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In this edited volume, the field of peace and conflict studies is reimagined through critical perspectives. By applying post-colonial, feminist, critical normative, post-structuralist, and decolonial approaches, the book charts a new path forward in a time of crisis. Drawing upon the powerful imagery of the Judeo-Christian eschatological imaginaries—the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Death, Famine, Conquest, and War) and the Whore of Babylon—the contributors challenge the assumptions, authority, and traditional approaches in peace and conflict studies. These apocalyptic symbols serve as a prism to radically rethink contemporary issues, dismantling the dominance of liberal peacebuilding.
The volume's unique framework explores the connections between these eschatological themes and pressing concerns, such as the spatial variations of climate crisis natural disasters, the prevalence of violent armed conflicts, and the breakdown of societal relations inpolarized communities. By doing so, the authors raise critical questions and propose innovative concepts that can more effectively address the challenges of our time.
This book offers a timely and necessary critique of the field while presenting alternative frameworks that transcend the Western tradition. It challenges the dichotomy of righteousness and damnation, urging readers to reconsider prevailing paradigms. With its multidisciplinary approach and engaging perspectives, this volume provides a valuable resource for scholars and students seeking to navigate the complex landscape of peace and conflict studies in the 21st century.
List of contents
Chapter 1. Introduction: Peace and Conflict in the Time of Apocalypse.- Chapter 2. Moving Toward Balance and Harmony: Indige-Nous Relationalism and Cycles of Transformation.- Chapter 3. “Cackling as Reclamation”: Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Savage Witchery.- Chapter 4. Decolonization as an Apocalyptic Process: Vi-Sions of Liberation.- Chapter 5. Pati-Agent: Rethinking the Suffered Being in Apocalypses.- Chapter 6. (Re)Shaping Representations of Women in the Apocalypse: Women on the Walls in Belfast and Bogotá.- Chapter 7. Breaking Bread in a Relational Famine: Navi-Gating Structural Violence Through Facilitated Dis-Course.- Chapter 8. Communing With Ghosts: Dialogue, Apocalyptic Visions and COVID-19 Polarization.- Chapter 9. Peace Without Us? Artificial Intelligence, Human Extinction and the Apocalypse.- Chapter 10. The End of Whose World? Redemption, Failure and the Power of Aesthetic Knowledge.- Chapter 11. Conflict Analysis as Apocalyptic Prophecies: Unpacking the Politics and Power of Conflict Nar-Ratives in Peacemaking.- Chapter 12. Pragmatism and Peacebuilding After the Apoca-Lypse.- Chapter 13. The Rebirth of Peacebuilding: Toward a Wheel of Time.
About the author
Samantha Gamez is a PhD Fellow at swisspeace and the University of Basel (Switzerland), working as part of the “International Peacemaking in Pursuit of a ‘Good Peace’: Integration or Separation?” project. She completed her Master’s in “Comparative and International Studies” at ETH Zurich (Switzerland), where she also co-authored the African Peace Processes and Peace Observatory datasets. Heavily interested in qualitative and mixed methods, she prefers to pursue research on local conflicts, peacebuilding, mediation, and African contexts. She has also published several book reviews with International Affairs and International Peacekeeping.
Dr. Julia Palmiano Federer is a Senior Research Fellow with the Ottawa Dialogue at the University of Ottawa. She has held research fellowships at the Center for Security Studies at ETH Zurich and the Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Collaboratory at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership. She is also an Associated Researcher with swisspeace. Her research interests include critical approaches to peace mediation and conflict resolution. Her work can be found in Millennium: Journal of International Studies, International Negotiation, Negotiation Journal, and Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding. She is the author of the book, NGOs Mediating Peace: Promoting Inclusion in Myanmar’s Ceasefire Negotiations.
Summary
In this edited volume, the field of peace and conflict studies is reimagined through critical perspectives. By applying post-colonial, feminist, critical normative, post-structuralist, and decolonial approaches, the book charts a new path forward in a time of crisis. Drawing upon the powerful imagery of the Judeo-Christian eschatological imaginaries—the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Death, Famine, Conquest, and War) and the Whore of Babylon—the contributors challenge the assumptions, authority, and traditional approaches in peace and conflict studies. These apocalyptic symbols serve as a prism to radically rethink contemporary issues, dismantling the dominance of liberal peacebuilding.
The volume's unique framework explores the connections between these eschatological themes and pressing concerns, such as the spatial variations of climate crisis natural disasters, the prevalence of violent armed conflicts, and the breakdown of societal relations inpolarized communities. By doing so, the authors raise critical questions and propose innovative concepts that can more effectively address the challenges of our time.
This book offers a timely and necessary critique of the field while presenting alternative frameworks that transcend the Western tradition. It challenges the dichotomy of righteousness and damnation, urging readers to reconsider prevailing paradigms. With its multidisciplinary approach and engaging perspectives, this volume provides a valuable resource for scholars and students seeking to navigate the complex landscape of peace and conflict studies in the 21st century.
