Introduction

Abstract

Peace, conflict, war and order have always been contested concepts, carrying diverse and politicized connotations often derived from a need for the stability of political structures, clearly endorsed legitimacy and justice, and acceptable to the dominant actors in the international system. Making peace in ‘intractable’ conflict has perhaps emerged as one of the fundamental challenges to the restructuring of the Westphalian international system, improving upon an inflexible concept of territorial sovereignty which promotes competition and conflict over both territory and sovereignty. In response, this may see a shift towards a post-Westphalian international society¹ in which a diversity of actors interact in a just and legitimate system of global interdependence, and diverse political communities coexist while also preserving their dis- tinctiveness. The application of approaches to ending conflict creates and recreates a particular international order. Thus it is ever more ap- parent that how we think about ‘peace’, ‘conflict’, ‘war’ and ‘order’ and how they are created or sustained is a crucial global issue.² In this context approaches to conflict need to be able to address conflict over identity, representation and status, political, economic and social re- sources, and the environment in the context of the contemporary blur- ring of the distinctions between war, conflict, crime, and violations of human rights.³