Description
This paper offers a comparative analysis of the concepts of buen vivir and Ubuntu as employed in the context of peacebuilding in Colombia and South Africa respectively. While both concepts have received significant attention in the context of decolonial and post-development thinking, there is little empirical research looking at how they are being used on the ground for community-level peacebuilding, or that explores the concepts in dialogue with each other. Based on qualitative fieldwork in both Colombia and South Africa, this analysis points to the concepts’ discursive and strategic value in terms of post-conflict identities and the pursuit of collective aspirations by local actors, including demobilised combatants (Colombia) and community-based organisations and residents on the ground (Cape Town). The paper first addresses how the notion of buen vivir informed Colombia’s ‘territorial peace’ agenda, before turning to how the concept has continued to inform the collective practices of former FARC combatants in the southern Caquetá region. It then turns to the South African case, looking at how community-based organisations and individuals are drawing on Ubuntu values as a way to foster mutual understanding between conflicting parties through dialogue. Through this comparative analysis, the paper expands debates about the potential of indigenous concepts to motivate alternative forms of community-led peacebuilding rooted in culture and precise socio-spatial conditions.
