Why did you decide to study wartime sexual violence?

I have always been interested in the intersections of war, violence, and gender. As a PhD researcher, I aimed to study war and violence from a gender perspective, focusing on Syria, a case that held a personal connection. I was intrigued by critical war and feminist scholars who studied the productive power of war and violence, particularly in shaping political communities and identities. Furthermore, the pervasive and distressing prevalence of sexual violence deeply affected me, serving as a powerful impetus for my decision to study it.

What are your thesis questions and methodology?

In my thesis, I asked a single research question: “How does wartime violence intensify (materialise) bodies and political communities?” My purpose was to explain how people experienced wartime violence and how it redefined their identities and communities, effectively bringing the emotional aspects of war to life. I discuss three types of violence in the Syrian context that I drew from my interviews: sexual and gender-based violence experienced through interrogations at checkpoints, sexual violence inflicted on women in government detention, and executions of queer individuals by ISIS. I used a pluralistic approach that included visual analysis, discourse analysis, and life stories. 

The interviews I conducted with former Syrian women detainees and Syrian queers were the cornerstone of my analysis. While facing significant challenges in collecting data, I tried to obtain insightful and compelling interviews. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have gained the trust of the community who shared such important stories with me. Through this process, I have gained invaluable insights into their stories, which enabled me to provide a different narrative that is hidden in existing accounts of war. In addition, I have grown significantly as a researcher, having gained experience in conducting research with vulnerable subjects in politically fragile contexts.

What “different narrative” do you provide in your thesis?

War involves more than just physical conflict between groups; it is also a process of defining and constructing the borders of political communities by identifying and categorising people, ultimately determining who is included and who is excluded. In my thesis, I explored how emotions are part of wartime violence and are central to shaping the identities of individuals and communities during war. I found that it is also through the discursive constructions of emotions and emotional experiences of those subjected to wartime violence that war finds its generative power: the power to create political communities and identities.

For example, I analysed sexual violence against women in detention centres. I found that sexual violence was key in establishing a hierarchically imagined ethno-sectarian political community in the case of Syria. Moreover, the discursive enactments of disgust as a component of sexual violence functioned to establish a subcategory of women as the “Other,” who are to be excluded from social, economic, and marital life, thereby limiting their potential to act as active agents within society.

However, through the stories of two former detainee women, I showed how their experiences of fear and anger motivated social action that disrupted the power of sexual violence in building hierarchically imagined political communities. Likewise, Syrian queers’ experiences of fear at checkpoints led to what I call “practices of invisibility”, such as deceptive gender performances and the utilisation of Syrian gay language(s). These practices not only disturbed the heteronormative communities that various parties to the conflict aimed to build, but also helped queer individuals maintain a hidden community and subculture.

So, my thesis shows that emotions play a significant role in shaping the identities of individuals and communities during war. By understanding how emotions are discursively constructed as a component of violent practices and experienced by individuals, we can gain insights into how (gendered and sexualised) political communities are formed and how they can be disrupted. Similarly, my thesis demonstrates that practices such as women’s self-empowerment and community-targeted initiatives are crucial for the healing, empowerment, and reintegration of survivors of sexual violence, as well as in building gender-transformative peace.

Can you tell us more about the social and political implications of your thesis for peacebuilding efforts?

My thesis demonstrates that political communities are constructs that are also generated by sexual and gender-based violence, but their exclusive logics can be contested by those who are the targets of violent exclusions. These contestations underscore the significance of marginalised groups’ initiatives, specifically women, as they employ gender-transformative strategies in the pursuit of peace.

In the context of Syria, for example, women’s groups, many of whom are former detainees, have taken the lead in fostering community change. Their community-based interventions have played a key role in changing societal perceptions towards detention and sexual violence. By doing so, they have actively contributed to the successful reintegration of women who were previously detainees, underlining their role as important agents of change within society.

Recognising the critical importance of these transformative practises, it is important to support women’s NGOs and other marginalised groups, as well as their targeted initiatives and community-driven interventions. This is critical not only for assisting survivors of sexual and gender-based violence in their journeys of healing and reintegration, but also for nurturing a holistic transformation towards lasting and sustainable peace.

My thesis also highlights that queer individuals are subjected to various forms of violence in the context of armed conflict, yet their stories are often underrepresented. It is crucial to include their narratives in the design of interventions and policies to effectively address the impact of violent conflicts on diverse populations.

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Ceren Bulduk defended her PhD thesis in International Relations/Political Science in September 2022. Professor Anna Leander presided the committee, which included Professor Elisabeth Prügl, Thesis Director, and Associate Professor Lauren B. Wilcox, Deputy Director, Centre for Gender Studies, University of Cambridge, UK.

Citation of the PhD thesis:
Bulduk, Ceren. “The Violence of War: Intensifications of Bodies and Political Communities.” PhD thesis, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, 2023.
Members of the Geneva Graduate Institute can access the PhD thesis on this page of the Institute’s repository. Others can contact Ceren Bulduk at ceren.bulduk@graduateinstitute.ch.

Interview by Nathalie Tanner, Research Office.
Banner picture: part of a photo by Novikov Aleksey/Shutterstock.com.