Sharing meals - building peace : a theoretical and empirical study of how the act of eating together can serve as a place for ritual to promote reconciliation in peacebuilding

Abstract

Food is universal. Sharing meals makes people come together. In negotiations and diplomacy at different levels, eating together has always been a part in the processes of promoting peace. In this thesis I will answers the question: How can the act of eating together facilitate reconciliation on different levels of peacebuilding. Researchers have lately begun to shed light on the concept of eating together referred to as culinary diplomacy in this thesis. By looking into how worldview matters in conflict and theories of how ritual can be a symbolic place, we will see how the meal can be a place like this. It will also be discussed if the act of eating together can facilitate reconciliation on different levels of peacebuilding?