Towards a Laclaunian Approach to Peacebuilding

Abstract

What is the local? This is one of the most controversial questions the local turn in peacebuilding faces. For some, the local refers to institutions and social movements, while others understand it as networks or processes in flux. Critics argue, among other points, that this literature tends to reify an international-local binary, whereas others emphasize the incoherence of adopting anti-foundationalist ontologies while defending the possibility of emancipation. In this article, I discuss these subjects through the lens of Ernesto Laclau’s political theory and propose to frame the local as a form of non-essentialist collective identity. To do this, I review recent contributions to the local turn and identify some of its controversies. Considering the theoretical lacuna found, I propose Laclaunian concepts, such as the people, antagonism, and hegemony, as conceptual alternatives. Finally, I present some consequences to the study of peacebuilding which this type of discussion might open.