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Peace in Political Unsettlement pp 91–126Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Ontopolitics at Play: Inclusion Between a Panacea and a Hook

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Part of the book series: Rethinking Peace and Conflict Studies ((RCS))

Abstract

The state of affirmation in peacebuilding has developed its own ontopolitical concepts: inclusion, resilience, political settlements. These concepts combine contextualised on-the-ground realities, residuals of liberal peacebuilding and ambiguous aspirations. In order to work in public policy, they still need to be evidenced. Measurement frameworks for inclusive peace and resilient political settlements are developed. The current policy truism that inclusion in peace processes leads to a more sustainable peacebuilding outcome, however, cannot be upheld when examining the available research outcomes. Inclusion as such is a contradictory concept that inevitably leads to fundamental trade-offs. Trade-offs do not render the endeavour worthless. However, inclusion needs to be reconceptualised as a small-scale practice, as a process tool best implemented in the form of hooks which can be inscribed in peace agreements and utilised pragmatically in post-war transitions.

The original version of this chapter was revised to correct a proofing error. The correction to this chapter is available at https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04318-6_8

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Change history

  • 02 February 2019

    The state of affirmation in peacebuilding has developed its own ontopolitical concepts: inclusion, resilience, political settlements. These concepts combine contextualised on-the-ground realities, residuals of liberal peacebuilding and ambiguous aspirations. In order to work in public policy, they still need to be evidenced. Measurement frameworks for inclusive peace and resilient political settlements are developed. The current policy truism that inclusion in peace processes leads to a more sustainable peacebuilding outcome, however, cannot be upheld when examining the available research outcomes. Inclusion as such is a contradictory concept that inevitably leads to fundamental trade-offs. Trade-offs do not render the endeavour worthless. However, inclusion needs to be reconceptualised as a small-scale practice, as a process tool best implemented in the form of hooks which can be inscribed in peace agreements and utilised pragmatically in post-war transitions.

Notes

  1. 1.

    https://devtracker.dfid.gov.uk/projects/GB-1-204326, accessed 22 September 2018.

  2. 2.

    This is confirmed by unpublished internal non-papers and discussions with policymakers.

  3. 3.

    https://www.inclusivepeace.org/, accessed 22 September 2018.

  4. 4.

    These were Guatemala, Liberia 2003, Mozambique and Sierra Leone 2000. The successes in El Salvador, Macedonia, Northern Ireland and South Africa showed a moderate civil society involvement, Bosnia is asserted as being the only successful case with a low civil society involvement.

  5. 5.

    These cases were Sierra Leone in 1999 and Sri Lanka.

  6. 6.

    Human Rights Watch, José Miguel Vivanco, 16 August 2016, ‘Colombia Peace Deal’s Unwelcome Critic’, https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/08/16/colombia-peace-deals-unwelcome-critic, accessed 4 September 2018.

  7. 7.

    Human Rights Watch, ‘Colombia: Events of 2017’, https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2018/country-chapters/colombia, accessed 4 September 2018.

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  1. ASPR—Austrian Study Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Vienna, Austria

    Jan Pospisil

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Pospisil, J. (2019). Ontopolitics at Play: Inclusion Between a Panacea and a Hook. In: Peace in Political Unsettlement. Rethinking Peace and Conflict Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04318-6_4

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