Joana Ricarte is a researcher at the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies (CEIS20) at the University of Coimbra. She is a historian and political scientist with expertise in Peace Studies, critical perspectives on identity and conflict, everyday extremism and ontological insecurity. She has worked extensively on Israel and Palestine, focusing on peace-less reconciliation and dehumanization. She is the author of the book “The Impact of Protracted Peace Processes on Identities in Conflict: the case of Israel and Palestine” (2023), published open access by Palgrave Macmillan.
EDUCATION
PhD in International Relations - International Politics and Conflict Resolution (2020), University of Coimbra, Portugal
Specialization Diploma in “International Law and its Applicability in the occupied Palestinian territory” (2016), Al Haq Center for Applied International Law, Palestine
Specialization Diploma in "The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: Understanding Both Sides" (2015), Galilee International Management Institute, Israel
MA in International Relations, specialized in Peace and Security Studies (2013), University of Coimbra, Portugal
Specialization Diploma in "Peace and Conflict Studies: the foundation course" (2011), United Nations Mandated University for Peace, UPEACE
BA in History (2010), University of Brasília, Brazil
RESEARCH, TEACHING, or OTHER INTERESTS
Political Science and International Relations, History
12
Scopus Publications
Scopus Publications
Researching on a Thin Line: The Precarity of Researchers in Portugal and its Consequences Labor Precarity Social Exploitation and Trade Union Engagement Critical Approaches to Work from Spain and Portugal, 2025
The Construction of Identities in Protracted Conflicts Joana Ricarte Rethinking Peace and Conflict Studies, 2023 This chapter focuses on the concepts of identity and conflict. Drawing from many others who place identity as the central factor explaining the mutually reinforcing dynamics of protracted conflicts and protracted peace processes, this chapter suggests that the processes of identity building in protracted conflicts bear specific characteristics due to the multigenerational aspects of these contexts. The argument developed is that peace processes in this kind of conflicts tend to become protracted themselves, turning into a structure of their own that impact perceptions about the ‘self’ and the ‘other’, thus influencing the negative dimension of identity—the detachment or difference from others—and, therefore, the very behavior and interests of actors involved in the conflict. For this reason, identity and violence must be read as mutually constituted in the cases of historical conflicts, making it impossible to discuss conflict transformation without addressing the main categories of identity and violence, as well as their interconnectedness.
Elements of Identity in Conflict Joana Ricarte Rethinking Peace and Conflict Studies, 2023 This chapter dives deeper into the theoretical framework proposed in this book by identifying, characterizing and proposing concrete indicators at the observable level for assessing and analyzing theelementsof identity in conflict. The argument developed is that an empirical examination of the processes of identity building in protracted conflicts shows that these feature two main elements—and coexisting dynamics—which can be seen as opposing poles that might contribute to deepening the conflict or promoting its transformation instead. By identifying the dimensions and observable indicators that allow for an assessment of these processes of dehumanization and peace-less reconciliation, this chapter offers a tool for empirical analyses of protracted conflicts and policy development toward their positive transformation.
Conclusion: Unraveling the Cycle of Protractedness Joana Ricarte Rethinking Peace and Conflict Studies, 2023 By unraveling the dimensions and dynamics of the ‘cycle of protractedness’, the concluding chapter contributes to the development and reexamination of key concepts in the field of International Relations, providing a renewed analysis of the role of the Israeli-Palestinian protracted peace process in the conflict and its transformation. It concludes that, even though dehumanization dominates in ongoing conflicts, it is possible to identify activities undertaken by local and international actors in the societal level that have developed alongside—as a consequence—and within the very framework—as a desired outcome—of the protracted peace process. In terms of policy design and policy making, the findings of this book provide some clues for the intensification of new—underexplored—avenues for conflict transformation that favor reconciliation rather than reinforcing dehumanization. Although focused on a single case study, being that of Israel and Palestine, the findings of this research can be applied to other cases of protracted social conflicts by way of lessons learned.
Before the Peace Process: Historical Roots of a Dysfunctional Relationship Joana Ricarte Rethinking Peace and Conflict Studies, 2023 This chapter offers a contextual analysis of the historical roots of what came to be a dysfunctional relationship between the Israeli and Palestinian national identities. It focuses on the first attempts developed toward peacemaking following the establishment of the Zionist Movement in Palestine in light of dehumanization and peace-less reconciliation. This chapter argues that the first attempts to accommodate opposing interests of both Palestinian and Zionist elites during the British Mandate, what can be considered the embryo of the peace process, have introduced a self-perpetuating dynamic of defining the ‘self’ as opposed to the ‘other’ that has marked greatly the process of both Israeli and Palestinian identity building. This chapter concludes that the first approaches to deal with what was still a young dispute between political elites were not only defining features for the subsequent periods, but also had deep implications in the very course of events.
Reconciliation and Recognition in the Oslo Accords Joana Ricarte Rethinking Peace and Conflict Studies, 2023 This chapter analyzes the brief, although game-changing, Oslo Era. This chapter argues that the Oslo period has operated a rupture in the already existing tendency of dehumanizing the ‘other’, as discourses and narratives connected to dehumanization in the elite level deeply impacted perceptions on the societal level, creating the environment for the positive transformation of the conflict. However, its conclusions point to the pernicious impact of the disappointment connected to the feelings of loss of expectations and hope, as well as the emergence of new narratives about blames and responsibilities, which have added new grievances to the already existing ones.
The UN Approach to the ‘Question of Palestine’ During the Cold War Joana Ricarte Rethinking Peace and Conflict Studies, 2023 This chapter explores the first phase of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and its impact on identities in conflict by analyzing the period that starts with the Partition Plan and lasts during the Cold War, until the First Intifada (1947 to 1987). The Cold War period is considered a phase of its own as it marks an important moment in terms of the formulas for solving this conflict—the two-states solution—and the definition of actors that were deemed relevant for such solution. The argument developed is that the reinforcement of dehumanization processes in this period is connected with a defensive reaction of the two competing identities to developments in the international level related with the peace process, that was mainly restricted to elite-driven negotiations toward reaching an agreement regarding the governments and boundaries of the now partitioned territories.
