The Limited Counter-Peace Pattern

This chapter explores the limited counter-peace pattern, which is characterised by surface stability in some parts of the country, dispersed by pockets of warfare. In this pattern, the state formation process remains violently contested by nonstate actors, who destabilise or govern parts of the country. At the epicentre of this pattern lie the inadequacies of the quasi-state. The state is often a vehicle for elite power and patronage, while civil society is marginalised in the face of a complex environment characterised by a diversity of localised conflicts. These dynamics are connected to international security alliances rather than the rights framework of the international community, configuring the pattern for limited peace around security and power relations. This pattern has been common in the global south, as well as in post-socialist, conflict-affected environments where deep developmental, justice, and ideological differences remained unresolved, often because of western involvement rather than despite it.