Power or peace? Restoration or emancipation through peace processes

Abstract

Recent critical academic work in Peace and Conflict Studies has concentrated on the agential aspects of peace but has somewhat neglected structural issues and the different types of power that may be an obstacle to peace. Yet, for peace to take root, to be emancipatory and truly transformative, it seems that issues of hard power, geo-politics and the structures of states, societies and economies need to be re-addressed in a new set of contexts. This special issue concentrates on how peace scholarship and agendas can be furthered in an era of realism, hard power, the primacy of geopolitics, nationalism, authoritarianism and unfettered capitalism. This article explores the fluid and multifaceted relationship between power and peace, while also introducing the contributions to this special issue.