Whom You Don't Know, You Don't Trust: Vernacular Security, Distrust, and Its Exclusionary Effects in Post-Conflict Societies

Abstract

AbstractArguments about the importance of vernacular security focus on its positive and inclusive potential for peacebuilding. Reflecting on the special constitutional and sociopolitical challenges post-conflict societies face in the aftermath of conflict, though, this article focuses on the way perceptions of security and security in the vernacular can exacerbate exclusionary effects in post-conflict societies. I discuss current approaches to security concepts dealing with social perceptions of (in)security and the linkages made in research between vernacular security and local peace. But I also highlight exclusionary structures in post-conflict settings, which are most often marked by distrustful social relations, as a byproduct of security measures. I argue, in contrast to current assumptions in research on security in the vernacular, that everyday measures not only have positive implications for peacebuilding but can also lead to social exclusion, fostering violence and hindering social equality, development, and peace.