Overview

Delving into the lives of ten Ivoirian citizens in the aftermath of the Ivoirian Civil War, this book sheds new light on how ordinary people contribute to post-conflict peacebuilding, and how it impacts their day-to-day lives. Ex-combatants contemplate the glory days of the conflict and how they have struggled to reintegrate into a post-conflict society which they feel does not want them. Survivors explain the challenges of returning home after war and dealing with trauma in a country where their families have been torn apart. Civilians discuss the ways that they have helped to build peace and the power that their knowledge of the local context has had on peacebuilding. Soldiers explore the difficulty of integrating rebels into the military at the end of a war and the ongoing challenges that this poses to military cohesion. Taken together, these stories highlight the need for peacebuilding programmes to ditch one-size-fits-all approaches in order to grapple with the specific social dynamics in post-conflict countries. This is essential reading for researchers and students of peacebuilding, international development and African studies, as well as for practitioners the world over.

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9781350405486

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Reviews

In the aftermath of violence, we are left with the question of how to contend with its legacies while at the same time building a just and lasting peace. Typically, technocratic and cookie-cutter solutions are proffered with various transitional justice 'mechanisms' and peacebuilding 'toolkits' put on the table. But peace starts with people, not with institutions or programmes. In this highly engaging, original and insightful book, Jessica Moody privileges the voices of people experiencing conflict and seeking to build peace in Cote d'Ivoire. Through a collection of stories, Moody shows us how peace is imagined, understood, experienced and practiced in the everyday. The book is essential reading for anyone seeking to get to grips with the messy complexity of individuals and communities contending with legacies of violence. * Rachel Kerr, Professor of War and Society, Department of War Studies, King's College London, UK * This is an extremely engaging book that conveys how life is actually lived in a post-war African setting. The book goes beyond the usual focus on peacebuilding projects and instead concentrates on how everyday people navigate through challenges and get on with life. The book is timely, authentic and highly recommended. * Roger Mac Ginty, Durham University, UK *

In the aftermath of violence, we are left with the question of how to contend with its legacies while at the same time building a just and lasting peace. Typically, technocratic and cookie-cutter solutions are proffered with various transitional justice 'mechanisms' and peacebuilding 'toolkits' put on the table. But peace starts with people, not with institutions or programmes. In this highly engaging, original and insightful book, Jessica Moody privileges the voices of people experiencing conflict and seeking to build peace in Cote d'Ivoire. Through a collection of stories, Moody shows us how peace is imagined, understood, experienced and practiced in the everyday. The book is essential reading for anyone seeking to get to grips with the messy complexity of individuals and communities contending with legacies of violence. * Rachel Kerr, Professor of War and Society, Department of War Studies, King's College London, UK *

Author Information

Jessica Moody received her PhD in War Studies at Kings College, London, and works all over the world as a freelance political risk and peace-building consultant. She collaborates with an array of think tanks and politics risk consultancies, including IHS Markit, Assynt Group, and the United States Institute of Peace. She has also written op-eds for Foreign Policy, African Arguments and World Politics Review.

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