Front cover of Decolonizing Peace

Decolonizing Peace

by Victoria Fontan

November 2012, 220 pages, $16.00

ISBN 978-1-937570-15-6

In this book, Victoria Fontan questions the pre-established assumptions that exist in peace and conflict studies, and brings forward an alternative epistemology that relates to non-conventional initiatives for peace that exist in various parts of the world.
She argues that the first step toward decolonizing peace and conflict studies must be our realization that we are powerless in facing the destruction and injustices that we invariably bring with our peace.

About the Author

Victoria Fontan is Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Duhok, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. She conducted field research in Lebanon, post-Saddam Iraq, DR Congo, Somaliland, Kashmir and Yemen. Recently, she has been exploring the resilience of insurgencies in Fallujah, Iraq.

More information on Victoria Fontan’s research on her website: http://www.victoriacfontan.com

Victoria Fontan in the News

COIN, resilience, and a new approach to conflict
Interview with Victoria Fontan in STRIFE
Liberal Peacebuilding as Zombie: Workaround Strategies
Article by Sara Cobb in Unrest Magazine

How to order

This book can be ordered directly from Dignity Press. Shipping is free

Print edition: 

The book is also available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble online bookshops. If you need an invoice or if you prefer not to pay via paypal or Credit Card you may order by sending an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

A translation into Spanish (Descolonizacion de la paz) has been published by Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, ISBN:  978-9588347929.

 

Endorsements

"Victoria Fontan is an emissary of the peace to come, and her work is one of the most meaningful contributions to peace studies I know of. If you haven't been lucky enough to be her student, you have the chance now to read this book. I wish every peaceworker the opportunity to nourish their work, and improve our world, by reading it."
-Oliver Rizzi Carlson - Newsletter Editor, Global Campaign for Peace Education


"This is a thought provoking study, which through a blend of theory, activism, and detailed empiricism, exposes a paradox at the heart of peace thinking: the tension between colonial and universalist epistemology and liberation or self determination. It is a much needed contribution."

-Prof. Oliver Richmond - Univ. of Manchester Author of "The Transformation of Peace" (2007)


"A key book to rethink the peacebuilding sector and its risk to be part of neo-colonial policies. A milestone for scholars and practitioners in the field."

- Dr. Bernardo Venturi - University of Bologna