Thesis Review
Anika May, 2008. “Teaching Peace, transforming Conflict? Exploring Participants’ Perceptions of the Impact of informal Peace Education Training in Uganda”. Leiden: African Studies Centre
Annotation: African Studies Collection; 2nd prize of the 2007 ASC/CODESRIA/NiZa Africa Thesis Award
By Virginie Tallio
Centro de Estudos Africanos, ISCTE-IUL
virginie.christine.tallio@iscte.pt
The book “Teaching peace, transforming conflict?” is based on the M.A. thesis of Anika May. It explores the perceptions of the participants to a peace education program in Uganda and in this regard, crosses several disciplines: educational sciences, political sciences, sociology, development studies and ethnic studies. The research being inscribed within the framework of the Participatory Action Research (PAR), its objectives are twofold: to investigate the impact of a peace education program implemented at the Makerere University and to propose innovative solutions for improving the AVP (Alternatives for Violence Program). In that respect, Anika May followed a cohort of participants (before, during and after the training) and participated herself to some AVPs in Kampala and in the provinces.
The book is divided in six chapters. After an introductive chapter, a second one contextualizes the investigation by explaining the violence settings in Uganda. The third one asserts its theoretical background and the following one exposes the methodology chosen by the author. The fifth chapter is the longest one and presents the results of the study, drawn on larges extracts of interviews. It explains first the background in which the AVP took place: the experiences of violence encountered by the participants and their expectations concerning their participation to this program, but as well their opinions regarding the challenges Uganda faces nowadays in order to build a peaceful environment and the possible solutions to overcome them. It explores then more thoroughly the opinions of the participants on the AVP: the advantages drawn from their participation, their criticisms and their suggestions to improve the training such as the concrete impacts on their life. It states also their views on the practical, cultural and personal applicability of the AVP. This chapter being the core of the investigation, it would have benefit from being split in different chapters. The sixth chapter is the conclusive one, developing some tracks to better AVP programs and suggesting research issues. The interviews outlines and a list of recommendations to improve this AVP are grouped under an annexes section.
Several specific points are worthwhile to highlight in order to explain the interest of this book. The author does not only focus on the violence resulting from the different wars tearing apart the country but tackles as well daily violence’s issues, especially domestic violence. The adoption of this gendered viewpoint sheds an unusual light on the issue: it deepens not only the perspective of these peace education programs but as well the investigation itself. Indeed, studies normally deal with only one aspect of violence without embracing all its aspects, which are nevertheless interlinked. Moreover, the study is nurtured with long quotations of interviews which are put into perspective and confronted the one with the other. This gives the reader a broad and complete picture of the diverse opinions concerning the use of this AVP.
Nevertheless, and in order to thicken this representation of a peace education program and its impacts, true or expected, it would have been interesting to learn more about AVP in other countries or on other peace education programs in Uganda. This would have been especially important because, as May underlines, a bias exists in the investigation concerning the kind of public. Indeed, the program was implemented within an University Department. Consequently, the people attending this program are already sensitive to the peace education’s issues. This contextualization would have allowed the reader to understand where this specific peace education program is situated within the cluster of the other programs existing in Uganda.
Likewise, the author explains that she asked to the participants to define what would be an ideal Ugandan society. This research work would have benefit from investigating further what would be a successful peace education program in the view of the participants or a peaceful society.
To sum up, Anika May gives the reader the rare opportunity to hear the voices of the participants to these peace education programs. The richness of the outcomes, the rigor in which the research was led and the numerous quotations taken from the interviews realized by the author contributes significantly to a better understanding of these programs.