Exploring the diversity of non-Western approaches to peacebuilding, conflict management, and the implementation of peace agreements

Kazushige Kobayashi

Chapter 30 in Handbook on the Politics of International Agreements, 2026, pp 467-481 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter analyses the diversity of non-Western approaches to peacebuilding and conflict management in the changing global order. First, it traces the evolution of peacebuilding research from the liberal turn to the hybrid and local turns, highlighting how local non-Western actors shifted from being framed as spoilers to partners and agents of change. Second, it explores the engagement of major non-Western powers—China, Russia, Japan, and Southern powers—revealing distinct policy orientations ranging from statist developmental peace to illiberal conflict management. Third, it highlights the regionalization of peace operations through African, Eurasian, and Asian regional organizations, which increasingly reshape multilateral peace processes and introduce alternative norms emphasizing sovereignty, stabilization, and non-conditionality. The chapter concludes that, rather than replacing the liberal peace, these alternative approaches create a pluralistic field of competing norms and practices. This multiplicity raises critical questions about norm contestation, power shifts, and the conceptual boundaries of peacebuilding.

Keywords: International Order; Norm Contestation; Non-Western Powers; Peacebuilding; Conflict Management; Illiberal Peace (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035318582
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