The aim of this article, and of the special issue it introduces, is to claim a more prominent role for the analysis of school textbooks when studying peace and conflict. School textbooks can contribute to several core discussions in this research field because they are indicators of dominant political knowledge, have privileged access to a large audience, and are objects of peace and conflict processes themselves. We reflect how the analysis of school textbooks has already contributed significantly to peace and conflict studies and outline avenues for further research.First, school textbooks are indicators of dominant -or hegemonic -political knowledge in a given society. 1 Their content is influenced by political elites, and especially by those in (partial) control of the state. This occurs through various means, including government-defined curricula and examination content, textbook approval procedures, or direct production of school textbooks by state institutions. In addition, school textbooks are frequently written by scholars or people who received academic training. They hence also reflect politically sanctioned versions of academic discourses. That said, in protracted civil conflicts, for instance in southern Sudan and Sri Lanka, rebel groups have been found to produce their own textbooks to counter government narratives, again pointing to the political relevance ascribed to these media. 2 Second, school textbooks have a large coverage and audience as they typically serve as quasimandatory readings for young people. School textbooks are the first -and often the onlybooks on social, political and economic issues people read in their lifetime. 3 According to Daniel Bar-Tal, school textbooks 'are perceived by students as authoritative and factual' and hence 'play an important role in shaping the beliefs prevalent in a society.' 4 Undoubtedly, the impact of textbooks can be limited by a number of factors: students (i) might have little access to these materials in poorly resourced contexts, (ii) might not fully understand their contents, (iii) are exposed to (at times conflicting) information originating from a range of other sources, and (iv) can question and challenge narratives presented to them. 5 Despite these potential limitations, several studies have demonstrated the longstanding impact of education and school textbooks on the political worldviews of young people, which might even be detectable at an adult age. 6 Finally, the considerable coverage and impact of school textbooks make them important objects of peace and conflict processes themselves. This is in line with Lynn Davies' claim that education, for which school textbooks are often important tools, can support peacebuilding
