ABSTRACT
To consider the question of ‘whose knowledge counts for peace?’ it is first necessary to situate the question within the wider terrain. This chapter will begin by outlining the development of the field of peacebuilding and the conceptual and theoretical contributions made by key scholars and practitioners. The chapter seeks to link both academic peacebuilding and applied practice to consider how each have shifted over years and produced epistemological tensions. After an exploration of these tensions, the chapter will conclude by exploring where such debates leave scholars and practitioners who wish to affect grassroots and civil society change whether that be in the context of Northern Ireland, or indeed, other contexts of deeply rooted conflict.
