International Peacebuilding and Local Resistance ― Hybrid Forms of Peace

International Peacebuilding and Local Resistance adds to the active debates and critiques of internationally-supported peace interventions. Using the case studies of Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, Lebanon and Northern Ireland, Roger Mac Ginty dissects peace interventions along the themes of security, statebuilding and civil society as well as economic and constitutional reform. He proposes using the concepts of hybridity and hybridization to understand the dynamics in societies undergoing transition. Particular attention is paid to the ability of local communities to resist, subvert and exploit international actors. This book is part of a developing and radical critique of aspects of international peacebuilding. It argues that peace should not be discussed timidly, and that local, traditional or indigenous approaches to peacemaking should not be romanticised.

Roger Mac Ginty is Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute and the Department of Politics, University of Manchester, UK. His research has focussed on peace processes, political violence, and local responses to international peace-support interventions. He has conducted field research in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Georgia, Jordan, Kosovo, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Uganda and the US. His previous books have included No War, No Peace (2006) and Contemporary Peacemaking (2002, with John Darby).