Description
This paper investigates the conditions under which vernacular domains can be identified in relation to liberal institutions in post-industrial Britain. Kantian models of liberal peace within International Relations often emphasise democracy, institutional governance, and market integration as foundations of political order, while giving less attention to the everyday practices through which communities organise social life. Drawing on Ivan Illich, the paper develops the concept of vernacular domains as a way of understanding forms of social organisation negotiated within communities. The research focuses on post-industrial regions affected by deindustrialisation, austerity, and neoliberal reform, including communities in South London, Cornwall, and Nottinghamshire. Through ethnographic fieldwork and narrative analysis, the study explores how practices of cooperation, memory, and everyday life are negotiated in relation to institutional structures under conditions of economic and political fragmentation. In doing so, the paper considers how vernacular domains may be identified across different social registers within contemporary Britain.