Ontological (in)security and peace processes: perspectives for transforming conflicting narratives to build a lasting peace

Abstract

The article explores the relationship between the processes of ontological security-seeking and peace construction, and their contributions to an inclusive and lasting peace. We start from the assumption that the possibility of conflict transformation induces the production of ontological insecurity, since it affects narratives, routines and systems of meaning rooted in conflicting societies or groups. Throught a literature review, we investigate ways of managing the so-called anxieties of peace, towards opening up the possibility of change in conflictive narratives, leading to the transformation of conflicts and the maintenance of a state of peace. Thus, both the role of desecuritization and the implementation of agnostic policies are explored, which allow for the reconstruction of relations of enmity by opposing logics, enabling the peaceful and pluralistic coexistence of multiple and contestatory narratives. This approach is related to critical perspectives on peace, which, inspired by a post-colonial sensibility, seek to counter the supposed universality of the liberal peace in pursuit of an ontological pluralism. Furthermore, the coexistence of diverse conceptions of peace, according to the different cultures and social realities that exist, proves to be essential for the construction of sustainable forms of peace and ontological security and, consequently, for generating a positive hybrid peace.