Abstract How do rituals function in peace and conflict settings? How do rituals between adversaries contain and sustain emotions? In this article we examine the Tripartite Meetings hosted by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which were held regularly from August 2006 until October 2023 along the Blue Line that separates Israel and Lebanon. Mediated by UNIFIL, these meetings brought together representatives of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) to discuss tactical and operational issues. We argue that the Tripartites functioned as a ritual: highly routinized, symbolically vital, and carefully choreographed. Yet rather than fostering solidarity or emotional connection, this ritualized setting contained and reproduced antagonistic emotions of blame, injustice, and victimhood. In so doing, the meetings sustained an artificial equilibrium that deferred political action, creating the space for multiple parties to the conflict to re-arm. Our findings complicate Durkheimian assumptions that suggest rituals bind through shared affect, showing instead that in conflict settings, rituals can stabilize adversarial relations without advancing rapprochement. This study contributes to international relations debates on practice theory, emotions and the ambivalent role of rituals in conflict resolution initiatives, like peacekeeping and diplomacy.
Newby et al. (Thu,) studied this question.