2025: First Place, Sissy Farenthold Trailblazers for Justice Undergraduate Writing Prize
Local Peacebuilding in the Darien Gap: Indigenous Communities and Migrants As Agents of Change
by Cecelia Gaughan
Abstract:
The Darién Gap, a treacherous migration corridor between Colombia and Panama, has become a site of escalating violence, displacement, and social instability. This essay interrogates conventional peacebuilding frameworks and argues that sustainable peace in the region cannot be achieved through militarization or top-down international interventions. Instead, it highlights the agency of Indigenous communities and migrants, emphasizing how local knowledge, lived experience, and community-based strategies provide more effective pathways toward conflict resolution. By reframing peacebuilding to center grassroots actors rather than external powers, the work challenges statist and technocratic approaches and highlights the necessity of bottom-up, community-led solutions to transnational crises.
About the author:
Cecelia Gaughan is pursuing dual B.A. degrees in Economics and Government at The University of Texas at Austin. Her interests include political economy, public policy, and data analysis. She has supported policy and legislative research through the Office of Senate District 14 and UT Student Government, and contributes to economic analysis as a member of The Developing Economist. She plans to pursue a career in economic research focused on data-driven policy for equitable, sustainable growth.