The Sage Handbook of Peace and Conflict Studies
- Maia Carter Hallward - Kennesaw State University, USA
- Ji Eun Kim - Eastern Mennonite University
- Cécile Mouly - Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO), Ecuador
- Timothy Seidel - Eastern Mennonite University
- Zubairu Wai - University of Toronto at Scarborough
Peace Studies/Conflict Resolution
The Sage Handbook of Peace and Conflict Studies offers a comprehensive exploration of the complexities of violence, conflict, and peace from a global, interdisciplinary perspective. The handbook addresses the traditional Western-centric approach while emphasizing the need to integrate Global South perspectives to create a more inclusive and transformative understanding of peace and conflict.
While important voices in peace and conflict studies have long stressed the need to not only address direct violence but also structural and cultural one, certain strands of the field have upheld conservative knowledge production and reinforced unequal power structures. This volume seeks to challenge these biasesby foregrounding critical and decolonial approaches that emphasize gender, race, culture, global history, and political economy. Its diverse chapters invite us to question mainstream assumptions and promote a broader, more inclusive analysis of peace and conflict.
The handbook explores the evolution of the field, highlighting the impact of historical events and the role of oppositional knowledge in political change. It offers a critical overview of theoretical approaches, emphasizing reflexivity, inclusivity, and the importance of local actors in peace and conflict dynamics. Additionally, it examines how cultural and disciplinary assumptions shape peacebuilding and conflict transformation, and it critiques traditional global narratives on issues like governance, climate change, and human rights. Finally, the handbook presents real-world case studies that integrate themes of decoloniality, race, gender, and power inequalities across diverse global contexts.
By centering the Global South and integrating interdisciplinary perspectives, this handbook provides valuable insights for scholars and practitioners committed to fostering a more equitable and just world.
Section 1: History, Knowledge, and Power in Peace and Conflict Studies
Section 2: Theory and Analysis in Peace and Conflict Studies
Section 3: Practices and Approaches in Peace and Conflict Studies
Section 4: Global Issues, Institutions, and Change in Peace and Conflict Studies
Section 5: Case Studies in Peace and Conflict Studies
"Peace and conflict studies is in desperate need for such a handbook that presents a wide and diverse collection of chapters tackling difficult current challenges facing our global and local communities. This handbook offers much needed approaches to deepen our analytical understanding of root causes of structural violence and nonviolent ways to confront them. It also introduces fresh and critical global south perspectives that often are not part of the academic peace and conflict studies. It is a must read for students, scholars, and practitioners who wish to expand their critical analytical frameworks and skills."
"The Sage Handbook of Peace and Conflict Studies is an incredibly novel new contribution to the field. It stands out from the various competing publications in its robust response to recent critiques of the epistemological biases in the field. It achieves this by including a much wider variety of voices than many similar volumes, thus providing for a more inclusive and diverse set of perspectives on the past, present, and future of peace and conflict studies."
The Sage Handbook of Peace and Conflict Studies is a significant contribution to the field, offering a comprehensive effort to decolonize peace scholarship. Featuring renowned authors in decolonial approaches and leading voices from the Global South, this volume revisits core topics in Peace and Conflict Studies through fresh, critical lenses. Striking a thoughtful balance between theoretical exploration and practice-based insights, the handbook serves as both an introductory resource and a critical collection of decolonial perspectives.
This is an extremely comprehensive Handbook that fills a significant gap in Peace and Conflict Studies. By placing an emphasis on authors and perspectives from the Global South, the Handbook is able to connect more directly to how peace and conflict are made on the ground. Through a mix of theory and case studies, the book it able to critically examine how peace is made and remade. Books like this are much needed in a turbulent world.
This handbook is a beautiful and much-needed contribution to the field of Peace and Conflict Studies. It brings together different voices from around the world, weaving diverse perspectives and revisiting foundational debates, while creating space for new—and often marginalized—understandings of peace and violence. It invites readers to reimagine the field in more inclusive terms, embracing its complexity and nuance. A must-read for scholars, and an essential addition to any introductory course in Peace and Conflict Studies.
