Pacification in Asia from the end of the Cold War to the present

Peacebuilding scholars have highlighted the illiberal nature of pacification practices in Asia, often in juxtaposition to the supposedly liberal character of Western peacebuilding approaches. This binary between Western “liberal” and Eastern “illiberal” peacebuilding however seems problematic. The dichotomy does not account for the authoritarian tenets of Western “liberal peacebuilding” and, consequently, fails to specify the political condition of pacification in Asia. To offer a better understanding of the politics of peacebuilding in Asia, this chapter historicizes conflict and pacification in the region. Doing so highlights the role of ethnicity and nationalism in driving protracted conflict between the postcolonial nation-state and ethnic minority populations in the region. It also provides for an alternative understanding of contemporary peacemaking efforts in Asia, which often unfold within the trajectory of ethnocratic statebuilding. As this approach to pacification seeks to align the state container with a national body, it has often fueld resistance and conflict rather than peace.