The Gender and Ethnicity Research Group aims to examine the dynamics of conflict and reconciliation by moving beyond conventional state-centered frameworks of interstate relations to address more complex forms of interaction. The group focuses on a wide geographical scope, including Africa, East Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, the Caribbean, and Europe, analyzing the multilayered relationships formed through interactions among diverse actors. Its central theoretical framework is the concept of embedded relationship, proposed by Dr. Keiko Sakai, which enables the analysis of the interplay between structures and processes underlying global phenomena, including elements such as emotions and collective memory that have often been overlooked in traditional International Relations scholarship.
Based on this analytical framework, the group is currently preparing an edited volume within the International Reconciliation Studies Book Series that focuses on the interaction among identity, memory, and reconciliation. The volume aims to clarify, both theoretically and empirically, how transformations in the identities of diverse actors, including those defined by gender and ethnicity, influence reconciliation processes in post-conflict and post-colonial contexts, and conversely, how reconciliation reshapes actors’ perceptions and relationships. In particular, the volume introduces four analytical perspectives: (1) the origins of social group categorization within embedded relationships; (2) the influence of history and memory on human rights discourses concerning social groups; (3) the impact of embedded relationships on third parties and wider societies; and (4) the transformation of relationships over time.
Through comparative case studies across multiple regions, the volume complements conventional state-centered approaches in International Relations and advances a new relational perspective centered on interactions among diverse actors. In doing so, it aims to provide a theoretical and empirical foundation for understanding the dynamics of conflict and reconciliation in the contemporary world.
Teams
In preparation.
