Roger Mac Ginty – författare

This updated and revised second edition of the Routledge Handbook of Peacebuilding contains cutting-edge analyses of contemporary attempts to reach and sustain peace.

The book covers the main actors and dynamics of peacebuilding, as well as the main challenges that it faces, with accessible chapters. The volume is comprehensive, covering everything from the main international institutions for peacebuilding to the links between peacebuilding and climate change, or peacebuilding and trauma. It is also firmly interdisciplinary, with a number of chapters devoted to showcasing how different disciplines interpret peacebuilding and how they contribute to it. Bringing together leading thinkers and practitioners on peacebuilding, many from the Global South, the handbook offers a valuable “hands-on” perspective on how peace can be secured and sustained. There is a significant emphasis on comparison and the book shows how peacebuilding is best examined from the vantage point of multiple cases.

The book is organised into six thematic sections:

Part I: Architecture and Actors

Part II: Reading Peacebuilding

Part III: Issues and Approaches

Part IV: Violence and Security

Part V: Everyday Living

Part VI: Disciplinary Approaches

This book will be essential reading for students of peacebuilding, mediation and post-conflict reconstruction, and of great interest to students of statebuilding, intervention, civil wars, conflict resolution, war and conflict studies and IR in general.

This updated and revised second edition of the Routledge Handbook of Peacebuilding contains cutting-edge analyses of contemporary attempts to reach and sustain peace.

The book covers the main actors and dynamics of peacebuilding, as well as the main challenges that it faces, with accessible chapters. The volume is comprehensive, covering everything from the main international institutions for peacebuilding to the links between peacebuilding and climate change, or peacebuilding and trauma. It is also firmly interdisciplinary, with a number of chapters devoted to showcasing how different disciplines interpret peacebuilding and how they contribute to it. Bringing together leading thinkers and practitioners on peacebuilding, many from the Global South, the handbook offers a valuable “hands-on” perspective on how peace can be secured and sustained. There is a significant emphasis on comparison and the book shows how peacebuilding is best examined from the vantage point of multiple cases.

The book is organised into six thematic sections:

Part I: Architecture and Actors

Part II: Reading Peacebuilding

Part III: Issues and Approaches

Part IV: Violence and Security

Part V: Everyday Living

Part VI: Disciplinary Approaches

This book will be essential reading for students of peacebuilding, mediation and post-conflict reconstruction, and of great interest to students of statebuilding, intervention, civil wars, conflict resolution, war and conflict studies and IR in general.

The Companion on Humanitarian Action addresses the political, ethical, legal and practical issues which influence reactions to humanitarian crisis. It does so by exploring the daily dilemmas faced by a range of actors, including policy makers, aid workers, the private sector and the beneficiaries of aid and by challenging common perceptions regarding humanitarian crisis and the policies put in place to address these. Through such explorations, it provides practitioners and scholars with the knowledge needed to both understand and improve upon current forms of humanitarian action. The Companion will be of use to those interested a range of humanitarian programmes ranging from emergency medical assistance, military interventions, managing refugee flows and the implementation of international humanitarian law. As opposed to addressing specific programmes, it will explore five themes seen as relevant to understanding and engaging in all modes of humanitarian action. The first section explores varying interpretations of humanitarianism, including critical historical and political-economic explanations as well as more practice based explorations focused on notions needs assessments and evaluation. Following this, readers will be exposed to the latest debates on a range of humanitarian principles including neutrality and sovereignty, before exploring the key issues faced by the main actors involved in humanitarian crisis (from international NGOs to local community based organizations). The final two sections address what are seen as key dilemmas in regards to humanitarian action and emerging trends in the humanitarian system, including the increasing role of social media in responding to crises. Whilst not a ‘how to guide’, the Companion contains many practical insights for policy makers and aid workers, whilst also offering analytical insights for students of humanitarian action. Indeed, throughout the book, readers will come to the realization that understanding and improving humanitarian action simultaneously requires both active critical reflection and an acceptance of the urgency and timeliness of action that is required for humanitarian assistance to have an impact on vital human needs. Exploring a sector that is far from homogenous, both practitioners and scholars alike will find the contributions of this book offers them a deeper understanding of the motivations and mechanics of current interventions, but also insight into current changes and progress occurring in the field of humanitarian practice.

The Companion on Humanitarian Action addresses the political, ethical, legal and practical issues which influence reactions to humanitarian crisis. It does so by exploring the daily dilemmas faced by a range of actors, including policy makers, aid workers, the private sector and the beneficiaries of aid and by challenging common perceptions regarding humanitarian crisis and the policies put in place to address these. Through such explorations, it provides practitioners and scholars with the knowledge needed to both understand and improve upon current forms of humanitarian action. The Companion will be of use to those interested a range of humanitarian programmes ranging from emergency medical assistance, military interventions, managing refugee flows and the implementation of international humanitarian law. As opposed to addressing specific programmes, it will explore five themes seen as relevant to understanding and engaging in all modes of humanitarian action. The first section explores varying interpretations of humanitarianism, including critical historical and political-economic explanations as well as more practice based explorations focused on notions needs assessments and evaluation. Following this, readers will be exposed to the latest debates on a range of humanitarian principles including neutrality and sovereignty, before exploring the key issues faced by the main actors involved in humanitarian crisis (from international NGOs to local community based organizations). The final two sections address what are seen as key dilemmas in regards to humanitarian action and emerging trends in the humanitarian system, including the increasing role of social media in responding to crises. Whilst not a ‘how to guide’, the Companion contains many practical insights for policy makers and aid workers, whilst also offering analytical insights for students of humanitarian action. Indeed, throughout the book, readers will come to the realization that understanding and improving humanitarian action simultaneously requires both active critical reflection and an acceptance of the urgency and timeliness of action that is required for humanitarian assistance to have an impact on vital human needs. Exploring a sector that is far from homogenous, both practitioners and scholars alike will find the contributions of this book offers them a deeper understanding of the motivations and mechanics of current interventions, but also insight into current changes and progress occurring in the field of humanitarian practice.

This book offers a comparative survey of 18 contemporary peace processes conducted by leading international scholars.

There is no standard model of peace processes and all will vary according to the context, type of conflict, timing, national and global economic climate, and factors like natural disasters. Therefore, making comparisons between peace processes is difficult, but it is beneficial – indeed, imperative – and is the principal motivation behind this volume. What works in one context may not work in another, but it can be modified and adapted to fit another context.

The book is structured to maximise comparison between processes, and the case studies chosen are topical and span the major regions of the world. The concluding chapter systematically compares the case studies around 11 variables that cover the conflict context, peace process procedures, the responsiveness of the peace process to demands, and levels of participation and inclusion. Each peace process is then given a numeric score according to each of these variables, and the book thereby reaches judgements on whether each case can be termed a ‘success’ or a ‘failure’.

This book will be essential reading for students of peace studies, conflict resolution, war and conflict studies, security studies, and IR.

This book offers a comparative survey of 18 contemporary peace processes conducted by leading international scholars.

There is no standard model of peace processes and all will vary according to the context, type of conflict, timing, national and global economic climate, and factors like natural disasters. Therefore, making comparisons between peace processes is difficult, but it is beneficial – indeed, imperative – and is the principal motivation behind this volume. What works in one context may not work in another, but it can be modified and adapted to fit another context.

The book is structured to maximise comparison between processes, and the case studies chosen are topical and span the major regions of the world. The concluding chapter systematically compares the case studies around 11 variables that cover the conflict context, peace process procedures, the responsiveness of the peace process to demands, and levels of participation and inclusion. Each peace process is then given a numeric score according to each of these variables, and the book thereby reaches judgements on whether each case can be termed a ‘success’ or a ‘failure’.

This book will be essential reading for students of peace studies, conflict resolution, war and conflict studies, security studies, and IR.

There is widespread dissatisfaction with the current suite of evaluation and monitoring tools available to peacebuilders and those responding to conflict. Yet, despite this dissatisfaction, there are few concrete moves to investigate alternative methods of gauging the success or failure of peace initiatives. This volume explores alternative methods of assessing peace. These methods tend to be bottom-up and people-centric and are interested in many aspects of conflict societies that orthodox top-down indicators often miss. The methods explored in this work chime with the contemporary interest in critical approaches to peace and conflict studies, and approaches that are interested in local perspectives. The volume also connects with a growing interest in civic epistemology, or the co-production of data whereby research ‘subjects’ participate in the research and have a chance of understanding the relevance of research. All of the contributors to the volume have significant field experience in conflict-affected areas and their work is informed by an engagement with the everyday challenges and opportunities facing people in war zones.

This bookw as published as a special issue of the Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding.

There is widespread dissatisfaction with the current suite of evaluation and monitoring tools available to peacebuilders and those responding to conflict. Yet, despite this dissatisfaction, there are few concrete moves to investigate alternative methods of gauging the success or failure of peace initiatives. This volume explores alternative methods of assessing peace. These methods tend to be bottom-up and people-centric and are interested in many aspects of conflict societies that orthodox top-down indicators often miss. The methods explored in this work chime with the contemporary interest in critical approaches to peace and conflict studies, and approaches that are interested in local perspectives. The volume also connects with a growing interest in civic epistemology, or the co-production of data whereby research ‘subjects’ participate in the research and have a chance of understanding the relevance of research. All of the contributors to the volume have significant field experience in conflict-affected areas and their work is informed by an engagement with the everyday challenges and opportunities facing people in war zones.

This bookw as published as a special issue of the Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding.