ABSTRACT
Conflicts are complex, and social conflicts play themselves out on multiple, interlocking planes: geographically, in the economic system, in politics, linguistically, in educational access and curricula, in religion, in cultural production, and even in recreational activities (see Byrne and Senehi in the introduction to this volume). Given this, human agency is always embedded in an “ontological site” consisting of unique ecologies, geographies, cultures, and epistemologies (see Boudreau, Ch. 9). The interdisciplinarity, creativity, and breadth of the field impact how conflicts are waged, the quality and equity of the settlements reached in terms of justice and a long-term sustainable peace (see Kriesberg, Ch. 11). For example, liberal international relations and CAR can offer an innovative typology to creatively critique and formulate foreign policies (see Beriker, Ch. 18). Moreover, the transfer of research analyzing the nexus between conflict, peace, security and development, on the one hand and policymaking on the other, must account for the contribution of development to peacebuilding, not just to conflict analysis (see Paffenholz, Ch. 19).
