In view of a crisis of liberal universalism, peace research is facing many new challenges. How is peace conceived beyond European democracy and the rule of law? How do ordinary people actually manage to settle conflicts when customary patriarchal orders still have a high priority in their everyday life? Which agency do local people in Central Asia or the Caucasus have under more or less authoritarian governmental control? How does the local population experience peacebuilding missions? How does global mobility influence local capacities for peace formation?
As guest editor of the special issue of the Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, IFSH peace researcher Anna Kreikemeyer seeks new starting points for peace research in and with Central Eurasia. Inspired by the British concept of Ethnographic Peace Research, the five authors of this special issue on Studying Peace in and with Central Eurasia are mainly interested in the local everyday life from the ground up in this post-Soviet region. They shed light on the relevance of customary Islamic orders or on the peace-building role of respected older women leaders in Kyrgyzstan. They question light and shadow of local patronal power in dispute settlement or the consequences of an enormous labour migration for communities in Tajikistan. Finally, they also demonstrate what little chance Western peace journalism has under more or less authoritarian rule in the Caucasus.
The articles can be found online at https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/risb20/14/4