Localized Approaches to Peacebuilding: Governance, Knowledge, and Resilience in Fragile States

The field of peace and conflict studies has long focused on finding effective strategies for peacebuilding in fragile states, particularly those emerging from periods of violence or instability. Traditional interventions have often relied on standardized, externally driven models, emphasizing technical and institutional reforms imported from stable contexts. While these approaches have played a significant role in achieving short-term stabilization and post-conflict reconstruction, recent research underscores their limited capacity to produce sustainable, long-term peace. Persistent challenges—such as the disconnect between external frameworks and local realities, contested legitimacy of imposed institutions, and recurrent cycles of fragility—highlight the pressing need to revisit prevailing paradigms. Studies in Africa and other fragile environments have increasingly demonstrated the significance of locally anchored governance mechanisms, the vital role of grassroots actors, and the complexity of context-specific peace processes. Yet, many debates continue concerning how best to recognize, foster, and integrate these localised dimensions within broader peacebuilding policy and practice.This Research Topic aims to critically reassess peacebuilding in fragile states by foregrounding local knowledge systems, alternative governance structures, and the cultivation of institutional resilience. The central objective is to move beyond the limitations of “one-size-fits-all” models by fostering approaches that are informed by ground-level realities, culturally embedded practices, and nuanced understandings of conflict dynamics. Key questions include: How can indigenous institutions and community-based mechanisms reinforce the legitimacy of peacebuilding initiatives? What forms of partnership and coordination between external actors and domestic stakeholders lead to genuine local ownership and adaptive governance? To what extent does drawing on local expertise and agency enhance the durability and effectiveness of post-conflict institutional rebuilding?For the purposes of this Research Topic, the scope encompasses a broad but focused exploration of peacebuilding practices in fragile and conflict-affected states, with a particular emphasis on Africa but open to comparative case studies globally. The analysis welcomes contributions that engage with diverse methodological approaches and interdisciplinary perspectives. To gather further insights into the interplay between local agency and institutional transformation, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:• Comparative analyses of local and external approaches to peacebuilding and governance• The role and impact of indigenous knowledge systems in institutional resilience• Community-based and informal institutions as vehicles for social trust and legitimacy• Dynamics and politics of ownership, coordination, and adaptation among peacebuilding actors• Bridging theoretical debates and empirical evidence from fragile or post-conflict contexts• Challenges and opportunities in building adaptive, context-responsive governance Topic editors: Mohamed Yusuf Adan, Godfrey Maringira Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/79981/localized-approaches-to-peacebuilding-governance-knowledge-and-resilience-in-fragile-states