Martialling Peace: How the Peacekeeper Myth Legitimises Warfare

The book examines the mythology of the peacekeeper and how it functions to sustain militarism in global politics. It offers a novel conceptual framing of martial peace and the peacekeeper myth and critically examines common understandings of warfare and peace. It provides new ways of thinking about liberal peace and peaceful societies and the roles that academics, government, and publics play in reproducing structural violences. The book builds on Howell's (2018) martial politics framework and offers important contributions to existing critical examinations of militarisation.

Format: Hardback
Length: 160 pages
Publication date: 30 June 2023
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press

The book provides a fresh perspective on liberal peace and peaceful societies, challenging the notion that peace can be achieved through the use of military force alone. It explores the roles that academics, governments and the public play in reproducing structural violences, highlighting the need for a more nuanced and critical approach to understanding peace and conflict.

Drawing on Howell's (2018) martial politics framework, the book offers important contributions to existing critical examinations of militarisation. It sheds light on the ways in which military institutions and practices are intertwined with broader social and political structures, perpetuating cycles of violence and oppression.

Overall, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the complexities of peacekeeping, militarism and the pursuit of a more peaceful world. It provides a thought-provoking and challenging analysis that will inspire readers to think critically about the ways in which myths about peacekeeping shape our understanding of conflict and peace.

The celebration of peacekeeping as a legitimate and desirable use of military force is expressed through the unproblematised acceptance of militarism. Introducing a novel framework, martial peace, the book offers an in-depth examination of the Canadian Armed Forces missions to Afghanistan and the use of police violence against Indigenous protests in Canada as case examples where military violence has been justified in the name of peace. It critically investigates the peacekeeper myth and challenges the academic, government and popular beliefs that martial violence is required to sustain peace.

The book provides a fresh perspective on liberal peace and peaceful societies, challenging the notion that peace can be achieved through the use of military force alone. It explores the roles that academics, governments and the public play in reproducing structural violences, highlighting the need for a more nuanced and critical approach to understanding peace and conflict.

Drawing on Howell's (2018) martial politics framework, the book offers important contributions to existing critical examinations of militarisation. It sheds light on the ways in which military institutions and practices are intertwined with broader social and political structures, perpetuating cycles of violence and oppression.

Overall, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the complexities of peacekeeping, militarism and the pursuit of a more peaceful world. It provides a thought-provoking and challenging analysis that will inspire readers to think critically about the ways in which myths about peacekeeping shape our understanding of conflict and peace.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781474492836