The good, the bad, and the powerful: Representations of the ‘local’ in peacebuilding

Abstract

This article argues for a reflexive perspective on the 'local' in peacebuilding. While it is now widely acknowledged that anything local is complex, unstable, and relational, scholars continue to make truth claims about local actors and practices. This leads to an incomplete account of peacebuilding, as it conceals the powerful effects of representation, which shape our perspective on the local. We argue that the local is both used and produced through practices of representation, and that these representations serve to define what good peacebuilding entails. We consequently suggest a perspective on perspectives, which focuses on how representations of the local relate to political agendas in peacebuilding, and which can account for the effects of choosing one mode of representation over another. Through case studies from Burundi and South Sudan, we show that representations of the local are conflictingly produced by scholars, practitioners, and government officials, telling about the true, the good, and the bad local, empowering some and disempowering other actors, institutions, and practices. These dynamics have tangible effects on peace, conflict, and (in)security.

Beyond Hybridity to the Politics of Scale: International Intervention and ‘Local’ Politics

“…However, as Heathershaw (: 277) rightly notes, despite thus being ‘caveated to the point of defensiveness’, in practice, hybridity accounts still rely ‘on the bifurcation between ideal‐types of local‐indigenous and international–liberal’ (see also Hirblinger and Simons, : 424). Thus, the above‐quoted rejection of some binaries by Boege et al.…”

“…Contrary to commonplace discussions of clashing local and international paradigms, Henrizi () shows how local Iraqi women's NGOs co‐opted international spaces to resist attempts by other locals to reimpose strict patriarchy. Similarly, in Burundi, international state builders promoted the decentralization of conflict‐resolution to traditional, local institutions, but this was resisted by the national government which instead promoted local ‘hill councils’ (Hirblinger and Simons, : 430–4). Likewise, as our case study shows, local East Timorese society was neither devoid of liberal or democratic practices nor characterized by uniform adherence to mysticism and tribal authorities.…”

“…Scale, in political geography, refers to hierarchized social, political and economic territorial spaces, each denoting ‘the arena and moment, both discursively and materially, where socio‐spatial power relations are contested and compromises are negotiated and regulated’ (Swyngedouw, : 140). Scale matters in PSBIs because interveners inevitably seek to reallocate power and resources among different scales, for example, embedding international disciplines into a centralized national state (Hameiri, ), or decentralizing power to subnational, state‐based or ‘traditional’ agencies (Hirblinger and Simons, ). Scales like ‘local’, ‘subnational’, ‘national’ or ‘global’ are not neutral; they involve particular configurations of actors, resources and political opportunity structures that always favour some forces and agendas over others (Gough, ).…”

The Philosophical Worth of Liberal Peacebuilding

“…A case study done by Hirblinger and Simons (2015) on peacebuilding in Burundi and South Sudan argues that the need for strong institutional building should not be taken for granted. It also further discusses how the failure to appoint genuine local representation could be the recipe for failure to the entirety of the peacebuilding project.…”

Security sector reform in Africa: Donor approaches versus local needs

“…As the literature on local ownership in peacebuilding and SSR repeatedly pointed out, international reform efforts cannot ignore the local needs of security provision (Hirblinger & Simons, 2015;Hönke & Müller, 2012;Zanker, 2016). Rather, the needs of the local community should be included in the reform programs so that the local community eventually accepts the reform.…”