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A Typology of Mid-Space Local Bridge-Builders

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Hybrid Peacebuilding in Asia

Part of the book series: Security, Development and Human Rights in East Asia ((SDHRP))

Abstract

This chapter develops a typology of ‘mid-space local bridge-builders’ who move across different cleavages in a conflict-prone society to facilitate dialogue among competing stakeholders. It employs relevant concepts such as gatekeepers and spoilers to connect the dots between the outcomes of peacebuilding and the roles and functions that ‘mid-space local bridge-builders’ can play in a peace process. Gatekeepers hold keys to three different gateways: (1) horizontal (between contending communities), (2) vertical (between the national/top leaders and the grassroots/bottom of the society) and (3) diagonal (between local and international actors) gates. Under certain circumstances and by performing specific intermediary functions, gatekeepers can bridge horizontal, vertical and diagonal gaps, effectively turning to ‘mid-space local bridge-builders’. This chapter argues that bridge-building is done through ‘relational dialogue platforms’ on which different stakeholders meet and shape the nature of hybrid peacebuilding, and it discusses the conceptual models for such platforms.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The views about gatekeepers have been arrived at inductively as a result of long-term interactions with them including hours and hours of face-to-face dialogue conducted inside Bangsamoro.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Professor, Faculty of International Research and Education, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan

    Yuji Uesugi

  2. Former Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Social Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan

    Megumi Kagawa

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  1. Yuji Uesugi
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  2. Megumi Kagawa
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Professor, Faculty of International Research and Education, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan

    Yuji Uesugi

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Uesugi, Y., Kagawa, M. (2020). A Typology of Mid-Space Local Bridge-Builders. In: Uesugi, Y. (eds) Hybrid Peacebuilding in Asia. Security, Development and Human Rights in East Asia. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18865-8_3

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