Contesting liberal peace

Russia's emerging model of conflict management

Bibliographic Data

ID3715433
AuthorsDavid Lewis (0000-0002-0253-5530)
Year2022
Volume98
Issue2
Pages653-673
Publication date2022-03-07
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Affairs (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0020-5850 • E-ISSN: 1468-2346
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/ia/iiab221
OpenAlexW4220709028
LanguageEN
Citations received36
References cited14

Russia has begun to promote itself internationally as a mediator of conflict and as a 'peacemaker'. Russian officials cite its extensive experience in managing numerous post-Soviet conflicts and its more recent experience of intervention in civil wars in Syria, Libya, the Central African Republic (CAR) and Nagorno-Karabakh. Russia considers all these activities forms of 'peacemaking', but its approach differs radically from the model of liberal peacebuilding that has dominated international practice in the post-Cold War era. It prioritizes authoritarian stability over justice, human rights and democracy and advocates short-term goals of conflict management over long-term goals of conflict resolution. In this article I explain why Russia's norms of peacemaking and conflict management diverged so markedly from liberal peacebuilding norms. I argue that Russia is no longer simply contesting western norms, but developing its own distinct model of conflict management. This model accepts the use of force as an integral element in peacemaking, engages in 'coercive' mediation by authoritative actors, and views the West as a geopolitical and normative opponent. This debate over Russia's approach to peace and conflict also offers wider insights into how Russia challenges the norms and practices that underpin the liberal international order

Authoritarianism · Conflict management · Conflict resolution · Democracy · Geopolitics · Mediation · Multilateralism · Normative · Peacebuilding · Peacekeeping · Peacemaking · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · Law · Peacebuilding and International Security · Post-Soviet Geopolitical Dynamics

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