Fletcher D. Cox is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at William Jewell College, and a Research Associate of the Sié Chéou Kang Center for International Security and Diplomacy. He specializes in the study of civil wars and political violence, and has managed relief, development, and peacebuilding programs in multiple disaster and conflict-affected countries.

Timothy D. Sisk is Professor of International and Comparative Politics at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver. Professor Sisk has conducted extensive research on the role of international and regional organizations, particularly the United Nations, in peace operations, peacemaking, and peacebuilding.

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Fletcher D. Cox and Timothy D. Sisk

Chapter 1 Peacebuilding: A Social Cohesion Approach

Fletcher D. Cox and Timothy D. Sisk

Chapter 2 Guatemala: National Fragmentation, Local Cohesion

Otto Argueta and Sabine Kurtenbach

Chapter 3 Kenya: Identity and Insecurity in a Modernizing State

Fletcher D. Cox, James Ndung'u, and Esther Njuguna

Chapter 4 Lebanon: Confessionalism, Consociationalism, and Social Cohesion

Joy Aoun and Marie-Joëlle Zahar

Chapter 5 Myanmar: Religion, Identity, and Conflict in a Democratic Transition

Nicholas Farrelly

Chapter 6 Nepal: Identity Politics in a Turbulent Transition

Subindra Bogati, Fletcher D. Cox, Sachchi Karki, and Timothy D. Sisk

Chapter 7 Nigeria: Frustration, Polarization, and Violence

Yahaya Hashim, Darren Kew, and Judith Ann Walker

Chapter 8 Sri Lanka: Social Cohesion... In the Eye of the Beholder

Susan Hayward and Mirak Raheem

Chapter 9 Peacebuilding for Social Cohesion: Findings and Implications

Fletcher D. Cox, Catherine Orsborn, and Timothy D. Sisk

Chapter 10 Conclusion

Fletcher D. Cox and Timothy D. Sisk

Contributors

Bibliography

Index

This book explores a critical question: in the wake of identity-based violence, what can internal and international peacebuilders do to help "deeply divided societies" rediscover a sense of living together? In 2016, ethnic, religious, and sectarian violence in Syria and Iraq, the Central African Republic, Myanmar, and Burundi grab headlines and present worrying scenarios of mass atrocities. The principal concern which this volume addresses is "social cohesion" - relations within society and across deep divisions, and the relationship of individuals and groups with the state. For global peacebuilding networks, the social cohesion concept is a leitmotif for assessment of social dynamics and a strategic goal of interventions to promote resilience following violent conflict. In this volume, case studies by leading international scholars paired with local researchers yield in-depth analyses of social cohesion and related peacebuilding efforts in seven countries: Guatemala, Kenya, Lebanon, Nepal, Nigeria, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka.