ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the shifts in the conceptualisation of peacebuilding, pointing to the turn from minimalist to intrusive approaches and from intrusive to localisation. It suggests that the critical turn towards the local has sought to re-conceptualise peacebuilding in a radically different manner by addressing the modernist assumptions that have so far captured the notions of emancipation and empowerment. The chapter proposes that the local turn's own project of emancipatory peace bears linear elements that clash with the theoretical imperative to open up to plurality and contingency. It recommends that a normative ethos provides direction to the emancipatory project of the local turn. The chapter also suggests that the arbitrary identification of which agency is the 'truer' form of the 'everyday' is at odds with the theoretical foundations of the local turn's non-linear logic.
