Generating Discursive Resources: Storytelling for Positive Peace
Senehi, J. (2021). Generating Discursive Resources: Storytelling for Positive Peace. In: The Palgrave Handbook of Positive Peace. Springer Nature, pp.1149–1167. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0969-5_60.
According to the article, the key to resolving conflicts, (re)building societies, and creating sustainable futures is to foster meaningful human relationships. Stories can help people to understand others’ life experience, see different options when addressing a problem, and to imagine more possibilities. This is what the author calls “generating discursive resources for peacebuilding”. In order for stories to have this potential, they have to promote shared power, mutual recognition, and awareness as well as be conscious of power relations between tellers and listeners and their tellers credibility. To overcome potential teller/ listener divides in storytelling workshops, the author suggests connection through low-risk, but still personal stories (e.g. the story of the person’s name).
Since the article defines human interaction and relationships as the key for sustainable peace, storytelling can become an important backdrop for understanding and interaction to develop. The article meaningfully illustrates the fundamental role of storytelling in creating human relationships and furthering peace, both through keeping communities together (community stories) as well as approaching other communities and creating intercommunal dialogue. The article also highlights the strong vulnerabilities that exposing one’s stories can put onto participants and how peace-building requires a listener that is ready to respect and listen to his counterpart. The importance of a welcoming and non-hierarchical setting for meaningful interaction to occur is therefore important when examining which kinds of storytelling in which settings have the potential to further peace.
Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0969-5_60.