The Past, Present and Future of the ‘Liberal Peace’

The stunted and stumbling progress of the ‘liberal peace’ philosophy since 1990 tells a complex story. In this article, I give a history of the liberal peace project from its academic and activist origins to today’s global application, discussing how policymakers and liberal peace architects see liberal peacebuilding, and how emerging powers such as India and China relate to these goals. I close with a discussion of the future of liberal peacebuilding, the ‘Business for Peace’ paradigm and how relationships between powerful states and their peripheries will still matter despite a more consolidated international aid community.