Imagining Peace Outside of Liberal Statebuilding: Anarchist Theory as Pathway to Emancipatory Peacefacilitation

Abstract

Critical scholarship on peace has coined the term liberal peacebuilding and proven that it is unsuccessful, even counterproductive, in achieving that what it sets out to do—foster peace after violent conflict. The dominant part of this endeavor has been statebuilding. This paper adds to a slowly developing literature that starts to ask the question what an alternative to the reliance on statebuilding could look like. By employing anarchist theory, a new theoretical methodology is introduced to International Relations that allows to imagine forms of peace outside the liberal paradigm whilst preventing imperialistic claims. Such an emancipatory peace practice based on anarchism is envisioned as to build on prefigurative politics and direct action, strengthening autonomy, decentralization, and horizontality as well as challenge all structural forms of domination through radical forms of self-determination. Incorporating such an anarchist agenda offers one perspective on what fostering peace outside decontextualized and imposed liberal nation states could be. I argue that challenging statebuilding foreshadows a greater implication an anarchist research agenda promotes, namely, the need to move away from peace building toward emancipatory forms of peace facilitation.

RESETTLED IRAQI REFUGEES IN THE UNITED STATES: War, Refuge, Belonging, Participation, and Protest

“…1. Such approaches, like pacifism, are also often dismissed or ignored by mainstream scholars (Rusche 2022). However, the anarchist tradition has much to offer those interested in building substantively democratic organizations, structures, and societies.…”

A world waiting to be born: Charting a liberatory anti-war praxis

“…Pace Dussel, I also draw from the anarchist tradition to root the praxis of liberation in elimination of hierarchy through direct democratic processes beyond, and to replace, the state (Öcalan, 2017; Rusche, 2022). The anarchist tradition, often ignored or dismissed within mainstream international relations, allows us to look past the nation-state as a fixed reality and toward creating “radically participatory and horizontal institutions” (Rusche, 2022: 25).…”

“…While twentieth-century liberation struggles often took statist approaches, we need alternatives to the state to further liberatory peace movements (Mignolo and Walsh, 2018; Öcalan, 2017; Rusche, 2022). The existing system of territorially-bounded states is incompatible with global justice (Richmond and Mac Ginty, 2019).…”

“…Working toward liberatory peace means dismantling the existing capitalist social and political order in which the resources of societies are hoarded to enrich the few and wasted to build species-threatening weapons rather than distributed to provide secure and fulfilling lives for the mass of humanity. Peace requires overcoming and replacing the neoliberal state with social/political/economic arrangements that serve human life and the biosphere (Pogodda, 2020;Rusche, 2022). Contra capitalism's competition and hoarding, liberatory anti-war praxis is predicated on, and oriented around, enabling cooperation and collective abundance (Bookchin, 2004).…”

“…Rather, they are a set of interconnected orientations and activities that may partially comprise liberatory anti-war praxis that seeks to address the causes and consequences of American wars. Liberatory thought does not need to illustrate a comprehensive ideal state of justice to offer resources to address oppression (Matheis, 2015; Rusche, 2022). Likely, other principles and actions ought to be added, which I welcome to further bolster the ethical, political, and liberatory core of the anti-war praxis articulated here.…”