ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the complex interface between national political goals and their urban actualization in the everyday living environment of the city. For peace to take hold on the ground, peace accords need to be ultimately embedded in, and credible to, the most bereft communities in the conflict. Yet, tensions exist between the socio-spatial dynamics of a contested city and the goals and mandates of national peacemaking. The chapter examines the political, spatial, and personal dimensions of ethno-national conflict and have argued that spatial and social peacebuilding at the urban level must complement political peace processes because these conflicts are fundamentally concerned with not only political sovereignty, but also local territoriality and identity. As such, peace is not solely achieved by national politicians, but must be co-produced by both national politicians and urban stakeholders. The high politics of national compromises must be integrated with, and effectively translatable to, the grassroots level of local policymakers, civil society, and citizens.
