The struggle versus the song - the local turn in peacebuilding: an introduction

Abstract

This introduction presents how views on ‘the local turn’ in peacebuilding has evolved into a significant discourse. Currently, it has ‘its moment’ and is widely used by theorists and practitioners alike, by normative localists as well as by liberal policy-makers, albeit for different reasons and with differing intensions. We suggest that international interventions for the purpose of peacebuilding cannot be justified a priori, but requires resonance at the ‘receiving end’, which the local dimension potentially offers. It is however an elusive and contested concept that requires thorough scrutiny and critical assessment. Here a collection of conceptual and empirical articles is contextualised and introduced, painting a broad state-of-the-art of the pros and cons of the local turn.