Description
As the existing geopolitical order trembles under internal brittleness and external rupture, basic foundational assumptions of international relations must be revisited. In this paper, I propose a re-evaluation of the phenomenon of peace, one no longer dependent on prevailing assumptions of the nation-State and liberal institutions and norms. Drawing from the unique case of Somaliland, a political experiment in indigenous, non-State peacebuilding, this article will propose a holistic model of peace that incorporates both material and normative dimensions. Indeed, rather than treat peace as a social condition or political foundation upon which more ambitious social projects such as socialism or democracy can be built, this paper will argue that peace must serve as the primary regulative ideal for organising society, one that normatively and ethically intervenes to arrange social relations in its image. Based on a theoretically-informed faith that a peace-based orientation brings out the highest and most animating features of social practice and communion between peoples, this argument concludes by demonstrating practical ways in which a fidelity to peace can overcome the competitive, violent, exploitative determinism of the existing order. As such, what is presented is a theology of peace.
