Introduction

This chapter discusses how the 'new world' of justice and peace came about through multiple global processes of practice, normative change and institution-building in the domains of conflict resolution, transitional justice and international criminal law. It focuses on the peace-versus-justice debate, conceptualising it as a meeting between two global discourses which shaped Ugandan and Kenyan peacemaking. The chapter shows that the International Criminal Court's interpretation of the Statute supports the latter position. It describes that the opposing narratives shaped the Juba Peace Talks and the Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation. When negotiating the Statute, some states were concerned with the implications of the 'real-time justice' for political transitions. Within the peace discourse, conflict is understood as a broader social and political phenomenon. The legalisation of peacemaking represents a new way of thinking about political problems in general. The chapter also presents an overview on the key concepts discussed in this book.