Deconstructing the local in peacebuilding practice: representations and realities of Fambul Tok in Sierra Leone

Abstract

The ‘local’ has become central to peacebuilding, both in theory and in practice. While there is extensive conceptual literature analysing the ‘local’, there is much less that looks at how what is often considered local in peacebuilding programmes actually works in practice. The empirical peacebuilding literature that does exist has largely focussed on the international–local interface and those studies that have focussed solely on the ‘local’ largely rely on discussions with more elite civil society leaders. In contrast, this article empirically analyses ‘local–local’ dynamics. Using a Sierra Leonean peacebuilding project called Fambul Tok, this article both provides in-depth analysis on how the organisation externally projects itself as ‘local’ and contrasts this with how the organisation actually works in practice. Externally, Fambul Tok’s media materials equate ‘local’ with Sierra Leonean place and people, as well as notions of culture and tradition. However, by examining the dynamics between different Sierra Leoneans, including staff members and programme participants, a complex picture of the ‘local–local’ emerges. I argue that by engaging with comprehensive empirical research, we can understand how local peacebuilding is actually experienced and enacted and how the theoretical discussions of the ‘local’ and ‘local–local’ in peacebuilding converge with how peacebuilding works in practice.