Meeting the semantic chameleon “peace” with openness and restraint : from Afghanistan to reflections on "peace" in international legal (political) practice

Abstract

It is an unspoken assumption that international law and its institutional practice contribute to peace. However, the questions of „what“, regarding the meaning of peace, and the question of „who“, regarding the actors shaping the meaning, have been seldom discussed, despite significant developments in international relations literature. This thesis aims to address these questions by analyzing debates on peace in Afghanistan and examining peace in international relations theory. Presenting eight conceptions of "peace in Afghanistan", the study argues that peace possesses a diverse range of seemingly infinite meanings. Moreover, it contends that the meaning of peace is socially constructed by the respective parties to the conflict, rendering it a relational and thus relative phenomenon. Building upon these findings, the paper reflects on the implications for international legal (political) practice. Firstly, it is argued that an awareness of the plurality of meanings of peace can aid international lawyers in opening limited preconceptions of peace in the service of proper interpretation and identification of (customary) international law. Secondly, it is argued that respecting the meaning-making authority of parties to the conflict should encourage a practice of institutional restraint in shaping the discourse on the meaning of peace. This is because prioritizing an understanding of the conflicting parties' perspectives on their peace fosters better cooperation between institutions and the conflicting parties.