With neoliberal assumptions dominating much of the academic peacebuilding literature, this volume edited by Smith (sociology, U. of Pittsburgh) and Verdeja (political science and peace studies, U. of Notre Dame) stands as an challenge to most of the rest of the field because of its perspective that neoliberal economic globalization is a major source of the structural violence underlying most contemporary violent conflicts, its insistence on the need to address transnational dimensions of conflict that constrain the peacebuilding abilities of local actors in conflict situations, and its emphasis on the value of engaging in a dialogue with the theoretical literature on social movements. Following a presentation of this general perspective, eight chapters address such specific topics the post-Cold War arms trade, critiques of communal political violence in India, human security and gender justice in Afghanistan and Iraq, piracy and "state failure" in the Gulf of Aden, aid appropriation and patronage in Northern Sierra Leone, peacebuilding as a transformative and deliberative process, and the world social forums as transformative peacebuilding. Annotation ⓒ2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
