Higher education as a catalyst of peacebuilding in violence and conflict-affected contexts: the case of Afghanistan

Higher education peacebuilding in conflict-affected societies: beyond the good/bad binary

“…In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in the study of direct war and its impact on education (Burde, 2014;Bush and Saltarelli, 2000;Cardozo and Novelli, 2018;Novelli and Smith, 2011). Most of the literature is focused on primary and secondary schooling or basic education; yet, in the past several years a set of literature has begun to emerge that explores the role of higher education in conflict-affected contexts and its contributions to peace or war (Kester, 2020;Kester et al, 2021;Millican et al, 2021;Milton and Barakat, 2016;Pherali and Lewis, 2017;Sahar and Kaunert, 2021). These papers identify different ways in which higher education can positively or negatively influence sustainable peacebuilding.…”

Violence, Terrorism, and Identity Politics in Afghanistan: The Securitisation of Higher Education

“…The higher education sector in Afghanistan has played a critical role in providing student and academic bodies platforms to build political networks or organisations to demand change and challenge the status quo. Institutions of higher education in Afghanistan have trained students to critically engage with their surroundings and challenge the ideas and values that influence their conditions and social status within a given human ecology (Sahar and Kaunert 2020). Additionally, the state failure to build an ineffective system of governance and the hierarchical system and pedagogical processes that ruled the universities, instead of promoting critical teaching and learning settings, have provided conducive grounds for ideo-political political agents (communists and Islamists) who came to shape and drive the nation's trajectory for decades (Emadi 2001), with significant spill-over implications for the current reconstruction efforts.…”

“…Another feature of higher education that is the unit of analysis in this article is its capability to socialise its subjects into the ideals of social justice and equality. Higher education nurtures 'values such as institutional autonomy, academic freedom, equitable access, social responsibility, and accountability, which embed deeper meanings than the relatively light frame (e.g., peace or justice) (Sahar and Kaunert 2020).' These values are suggested to 'include equality of opportunity, human rights, rationality, intellectual freedom, tolerance, solidarity, independence and coexistence, cooperation, consultation, inclusion, understanding of and respect for others and the environment, and accountability for decisions and responsibility for actions (Gardia and Mehta 2014).'…”

Desecuritisation, deradicalisation, and national identity in Afghanistan: Higher education and desecuritisation processes

“…54 Broadly, there are inherently 'two faces' to education, 55 proffering the capability to advance societal norms that can be both (mutual constitutive) practice of radicalisation or deradicalisation, depending on what norms and practices are selected and taught. 56 In contexts where ideopolitical and ethno-regional cleavages define individual-group or state-citizen relationships, education can undermine the underlying causes of conflict by providing opportunities for economic and political participation, 57 community cohesion, 58 or act as 'perpetrator' and exacerbate violence. 59 Essentially, the outcomes are determined by the type of education provided and therein practices and norms selected for promulgation, and by the actors who practice and the purpose for which these actors seek to institutionalise these norms and practices.…”