The problem of peace: understanding the ‘liberal peace’

To remember Hiroshima is to commit oneself to peace. Pope John Paul II, 1 1. Pope John Paul II, 25 February 1981. 1981 Pax Invictis2 2. ‘Peace to the undefeated’ or the victor's peace. Inscribed on the Tomb of the Unknown Solider in St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, Australia. Virtue runs amok. Attributed to G.K. Chesterton This essay examines the development of the liberal peace, identifying its internal components and the often-ignored tensions between them. The construction of the liberal peace, and its associated discourses and practices in post-conflict environments is far from coherent. It is subject to significant intellectual and practical shortcomings, not least related to its focus on political, social, and economic reforms as mainly long-term institutional processes resting on the reform of governance. It thereby neglects interim issues such as the character, agency and needs of civil society actors, especially related to the ending of war economies, and their replacement with frameworks that respond to individual social and economic needs, as well as political needs. The resultant peace is therefore often very flimsy and at best ‘virtual’, rather than emancipatory.