project description

To what extent can male and female youth engaged in armed conflict be reintegrated in their communities? Dr. Caitlin Procter, hosted at the Centre on Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding (CCDP), is an anthropologist whose ethnographic research has already provided evidence to answer this question. In her previous work, she identified the existence of social barriers, including community perception, family expectations and gender stereotypes, which prevented the reintegration of young former fighters in the Gaza strip.

This ERC-funded Marie Curie fellowship will allow her to further expand her knowledge and compare her previous findings with the situation ongoing in the Iraqi region, especially around the Mosul area that used to be occupied by ISIS. Dr. Procter research puts individuals’ experiences and perceptions at the center of her methodological approach. As a consequence, her project will provide academics and practitioners with an analysis based on observations and interviews with youths who engaged in armed conflict, their families of origins and their communities of belonging.

By including perceptions and reactions of all the parties involved, the project will help understanding the shortfalls of previous academic studies and governmental policies that, embracing different methodologies, grounded their analysis on notions derived from legal frameworks and terroristic charges.  As such, this research is an opportunity to create a new platform for engagement of different humanitarian responses and approaches to reintegration programs.

The project will be conducted under the supervision of Professor Riccardo Bocco and in collaboration with the Department of Anthropology and Sociology of the Geneva Graduate Institute.   

Duration: 2022-2025