LOCAL PEACEBUILDING - CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES 127 pages, pdf  Download Back

LOCAL PEACEBUILDING - CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

Publisher: Joakim Öjendal, Hanna Leonardsson and Martin Lundqvist

Volume: 127 pages, pdf

Description:

Over the last three decades peacebuilding has grown to become a prominent global practice and research theme. As such, it has accentuated the need to conceive of peace in the long-term, and to see it as something more than simply the end of direct violence. Along these lines, myriad peacebuilding projects have been set up in (post-) conflict societies across the globe, with the ultimate aim of securing sustainable peace within those contexts. Yet, such positive developments appear elusive, as the bulk of these societies continue to experience war-like conditions, characterised by low socio-economic development, high levels of group animosities, political tensions, and communal violence, not to mention the cases where full-scale civil wars have resumed.

Against this background, an increasing number of scholars and practitioners have come together in a forceful critique of conventional peacebuilding practices embedded in the ideational idea labelled ‘liberal peace’ in what has come to be known as ‘the local turn of peacebuilding’. While highly diverse and scattered, most commentators within this movement emphasise the imperative of connecting peacebuilding practices to local realities in order to increase their quality and legitimacy. In light of this growing body of work it is crucial that an assessment be carried out of the relative merits of the critique, and its potential relevance to policy development. However, to the best of our knowledge, no work exists that brings together whatever research findings there are on this theme in a comprehensive format suitable for conclusions to be drawn that can support policy-making processes. This report aims to fill that gap.