Peace: A Very Short Introduction

Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring

The concept of peace has always attracted radical thought, action, and practices. It has been taken to mean merely an absence of overt violence or war, but in the contemporary era it is often used interchangeably with 'peacemaking', 'peacebuilding', 'conflict resolution', and 'statebuilding'. The modern concept of peace has therefore broadened from the mere absence of violence to something much more complicated.

In this Very Short Introduction, Oliver Richmond explores the evolution of peace in practice and in theory, exploring our modern assumptions about peace and the various different interpretations of its applications. This second edition has been theoretically and empirically updated and introduces a new framework to understand the overall evolution of the international peace architecture.

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Oliver P. Richmond, Research Professor in IR, Peace and Conflict Studies, Department of Politics/IR, University of Manchester

Oliver Richmond is a Research Professor in IR, Peace and Conflict Studies in the Department of Politics, University of Manchester, UK. He was previously a professor at the University of St Andrews, and before that, the University of Nicosia. He is also International Professor at Dublin City University, Ireland, Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Tubingen, Germany, and a Visiting Professor at the University of Coimbra, Portugal. His publications include The Grand Design (Oxford University Press, 2022), Peace Formation and Political Order in Conflict Affected Societies (Oxford University Press, 2016) and Failed Statebuilding (2014). He is editor of the Palgrave book series, Rethinking Peace and Conflict Studies, and co-editor of the Journal, Peacebuilding.

Introduction: the multiple dimensions of peace
1. Defining peace
2. The victor's peace in history
3. Peace in history: towards the Enlightenment
4. Peace in modernity: the constitutional peace
5. The next step: an institutional peace
6. A radical phase: a civil peace and social advocacy
7. The development of an international peace architecture
8. Peacekeeping, peacebuilding, and statebuilding
9. Hybrid forms of peace, peace formation and counter-peace
Epilogue: new agendas for peace
Further Reading
Index