The nuances between war and peace - An empirical study of the experiences of peace in Liberia

Abstract: This study is concerned with the way we understand and assess ongoing peace processes in contexts of previous intense armed conflict and violence. In particular, this study aims to create an understanding for how peace, in an ongoing peacebuilding process, is experienced by the grassroot population, and how this experience contrasts with international measures of peace. Further, this study aims to develop an analytical framework, which, with a greater context sensitivity, can provide an empirical basis in order to better analyze ongoing peacebuilding processes, especially when there has been a long overarching peace process, such as in the case of Liberia. This study seeks to develop the framework by collecting data empirically from the local population in Liberia, by using semi-structured interviews with focus groups, as well as use extracted parts from previous theories in the field of peace research. The research question stated are: How is peace experienced by the grassroot population and how does a context sensitive framework for analyzing peace processes contrast with international measures? Further, this study includes three sub-questions guiding the development of the analytical framework, focusing on the analytical dimensions of: expectations, communication and power. The main findings of this study are the developed analytical framework, the current assessment of the state of peace in Liberia, as well as a deeper understanding for the contrasts between the local experiences of peace by the grassroot population and the global measures.