The Frontlines of Peace: An Insider's Guide to Changing the World

241 Pages·2021·20.179 MB·English

by  Severine Autesserre

The Frontlines of Peace
ALSO BY SÉVERINE AUTESSERRE
Peaceland: 
Conflict Resolution and the Everyday Politics of International Intervention
The Trouble with the Congo: 
Local Violence and the Failure of International Peacebuilding
Further Praise for The Frontlines of Peace
“Peacebuilding rests on the courage and wisdom of those people closest to
conflict, and we must invest in them in ways that dignify their work and
commitment. Autesserre’s book makes clear how to do this. The Frontlines
of Peace is a must-read.”
—John Paul Lederach, Professor Emeritus of International
Peacebuilding, University of Notre Dame
The Frontlines of Peace
An Insider’s Guide to Changing the World
SÉVERINE AUTESSERRE
1
3
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers
the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education
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Press in the UK and certain other countries.
Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press
198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America.
© Séverine Autesserre 2021
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the
prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted
by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction
rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the
above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the
address above.
You must not circulate this work in any other form
and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer.
CIP data is on file at the Library of Congress
ISBN 978– 0– 19– 753035– 1
DOI: 10.1093/ oso/ 9780197530351.001.0001
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed by LSC Communications, United States of America
Published with the support of the Gerda Henkel Foundation, Duesseldorf.
To Monique Alligier and André Autesserre, who gave me life
And to Philippe, Fanny, Ariane, Ayten, Elisabeth, Leigh, Catherine &
Alan, Kim & Jack, and my medical team, who helped me keep it

Contents
Foreword ix
Preface: War, Hope, and Peace 1
PART I PEACE POSSIBLE
1 Island of Peace 23
2 Role Models 45
PART II PEACE, INC.
3 Insiders and Outsiders 69
4 Designed Intervention 93
PART III THE NEW PEACE MANIFESTO
5 Peace by Piece 123
6 Recasting Roles 151
7 The Home Front 177
Appendix: Sources 193
Acknowledgments 205
Index 207

Foreword
by Leymah Gbowee, 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
As I read this book— one telling the story of ordinary individuals who
successfully opposed violence—t he word “hope” kept coming to mind, as it
reminded me of my own journey. More specifically, I am reminded of hope’s
pertinence in creating a movement powerful enough to end Liberia’s civil war.
And much like some characters you will encounter in this book, my expe-
rience with violence was intimate and intense. As a 17-y ear- old, I watched
bewilderedly as armed men—e ngaged in a power struggle—d rove bullets
through my envisioned future, and the political became personal.
I watched for many months as every glimmer of hope of a successful resolu-
tion to the ongoing conflict faded. I grew sick of international donors tossing
money at the problem, and greedy politicians brawling, when they could have
been endeavoring to secure peace.
As each day went by, my children’s future looked gloomy. Men who sat at
peace conferences returned with no solution to our problems. All the while,
women sat idly at home, oblivious to treaty conversations.
Frustrated by the stagnancy of peace efforts, we women—o f all ages, means,
religions, and tribes— united to champion our cause and that of our children.
We resorted to every possible tactic we could imagine: street protests, sit-i ns,
pickets, prayers, fasting, and vigils. We also employed sex strikes in an effort to
get our partners to heed our requests for peace.
All aforementioned tactics did not garner the needed attention to bring the
rebels and government officials to one accord. So, we formed a human barri-
cade to prevent our politicians from exiting the ongoing peace talks. And when
that didn’t work, we threatened to rip our clothes off. In many African cultures,
it’s considered a terrible curse for men to see their mothers naked—a nd so they
backed off. Eventually, on August 18, 2003, they finally signed the peace agree-
ment that ended our 14- year- long conflict.
My story speaks to this simple truth: the people whom foreign interveners
are ostensibly trying to save— mothers, rural villagers, inner- city dwellers,
etc.— have the precise know- how and motivation to bring a deadly conflict to
an end. This reflects the conclusion Séverine has reached through her 20 years of