Abstract
The idea of conflict prevention, with its supposedly straightforward appeal remains complex and contested. The inter-texuality of globalization and the conflict prevention discourse as well as the embeddedness of both in a project of global governance make it a disciplinary tool presented in a format of humanitarianism. Globalization is an uncontested foundational entity in the discourse. The idea of prevention often carries with it a mark of hegemony of the dominant powers who dictate as to what is a preventable conflict, when prevention should take place and what mode is appropriate in a particular circumstance. Conflict prevention should reflect the perspectives of not just the elites and global players. A theoretical and practical exposition on conflict prevention could better rely on those concerns, instead of relying on a supposedly neutral language of strategic choice. Otherwise the predictive exercises, indicators, early warnings and the whole repertoire of tools associated with the discourse on conflict prevention would be quite vacuous.
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