William G. Nomikos discussion of: From ceasefire to cohesion

Hultman and Mousa provide a timely and ambitious synthesis of research on peacemaking, peacekeeping, and grassroots peacebuilding. They convincingly argue that sustainable peace requires integrating top-down interventions that reduce violence with bottom-up efforts that foster intergroup trust and resilience. By reviewing the empirical evidence on mediation, peacekeeping, development aid, and a wide array of prejudice-reduction programmes, they bridge literatures that too often remain siloed. This integrated framework represents an important step towards understanding how immediate violence reduction can connect to long-term social cohesion. The paper begins by situating contemporary conflicts in a global context marked by protracted civil wars, proxy conflicts, and rising polarization, underscoring the urgency of robust conflict-management strategies. It then reviews the evidence on peacemaking and peacekeeping, highlighting how mediation, strong peacekeeping mandates, and well-resourced missions can reduce violence, while also recognizing the political and logistical constraints that often limit these interventions. The authors next turn to the provision of aid, exploring the mixed evidence on whether development and humanitarian assistance reduce or exacerbate conflict risk. They close by surveying grassroots peacebuilding programmes—from direct intergroup contact to empathy education, media interventions, and inclusive national identity-building—assessing which approaches most effectively reduce prejudice and foster resilience. Taken together, the paper offers a conceptual bridge between international, elite-driven efforts to stabilize conflict zones and local interventions aimed at rebuilding trust in fractured societies, while identifying important gaps in linking these strategies to long-term peace.