Putting Peace Back Into the Peace Corps: Restoring International Volunteering for Development as a Peacebuilding Modality

Abstract

International volunteering for development is neglected as a peacebuilding model, despite its origins in the early 20th-century pacifist movement. In part, this is due to pressures from donor- and sponsor-state agendas, which emphasise neoliberal and securitisation dynamics, similar to those experienced by the wider peacebuilding and development field. Research in peace studies has overlooked the field, making it unclear what unique impacts these activities might have upon peacebuilding and conflict. This not only leaves us blind to its potential as an underused peacebuilding modality, but it also makes it difficult to mitigate potential harms. To prepare the foundation for future research and programme evaluation, I propose a levels of analysis model for mapping the potential peacebuilding impacts of international volunteering and service. This will be grounded in a reconstruction of the peacebuilding paradigms espoused by early theorists and practitioners.