Dr Sanne Weber

Dr Sanne Weber

International Development Department
Leverhulme Early Career Fellow

Contact details

Address
International Development Department
School of Government
Muirhead Tower
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Sanne’s research explores how conflict affects gender relations. She is interested in understanding whether and how transitional justice mechanisms are capable of transforming gendered and other structural inequalities, engaging with the connections between conflict, development and social justice. She uses ethnographic, participatory and creative research methods to understand the lived experiences of those affected by conflict, and explore how transitional justice can better respond to their needs.

Qualifications

  • PhD in International Studies at Centre of Trust, Peace and Social Relations (Coventry University) 2018
  • MA Theory and Practice of Human Rights 2008
  • MA International Relations in Historical Perspective 2006
  • BA Studies of Language and Culture 2005

Biography

Sanne’s research concerns the way in which post-conflict countries deal with the past and take steps toward peace and reconciliation. Within this process, she is particularly interested in whether and how transitional justice mechanisms are capable of addressing and transforming gender relations, and what ‘gendered’ peace and reconciliation mean for the people affected by conflict. Hereby, she aims to contribute to an improved understanding of how peace and reconciliation mechanisms can better respond to the needs and demands of conflict survivors, and to the transformation of structural inequalities.

In 2017 Sanne completed a PhD on the gendered dynamics of the land restitution and reparations provided by Colombia’s Victims’ Law, for which she conducted ethnographic and participatory visual research in Colombia. She undertook her PhD at the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations at Coventry University, where she also worked as a research assistant.

Prior to that, Sanne worked as a researcher, gender policy advisor and gender team coordinator for human rights and development organisations in Guatemala for over five years, implementing projects related to transitional justice, gender-based violence, and gender equality in development. She published various research reports and policy briefs on those topics.

Research

Global Ethics Interviews: Sanne Webber

Research interests

My main research interest is exploring how post-conflict reconstruction, transitional justice and peacebuilding measures can help to transform structural inequalities. In this regard, I am interested in exploring the relationships between development, social justice and conflict, and issues of (gendered) victimhood and citizenship in post-conflict contexts.

Current project

Gendering reconciliation: Local reintegration from an international perspective 

Previous project

The British Academy’s Sustainable Development Programme.

Publications

Recent publications

Book

Weber, S 2021, Vida y Voces de Mujeres Revolucionarias: Experiencias de emancipación y aportes de las mujeres a la lucha para un país más justo. 1 edn, Serviprensa Guatemala.

Article

Wagner, K, Glaesmer, H, Bartels, SA, Weber, S & Lee, S 2022, 'Presence of the absent father: perceptions of family among peacekeeper-fathered children in the Democratic Republic of Congo', Journal of Child and Family Studies. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-022-02293-2

Wagner, K, Bartels, S, Weber, S & Lee, S 2022, 'UNsupported: the needs and rights of children fathered by UN peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo', Human Rigthts Review, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 305-332. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12142-021-00652-y

Wagner, K, Bartels, S, Weber, S & Lee, S 2022, '‘White child gone bankrupt’: —the intersection of race and poverty in youth fathered by UN peacekeepers', Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry, vol. 46, no. 3, pp. 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11013-022-09772-7

Weber, S 2021, 'Defying the victim-perpetrator binary: female ex-combatants in Colombia and Guatemala as complex political perpetrators', International Journal of Transitional Justice, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 264–283. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijtj/ijab006

Weber, S, Hardiman, M, Kanja, W, Thomas, S, Robinson-Edwards, N & Bradbury-Jones, C 2021, 'Towards ethical international research partnerships in gender-based violence research: insights from research partners in Kenya', Violence against Women. https://doi.org/10.1177/10778012211035798

Weber, S 2020, 'From gender-blind to gender-transformative reintegration: Women’s experiences with social reintegration in Guatemala', International Feminist Journal of Politics, vol. 2020, pp. 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616742.2020.1768879

Thomas, S, Weber, S & Bradbury-Jones, C 2020, 'Using participatory and creative methods to research gender-based violence in the Global South and with indigenous communities: findings from a scoping review', Trauma, Violence and Abuse. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838020925775

De Waardt, M & Weber, S 2019, 'Beyond victims’ mere presence: an empirical analysis of victim participation in transitional justice in Colombia', Journal of Human Rights Practice, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 209–228. https://doi.org/10.1093/jhuman/huz002

Weber, S 2019, 'Trapped between promise and reality in Colombia’s Victims’ Law: reflections on reparations, development and social justice', Bulletin of Latin American Research. https://doi.org/10.1111/blar.12887

Weber, S 2018, 'From victims and mothers to citizens: gender-just transformative reparations and the need for public and private transitions', International Journal of Transitional Justice, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 88-107. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijtj/ijx030

Chapter (peer-reviewed)

Weber, S 2021, The personal and socio-economic dynamics of resilience and transitional justice in Colombia. in J Clark & M Ungar (eds), Resilience, Adaptive Peacebuilding and Transitional Justice: How Societies Recover after Collective Violence. Cambridge University Press, pp. 187-209. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108919500.009

Chapter

Weber, S & Thomas, S 2021, Engaging in gender based violence research: adopting a feminist and participatory perspective. in C Bradbury-Jones & L Isham (eds), Understanding Gender-Based Violence : An Essential Textbook for Nurses, Healthcare Professionals and Social Workers. 1 edn, Springer, pp. 257-269. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65006-3_16

Weber, S 2021, Gender and transitional justice. in HO Yusuf & H van der Merwe (eds), Transitional Justice: Theories, Mechanisms and Debates. 1 edn, Routledge, pp. 206-228. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315760568-10

Book/Film/Article review

Weber, S 2019, 'Living a Feminist Life', Women's Studies International Forum. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2019.02.001

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