Actor Interaction in Eco-Environmental Peacebuilding Models: An Exploration of the Local Commercial Fit Proposition

Abstract

Eco-environmental peacebuilding scholars have made strides in creating conceptual linkages between environmental changes and security cooperation in the context of ecological fragility. However, what remains unclear is, how the various actors’ interaction (vertical vs. horizontal) shape scholarship and policy intervention in peacebuilding development? To address this long-standing theoretical-policy gap, we combine theoretical simulation and review of existing extant literature to evaluate the viability of the local peace commercialism as an alternative to the dysfunctional, often vertical peacebuilding models. The simulation outcome shows that transformation of societies from the dominant ‘vertical’ environmental cooperation security thinking to a more ‘horizontal’ relational environmental problem-solving approach is a pathway to creating a sustainable and inclusive peace. In sum, we question the long-standing vertical actor interactivity as an agency of peacebuilding development with a focus on fragile ecosystems.