The Moro Conflict: Prerequisites and Peace-process : Contextual Analysis from the Socio-Psychological perspective

The thesis seeks to analyse The Moro conflict in the Philippines that is characterised by a propagated and multi-layered nature. The Philippines has been torn by internal conflicts since 1969, by two main religious communities: Muslims represented by the Moro people, and Christians who represent the majority of population. In my research, I focus on the conflict prerequisites that stem from the results of colonialism. I view colonialism as the period that significantly contributed to the formation of ethnic stereotyping, socio-economic neglect, and the split in Filipino society. Hence, it can be stated that reinforced stereotypes against the others that is Moro people serve as the indicator of the societal split and tendencies to demonization. For my work it was crucial to tackle the following theoretical topics: the history of colonialism as prerequisites for ethnic tensions; the formation of stereotypes and processes of reinforcement; the notion of indigenous rights and territorial claims. Filipino nation is closely connected with the post-colonial history and the indigenous roots. plan In regards to the peace studies, I was looking at the terrorist dynamics in the Philippines to see the interdependence between failed peace agreements and the radicalization, as well as, the differences between positive and negative notions of peace, and external influence. The method of the research is the comparative contextual analysis with the elements of the linguistic ambiguity analysis. The analysis looks, firstly, at the correlation between the final draft of the Bangasamoro Basic Law (the law, if passed, will enact the peace agreement and establish the structure of government for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region) and UN Declaration of on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Secondly, the analysis observes the process of law making by comparing the BBL drafts from the years 2014, 2015, and 2017. In conclusion, the link between reinforced stereotyping and colonialism has been established. Comparative analysis has served as the basis for observing some major changes in the way the BBL committee was tackling the document drafting. It has shown that the new approach has striven to secure the long-lasting peace by addressing different levels of marginalization, following the rules of equality, inclusion, and the international law standards. It can be stated that the Philippines is taking a path for establishing positive peace and resorts to one of the methods to solve the conflict based on territorial claims by granting autonomy to Moros