Indigenous Peacebuilding

Abstract

Recent years have seen a resurgence of international interest in indigenous approaches to peacemaking, peacebuilding, and reconciliation. Such approaches have become trendy among many international organisations, bilateral donors, INGOs, and academics as they connect with wider normative goals of ‘local ownership’ and ‘sustainability’. Yet there are dangers of romanticising all things local and traditional without subjecting them to scrutiny. Just like international approaches to peace support, indigenous approaches can be flawed, counterproductive, and ineffective. This chapter unpacks notions of indigeneity in relation to peacebuilding and reconciliation. It follows on from Chapter 1, which examined the liberal peace, or top-down internationally endorsed forms of peacemaking that are justified rhetorically using universal notions of liberalism. This chapter adopts a different level of analysis, and focuses on local, traditional, indigenous, and customary forms of dispute resolution and reconciliation that are often bottom-up in their approach. This paves the way for Chapter 3, which discusses processes of hybridisation, or the mechanisms whereby local and international forms of peacebuilding interact to form a composite peace. The remaining chapters in the book then apply notions of hybridisation to particular cases.

There appeared to be among the natives in general great goodwill towards us, and they seemed to be much rejoiced at our arrival.

Captain William Bligh, on reaching Tahiti in 1788 (1792: 62)