Abstract
In this Introduction, Steen-Johnsen argues that religious peacebuilding is an increasingly common form of intervention in violent conflicts with religious dimensions. She suggests that in order to understand the scope of opportunities of religious peacebuilders, we need to consider how they are affected by the political strategies aimed at regulating the civil sphere, in the state context in which they are situated. She argues that conflicts with religious dimensions most often involve political contentious questions. Steen-Johnsen underscores that a consequence of this is that state authorities frequently lauch political strategies to preclude religious actors to address the political dimensions of these conflicts. These political strategies limit the opportunities that religious actors have to engage in peacebuilding. She launches this perspective as an improvement of Brewer et al.’s conceptual framework on religion and peacemaking.
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Steen-Johnsen, T. (2017). Introduction. In: State and Politics in Religious Peacebuilding. Palgrave Studies in Compromise after Conflict. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59390-0_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59390-0_1
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