Sensemaking Processes in Complex Peace Operations: A Means of Adapting to the Dynamism of ‘the Local’

Paananen, Soili

doi:10.1080/13533312.2021.1951611

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 57 publications

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“…Where scholarship exists, it adheres to the established utility of sensemaking in extreme contexts. Paananen’s (2021) exploration of how military commanders make sense of complex peacekeeping operations in which understandings of agreements are embedded, negotiated and regenerated to adapt to local necessities and sustain peace gives us an insight into sensemaking processes in active ‘hot’ conflict environments. These existing insights illustrate the theoretical potential of sensemaking to provide rich exploration of the interactions of community actors faced with the lived experience of spatial conflict and its aftermath.…”

Section: Conceptualising Sensemaking Space and Conflict Legaciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Making sense of segregation: Transitional thinking and contested space

Murphy

McDowell

2023

Urban Studies

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In segregated societies space is typically a source of conflict and confusion. Everyday geographies are often navigated through complex patterns of movement that are sensitive to the ‘other’ and their spatial practices. Individuals adjust and tailor their movements, in part, because of the fear of the unknown. This paper, using three embedded cases of interface communities in Northern Ireland, considers how processes of spatial ‘sensemaking’ can reduce anxiety about contested spaces in deeply divided communities. The paper makes three important contributions. First it extends conceptualisations of sensemaking to a focused reading of geographical space in a divided society. This marks an important extension for a theory that until now has been largely confined to the organisational studies literature and provides a theoretical scaffolding with which to better understand individual and group responses to spatial contestation and division. Second, it identifies how processes of sensemaking, married with what we term a ‘connecting methodology’, can instigate individuals to make, break and give sense to themselves and others around issues of past contestation and current disputes. Finally, it argues that these interventions can occasion transitional thinking and new movement through contested space, an important contribution for those working and living in divided societies. The paper draws on data from a wider project on community commemoration in Northern Ireland which explore how individuals and communities collectively move through contested spaces. The process of sensemaking, we argue, can redefine the parameters for participatory methodologies and provide unique opportunities to break deadlocks in deeply divided societies.

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Section: Conceptualising Sensemaking Space and Conflict Legaciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Making sense of segregation: Transitional thinking and contested space

Murphy

McDowell

2023

Urban Studies

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Conflict sensitivity/Do No Harm (DNH) in development, humanitarian, and peacebuilding practice – reflections and emerging trends [special issue editorial]

Schmeidl

Ware

Alberti³

2023

Development in Practice

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Multidimensional Peacekeeping: Local Peace does not last when National Peace Fails

Aguilar

2023

Contexto int.

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The United Nations’ multidimensional operations have recently been authorised to use force to protect civilians. Among their peacekeeping activities are initiatives to deal with conflict management/resolution at the local level. While contemporary peacekeeping tends to be highly concentrated at the national level, it has increasingly striven to implement initiatives at the local level. However, local level operations face certain difficulties. To address this, the UN tends to focus on the initiatives, approaches, and strategies it employs at the local level, one of which is the use of force to protect civilians during peace operations. The present analysis revolves around the argument that ‘local peace’ will not last long unless a peace agreement is achieved and sustained at the national level, and, consequently, that the connection between peace and conflict at both the local and national levels is key to tackling conflicts. This paper uses primary documents, secondary sources, and interviews, as well as specific examples from operations in South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Central African Republic, to inductively confirm this argument, and discuss the difficulties that peace operations face on the issue.

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Sensemaking Processes in Complex Peace Operations: A Means of Adapting to the Dynamism of ‘the Local’

Cited by 3 publications

References 57 publications

Making sense of segregation: Transitional thinking and contested space

Making sense of segregation: Transitional thinking and contested space

Conflict sensitivity/Do No Harm (DNH) in development, humanitarian, and peacebuilding practice – reflections and emerging trends [special issue editorial]

Multidimensional Peacekeeping: Local Peace does not last when National Peace Fails

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