Peace as Social Cohesion, Equity, and Democracy: Local Peacebuilders’ Conceptualizations of Peace

Peace is something that all societies value and desire, but very few can achieve and sustain. This paper offers an analysis of how local peacebuilders working in contexts affected by violent conflict and in postconflict areas conceptualize peace. Peacebuilders voices were collected through an open-ended survey, consultations on a digital platform called Padlet, and storytelling webinars facilitated by an Australian Indigenous storyteller. In these voices, we find a focus on achieving negative peace and deligitimizing all kinds of violence as well as a strong emphasis on positive peace that includes social cohesion; equity and inclusion; and democracy, human rights, and freedoms.