Date of Award

2023

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Education

Abstract

The current study focuses on the role of peacebuilding in the higher education sector of Pakistan’s conflict-affected region of Balochistan. The research is an extended case study of the University of Balochistan. It addresses how the institution’s peacebuilding agency has evolved in the face of ethnic conflict and the neoliberal reforms pursued by the state during the past two decades. The research is based on the study of policy documents, official reports, and individual and focus group interviews with various educational actors.

The peacebuilding agency of the institution is theorized according to the 4Rs (Novelli et al., 2019; Novelli et al., 2017). The analytical frame of the 4Rs attempts to address the structural causes of conflict and theorize the role of education in relation to its role contributing to those causes. The analytical lens incorporates conflict's cultural, political, economic, and social dimensions and proposes a holistic strategy for building sustainable peace. The research takes a normative stance of social transformation, rooted in the philosophy of Fraser (2005, 2020), by not merely focusing on ‘fixing’ the social outcomes through some affirmative action but also transforming the structural causes that give rise to social inequalities in the first place. Thus, the university’s peacebuilding agency is measured through its ability to promote representation, redistribution, recognition, and reconciliation within its institution and the larger society.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

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