Negotiating Universalism and Cultural Relativism in Peace and Development Studies
Negotiating Universalism and Cultural Relativism in Peace and Development Studies

Summary/Abstract: Culture is an indispensable factor for both sustainable development and lasting peace since it forms the fabric for people’s mutual respect and co-existence. The paper argues for the need to constantly negotiate between universalism and cultural relativism in peace and development studies. It argues that any attempt to radically lean towards either universalism or cultural relativism without providing room for a conversation between the two would either lead to narrowly focusing on the local context without taking into account the global discourses or following the global discourses that may be far removed from the local context to make any sense to the affected people. Without sounding idealistic, the paper argues for the need to nurture and create space for hybridity that emerges out of the negotiation between cultures rather than suffocate it in favor of the local context or universals. The paper argues for adoption of concepts such as cosmopolitan localism that take into account global discourses but also maintain a strong focus on the context in which people experience conflict, peace and development as perceived and experienced by them.

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