Crafting Liberal Peace? International Peace Promotion and the Contextual Politics of Peace in Sri Lanka

摘要

Contemporary armed conflicts are typically intrastate conflicts in the Global South. These are often representedas global security threats, providing a justification for practical geopolitics of promoting liberal peace throughelitist peace negotiations and instrumental use of humanitarian and development aid. In this context, thecontemporary hegemonic discourse on peace emphasizes the synergies among liberal peace, liberal democracy,and neoliberal development. Based on recent democratic transitions, it is assumed that liberal peace can becrafted through internationally facilitated elite negotiations. This article examines this technocratic approachto peace and highlights the tension between elitist crafting of liberal peace and contextual political dynamicsin conflict situations, using Sri Lanka as an exemplary case. Sri Lanka's fifth peace process is presented as aproduct of international and domestic power relations and stakeholder strategies, with a convergence betweenthe government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam around two defining characteristics: (1)crafting of peace through narrowly defined elite negotiations and (2) linking of peace and development throughhumanitarian and development aid. It is argued that the use of development as a precursor to peace politicizedthe issue of interim development administration and the combination of political exclusion of elites and socialexclusion of intermediate Sinhalese classes undermined the government and its agenda for liberal peace. SriLanka is thus an illustrative case of international promotion of liberal peace but also the tensions betweeninternationalized and elitist crafting of peace and contextual power relations and political dynamics in conflictsituations.