Description
Amidst domestic democratic rollbacks, the regional rise of China’s role in conflict management, the increasing presence of Russia in the Asian security sector, and the withdrawal of US influence, peacebuilding faces a range of competing ideas and sets of practices in contemporary Southeast Asia. The paper explores what the current concept and practice of ‘peacebuilding’ means in the region in relation to both internal conflicts and cross-border dynamics. The paper shows how competing, but interacting, visions of ‘peace’ run through current state and regional policies and practices towards managing enduring conflicts. While Southeast Asian countries take different approaches to managing conflicts and influencing conflict outcomes, they also work collectively through the ASEAN regional forum, while simultaneously attempting to balance China’s (and increasingly, Russia’s) influence. In this fragmented and competitive environment, increasingly illiberal approaches have dominated conflict management. However, civil society organisations and more moderate governments continue to push for negotiated and inclusive settlements, with varying degrees of success. Drawing on case studies from Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Cambodia and Myanmar, the paper reflects on emerging outcomes of some of these fragmented approaches to peace, the implications for civilians, and which models of peace are likely to succeed in this multi-polar context.
