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Resistance to illiberal peacebuilding: towards a new research agenda

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Nilanjana PremaratnaORCiD

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Abstract

In recent years, liberal peacebuilding has been increasingly displaced by illiberal peacebuilding – illiberal norms and practices that prioritise regime control, stability, and order through economic co-optation, repression of dissent, and the promotion of hegemonic narratives. While studies have examined how illiberal peacebuilding is practiced in various contexts, few have thus far asked how people respond to, and possibly resist, illiberal ideas and practices of peacebuilding. Rather, the existing research on resistance and peacebuilding has primarily focused on local resistance to top-down, often internationally driven liberal peacebuilding. In this article, we address this gap by bringing resistance studies and peacebuilding into greater dialogue and by exploring civil society resistance to illiberal peacebuilding in Myanmar and Sri Lanka. We examine how civil society and social movement actors have resisted regime efforts to build peace through illiberal norms and practices and instead worked to imagine and construct alternative forms of peace that are more inclusive and egalitarian, though not necessarily liberal.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Olivius Elisabeth, Waldorf Lars, Åkebo Malin, Premaratna Nilanjana

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Conflict, Security & Development

Year: 2025

Volume: 25

Issue: 4

Pages: 433-459

Online publication date: 28/08/2025

Acceptance date: 14/08/2025

Date deposited: 29/09/2025

ISSN (print): 1467-8802

ISSN (electronic): 1478-1174

Publisher: Routledge

URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/14678802.2025.2551561

DOI: 10.1080/14678802.2025.2551561

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