Trans-Scalar Ethnographic Peace Research: Understanding the Invisible Drivers of Complex Conflict and Complex Peace

Abstract

Dynamics of peace and conflict emerge in the complex non-linear circulation of influence across scales, from the local to the global and back. Recently proposed methodologies for examining these dynamics, whether quantitative (primarily focusing on the macro), or qualitative (primarily focusing on the micro), are distinctly limited. Both struggle to trace influences across the full range of scales, and neither incorporates mechanisms to examine the consistency or divergence between implicit concepts which underpin expectations and experiences of conflict, peace, and peacebuilding. Trans-Scalar Ethnographic Peace Research, however, focusing specifically on these implicit concepts, facilitates examination of complex conflict dynamics across scales.