Local knowledges in international peacebuilding: acquisition, filtering, and systematic bias

von Billerbeck, S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0154-1944, Coleman, K. P., Eckhard, S. and Zyla, B. (2024) Local knowledges in international peacebuilding: acquisition, filtering, and systematic bias. International Studies Review, 26 (4). viae047. ISSN 1468-2486 doi: 10.1093/isr/viae047

Abstract/Summary

There is widespread consensus among peacebuilding practitioners and scholars on the importance of integrating local knowledge into the design, planning, and implementation of international peace interventions. However, the concept of local knowledge remains undertheorized and the dynamics of local knowledge integration in international activities have not yet been fully explored. This paper reconceptualizes “local knowledge” in peacebuilding as local knowledges in the plural, highlighting seven categories of relevant local knowledge and the contestation within each. We then draw on organizational theory to identify the processes by which particular types of local knowledge become more or less likely to be incorporated into internationally-led peacebuilding activities. Specifically, we argue that knowledge incorporation consists of two stages: acquisition and filtering. In both, international actors control who is able to contribute knowledges and which knowledges are recognized. Systematic biases result: knowledges that confirm previously held beliefs or that simplify complexity are incorporated more regularly. We illustrate our argument by focusing on the UN, but suggest that our findings apply to other international actors, including non-governmental organizations, and extend beyond peacebuilding.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/117256
Identification Number/DOI	10.1093/isr/viae047
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Arts, Humanities and Social Science > School of Politics, Economics and International Relations > Politics and International Relations
Publisher	Oxford University Press
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