Operationalisation of Hybrid Peacebuilding in Asia, 1st ed. 2021 From Theory to Practice Security, Development and Human Rights in East Asia Series

This open access book explores common critiques in the literature of hybrid peacebuilding, especially the lack of connection between hybridity in theory and practice. Through using a complexity-informed framework, the foundation for introducing the mid-space actor typology is established. Mid-space actors as insider-partial mediators are perceived to be vital agents for peace processes in conflict-affected areas and thus can be important power brokers and focal points for outside actors. In this book, two insider views are examined through analysing mid-space actors in the peacebuilding process in Cambodia and in Mindanao, the Philippines. First, it explores the process of identity-building of Cambodian monks and how such a process enables or hinders the monks to bridge existing cleavages. Then, in the case study of Mindanao, the roles of civil society actors are considered. The next step is to introduce the outsider?s perspective on hybrid peacebuilding and how Asian peacebuilding actors such as China and Japan are engaging with mid-space actors who provide key bridges in peacebuilding.

Chapter 1. Introduction: Operationalisation of Hybrid Peacebuilding in Asia.- Chapter 2. A Brief Sketch of Hybrid Peacebuilding.- Chapter 3. Hybridity, Adaptive Peacebuilding and Complexity.- Chapter 4. Bridging Gaps: From a Descriptive to a Practical Mid-Space Actor Typology?.- Chapter 5. The Power of Identity in Hybrid Peacebuilding: Buddhist Monks in Post-Conflict Cambodia.- Chapter 6. Frictional Binaries: Hybridity, Civil Society, and Liberal-Local Peacebuilding in Mindanao.- Chapter 7. Rise of China’s Developmental Peace: Prospects for Asian Hybrid Peacebuilding.- Chapter 8. Japan’s Peacebuilding and Mid-Space Actors: A Bridge between the West and the Rest.- Chapter 9. Conclusion: Alternative Theory and Practice of Peacebuilding in Asia. 

Yuji Uesugi is Professor at the Faculty of International Research and Education, Waseda University, Japan. 

Anna Deekeling is a researcher at the Graduate School of Social Science, Waseda University, Japan. 

Sophie Shiori Umeyama is a researcher at the Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies, Waseda University, Japan. 

Lawrence Mcdonald-Colbert is a researcher at the Graduate School of Political Science, Waseda University, Japan.