The Role of Visiting Professionals in Peacebuilding

Abstract

Seeking to inform the peace-through-tourism scholarly debate, this chapter revisits this complex relationship from the angle of peacebuilding professionals. International peacebuilding settings habitually welcome peace professionals as visiting contributors, consultants, and freelancers. These visiting peacebuilders are characterised by a form of geographical hybridity that identifies them as a distinct audience in international peacebuilding and a niche audience of international travellers. In order to examine their role and contribution in international peacebuilding, the present study employs a qualitative methodological approach that combines historical narrative and field interviews to the case of the Cyprus peacebuilding discourse. This chapter argues that visiting peacebuilders have a significant role in formulating optimal encounters between peacebuilder audiences and in increasing the effectiveness of international peacebuilding projects.