and transitional justice initiatives.

The book argues that victim inclusion meaningfully transformed victim-perpetrator relations and dynamics in Havana, while partially shaping the content of both the Victims' Agreement and Final Agreement. As such, the delegations created paths for empowerment at the individual and, in part, collective levels. However, victim inclusion also precipitated experiences of victim depoliticization, revictimisation, retraumatisation, and instrumentalisation.

Drawing on insights from across academic disciplines, the book proposes an instrumentalisation/empowerment spectrum to analyse the complex impact of victim-centred approaches to peacemaking/transitional justice. It is valuable for both researchers and practitioners.