Born Into Unity and Peace? : The Relevance of East-West Differences and their Role for Peace for Germans Growing Up after the Reunification
Kolarzik, Nina (2023)
Kolarzik, Nina
2023
Master's Programme in Peace, Mediation and Conflict Research
Yhteiskuntatieteiden tiedekunta - Faculty of Social Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2023-06-08
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202305296208
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202305296208
Tiivistelmä
In the thesis at hand, the author engages with how and why young people in Germany born after the reunification (“Nachwendekinder”/“Nachwendegeneration”) use the categories of ‘East’ and ‘West’ as explanation in their everyday life. with that, it is aimed to explore how they evaluate the role of this dimension of perceived mental differences for the reunification process, Unity and peace in Germany. The different representations by the research participants were described and interpreted to understand the view and the role of the post-reunification generation in this context. The research puzzle the thesis engaged with for that was the debate over the role mental differences play for peace. For that, the theoretical framework consisted of different approaches. In doing so, critical approaches as for instance by Behr (peace-in-difference), Romashov (living with difference and letting-the-other-be-what-it-is), Young (politics of difference) and Mouffe (agonistic peace), helped me to question the liberal approach of eradicating or silencing differences. The data which was analysed using a Qualitative Content Analysis consisted of qualitative interviews (ethnographic interviews which were originally conducted and secondary interview material) and ethnographic field notes. The study identified patterns that emerged of how East-West differences are understood by the research participants and interpreted them through theoretical approaches to differences and peace. The findings imply that there is an increasing understanding of reunification and also peace with and thanks to the acknowledgment and use of differences, which indicates a move towards an agonistic form of peace within the context of this particular research.