The ‘South’ Speaks Back: Exposing the Ethical Stakes of Dismissing Resilience in Conflict-Affected Contexts

ABSTRACT

This article extends current debates about the worth of resilience-focused interventions in conflict-affected settings and highlights two gaps in the literature: inattention to the role of positionality, and a lack of critical reflection on the binaries drawn between individual needs and structural change. We discuss the complexities of geopolitical conflict, identify the political resistance embedded within resilience, prioritise local voices and needs, problematise Eurocentric knowledge production, and dissolve false dichotomies by honouring the distinctive purposes of different disciplines. We call for new forms of contextualised, epistemic and cognitive global justice that capture the multifaceted, dynamic nature of adversity, resilience, and transformational change.

KEYWORDS:

• Resilience
• resistance
• conflict
• intervention
• humanitarian-development nexus
• cognitive justice

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Our use of the term 'South' is not related to different stages of development, cultural difference or geographical location. We use the term 'South' here to denote epistemological relations of power, to signify the importance of elevating little-heard perspectives, to affirm the views of local actors in conflict-affected zones, and to present an argument that might deviate from dominant trends in Northern scholarship. That said, we are acutely aware that there are some Southern scholars who engaged in critiquing resilience research. We also remain attentive to some concerns around possible negative effects of using the term 'South' on enhancing problematic North-South dichotomies.

2 This study found the following sources of resilience: education, family support, community network and social support and the arts. In addition, political awareness and activity helped individuals to find meaning in their lives and make sense of their struggles. Resources were discussed within the specific cultural context of the Palestinians who lived under occupation practices, political oppression, lack of security and lack of basic human rights.

3 For example, this study showed how participating Palestinian youths had a more collectivist identity and worldview than other youths, as they did not use ‘I’ when speaking of their identity, but rather always used the language of ‘we’.

4 While invoking ‘subjective resilience’, we recognise a potential limitation of the concept: the danger of uncritically valorising local perspectives. We do not seek to romanticise or excessively promote one perspective to the exclusion of others. Rather, we seek to open up fresh conceptual territory for recognising the multiplicity, contingency and complexity of relatively unheard perspectives, given that ‘resilience knowledge is itself a terrain of struggle’ (Walsh-Dilley and Wolford 2015, 177).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Basma Hajir

Basma Hajir is a doctoral researcher at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge. She holds a Master’s of Education, Globalisation and International Development from the University of Cambridge and another Master’s in Education from the University of Birmingham. Basma’s most recent publications are in the international journal of Studies in Philosophy and Education, In Factis Pax: Journal of Peace Education and Social Justice, and Cambridge Educational Research e-Journal.

Sara Clarke-Habibi

Sara Clarke-Habibi holds a PhD in Education from the University of Cambridge. She is an education consultant for the United Nations in the Western Balkans, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Neuchatel, and the 2021 Georg Arnhold Senior Fellow of Education for Sustainable Peace at the Georg Eckert Institute in Germany.

Nomisha Kurian

Nomisha Kurian is a doctoral researcher of child wellbeing in high-poverty settings at the University of Cambridge and a former Henry Fellow at Yale University. Her work on human rights, peace and inclusion in education has most recently been published in the Palgrave Handbook of Citizenship and Education, the Journal of Peace Education, the International Journal of Human Rights and the International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning.