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Agonistic peace: advancing knowledge on institutional dynamics and relational transformation

Abstract This introductory article presents current conceptualisations in the field of agonistic peace and how they relate to studies of war-to-peace transitions in developing countries and post-colonial contexts. It argues for a need for analytical approaches to agonistic peace, which has thus far mainly been advanced in terms of theory and conceptual refinement in the field of peace research. This collection of case studies represents a first attempt at putting together a broad range of studies based on different analytical strategies for analysing agonistic peace. This introductory essay unpacks the main conceptual developments in the field, starting with Mouffe’s concept of agonistic democracy, which subsequently has been moved to the field of peace studies. We present the proliferation and application of the agonistic peace concept in recent years and show how agonistic peace links to and differs from broader developments in critical peace research. Moreover, we present the different themes and contributions examined by the articles: inclusion, dialogue and power as well as identity, recognition and reconciliation, which we cluster around the two overall themes of institutional dynamics and relational transformation. Lastly, we point to broader implications for the field and avenues open for future research.