| dc.description.abstract | Modern conflict transformation emerged after World War II as a discipline and a
field of academic research. Since the early 1990s it has increasingly concerned itself
with psycho-social issues (e.g. trauma treatment or reconciliation) in the aftermath of
violent protracted social conflicts. Within this psycho-social space there has been a
growing interest in the use of music in conflict transformation to improve relationships
between in and out-groups. However, the field of music and conflict transformation is
still nascent, with little in-depth research available. The majority of studies have been
undertaken by interested parties or relies on anecdotal evidence from organisers and
musicians with little concern for the context of the music use. Participants, whose
attitudes and relationships to out-groups are the focus of conflict transformation
interventions, are largely overlooked and their views are rarely discussed. Furthermore,
there are few detailed studies on exactly how music affects conflict transformation
outcomes. Instead allusions are often made to terms such as “the power of music” which
act as a black box intended to explain how music “works”, but patently fail to do so.
This thesis attempts to fill these two gaps in the literature by focusing on the
participants’ experiences in two different conflict transformation contexts, a multi-
cultural music project for school children in Noway and the casual music use in a
settlement of internally displaced persons in Sudan. Through qualitative research
methods, rich descriptive data from different parties is gathered. The data is analysed
using grounded theory. As a result a very different and more complex picture emerges
that enriches the current understanding of how music is used and perceived in conflict
transformation contexts. In particular, how participants view these activities and how
power relationships, though rarely mentioned, affect the music use is explored in detail.
Some tentative suggestions indicate that music works best when used in longitudinal
bottom-up activities and that music can augment conflict transformation activities rather
than replace them. Additionally, it is proposed that music may work as a form of benign
interruption in conflict transformation activities and that musical events provide a
liminal space where the real work lies in the process of bringing any changes in
attitudes from the liminal space into everyday life. | en_GB |
