Front cover of Decolonizing Peace

Decolonizing Peace

by Victoria Fontan

November 2012, 220 pages

print edition: ISBN 978-1-937570-15-6, $16.00

eBook edition: ISBN 978-1-937570-16-3, $4.99

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 a Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies and Vice President of Academic Affairs at the American University of Afghanistan. She is also a visiting professor at the Western Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESO), Guadalajara, Mexico; at the Institut Supérieur des Techniques de Développement, Kalehe, République Démocratique du Congo; and the University of Duhok, Iraq.
Her original academic specializations have been twofold, first, critical terrorism studies from a peace studies perspective, focusing on the role of humiliation in relation to the emergence of insurgencies, mostly in a Middle Eastern context, and second, post-liberal peace studies, from a decolonial perspective. She is now focusing her research on higher education in emergencies; and open recognition networks to build sustainable peace.
Prior to her appointment to Afghanistan, she coordinated the establishment of the quality framework for HPass, the LinkedIn-type platform for humanitarian workers and volunteers. She is also engaging in selected academic activities within the fields of peace education, peace-building research, and critical terrorism studies.

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

Victoria Fontan in the News

The Connexion, Oct 16, 2021: Professor at Kabul's American university relieved to be back in France

CBS News, Sept 21, 2021: Almost 150 from the American University of Afghanistan were evacuated, but thousands still want to leave

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..

The eBook can be ordered at major online shops, e. g. Smashwords, Amazon, or Apple Books.

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