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Local Peace Roles in Post-agreement Nominal Peace and Continuing Conflict

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Confronting Peace

Part of the book series: Rethinking Political Violence ((RPV))

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Abstract

This chapter draws on the case studies in this volume and relevant literature to present trends in local peace in the post-agreement phase of conflict. Recognizing that the signing of a peace agreement does not instantly bring peace, we focus on the dynamics of post-agreement nominal peace and continuing conflict. Insecurity is a primary concern for local communities during the transitions after peace agreements. Specific issues in the post-agreement dynamics include demobilization and reintegration of former fighting forces; the return and reintegration of IDPs and refugees; issues of healing, reconciliation, and transitional justice; economic impacts resulting from the post-agreement shift; and transitional governance. The work of peacebuilding in local peace communities builds on the capacities developed during pre-agreement phases of the peace process. The commonly high expectations as peace agreements are signed present challenges to the significant peacebuilding work that remains after the ink on the agreement has dried.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    El Tiempo. 2020. “Estas son las tres hipótesis de la masacre que conmueve a Samaniego”. El Tiempo, 21 August. Available at: https://www.eltiempo.com/colombia/otras-ciudades/masacre-en-samaniego-hipotesis-de-asesinato-de-ocho-jovenes-en-narino-530188.

  2. 2.

    See the Agreement on Bilateral and Final Ceasefire and Cessation of Hostilities and Decommissioning of Weapons between the National Government and the FARC-EP, online at: http://farc-epeace.org/peace-process/agreements/agreements/item/1347-end-of-conflict.

  3. 3.

    For a more detailed view of the roles of legitimacy and authority in local peacebuilding, see Hancock and Mitchell (2018a).

  4. 4.

    According to one interviewee for another project, many of the community development and peacebuilding programs in Belfast had moved from local control to control by political activists and former paramilitary members. This was corroborated by other interviewees, who argued that the shift in government policy, bypassing the Community Relations Council, and directing funding through either the Belfast City Council or Stormont, was due to disagreements by the CRC with government seeking to advance political objectives through peacebuilding funding directives.

  5. 5.

    See Hancock and Mitchell (2018c, 222–23) for a more in-depth discussion of the differences between identity-based, values-based, and transactional legitimacy.

  6. 6.

    An analysis of community relations NGOs in Northern Ireland showed that those considered most successful had the deepest connections to the community, with administration in the hands of locals rather than either people outside the community or politically connected appointees (Hancock 2020).

  7. 7.

    Some of the same arguments were made about Northern Ireland’s voluntary sector once devolved government began to function in 2007, namely that NGOs were not accountable to the people in the same way than elected officials were.

  8. 8.

    For more on the uses of procedural justice in peacebuilding governance, see Hancock (2018, 2020).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Peace and Conflict Studies, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA

    Landon E. Hancock

  2. Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, George Mason University, Arlington, VA, USA

    Susan H. Allen

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  1. Landon E. Hancock
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  2. Susan H. Allen
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Correspondence to Landon E. Hancock .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, George Mason University, Arlington, VA, USA

    Susan H. Allen

  2. School of Peace and Conflict Studies, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA

    Landon E. Hancock

  3. Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, George Mason University, Arlington, VA, USA

    Christopher Mitchell

  4. FLACSO Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador

    Cécile Mouly

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Hancock, L.E., Allen, S.H. (2022). Local Peace Roles in Post-agreement Nominal Peace and Continuing Conflict. In: Allen, S.H., Hancock, L.E., Mitchell, C., Mouly, C. (eds) Confronting Peace. Rethinking Political Violence. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67288-1_12

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