Chris Courtheyn, associate professor of global studies in the School of Public Service, is studying how communities in Medellín, Colombia, are working together to resist violence and displacement through nonviolent action, while living in a high-conflict zone.
Courtheyn and his partners at Colombian community center Casa Cultural La Chispa are analyzing how people or groups in different countries support each others’ social and political movements. They’re working to understand how solidarity can can be decolonial – acting in ways that respect the autonomy and leadership of local communities. Specifically, their study looks at the effectiveness of the United States-based Fellowship of Reconciliation’s protective accompaniment of the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó, which is a group of rural people resisting displacement nonviolently in one of Colombia’s war zones.
Courtheyn explains that solidarity coalitions between people of different class, racial and national backgrounds can be very difficult due to the unequal power relations of the modern global system. He and his research team are investigating how groups can work together without reproducing those inequalities, toward more effective protection of human rights and the environment.
The researchers recently conducted a series of action research and public education activities. They conducted interviews with international accompaniers and Peace Community members about the impact of their cooperation. They organized a delegation of former Fellowship of Reconciliation accompaniers to go back to San José to accompany a commemoration pilgrimage on the 20-year anniversary of a brutal massacre which took place there in 2005. In Medellín, they hosted a symposium at La Chispa called “Human Rights and the Environment During Colombia’s Progressive Government.” The team also painted a community mural about international solidarity and ecological justice.
Currently, the research team is working on data analysis, drafting a book manuscript and seeking additional funding for a subsequent phase of the project, involving analyzing solidarity relationships across Colombia and in other conflict zones around the world.