The liberal peace and its contesting universal values: a theoretical approach to the development of hybrid forms of political order in post conflict societies

Abstract

The Liberal Peace can be understood as a discourse and a framework which is constantly used by western countries in order to promote political stability in post-conflict societies. Embedded in the peacebuilding/peacekeeping operations, some liberal values are assumed to be the “only deal in town” to assist war-torn societies reaching political order. The present essay aims to analyze what are the theoretical principles embedded in the Liberal Peace assumptions and bring a critical approach which contests these universal values of implementing peace in transitioning societies. That being said, we can affirm that many values regarded as “universal” do not have much meaning to local societies in post-conflict states. The essay hence tries to look to an alternative perspective to build the peace in post-conflict societies: the hybrid peace. The Hybrid Peace assumption is an important approach which assumes that the local agency is a relevant actor on the promotion of peace in their respective communities, mainly in post-colonial states. Thus, the local actors have legitimacy and recognition of the society and can, therefore, promote and build peace along international interveners. The main objective of the present essay is to present a new approach to understand the peacebuilding projects and also recognize that different contexts need distinct approaches.
  
  
 Recebido em: agosto/2018.
 Aprovado em: abril/2019.