Introducing Patchworked Peacemaking: Moving Beyond the Multitrack-Inclusion Nexus

Peacemaking policy commonly advances the notion that peace processes unfold across multiple ‘tracks’ that are linked and that complement each other, and that this to fosters greater inclusivity. The policy discourse surrounding what we term the ‘multitrack-inclusion nexus’ thus transports a highly ideal-typical and ‘neat’ understanding of how peace processes should unfold despite the messier practical realities of societies in conflict. In contrast, this Special Issue invites researchers and practitioners to move beyond the metaphor of tracks towards one of ‘patchworked peacemaking,’ which emphasises the interplay between the human, semiotic and material in efforts to end violence and mediate peace.