De-romanticising the local, de-mystifying the international: Hybridity in Timor Leste and the Solomon Islands

Many actors involved in peacebuilding and statebuilding are acutely aware of the different roles of the 'local' in peacebuilding. Increasingly, this realization has opened up tensions between the liberal peace and the realm of customary forms of politics and social structure. Peacebuilding may now be seen as a site of international assistance and local acquiescence, co-option or resistance. To understand these dynamics, the 'infrapolitics of peacebuilding' need to be uncovered. This article presents these dynamics in the cases of Timor Leste and the Solomon islands.