About the Book

This book is about the process and, more generally, about the opportunities that peace research and the teaching of conflict resolution can offer academic diplomacy. As such the book is both an empirical and a theoretical project.

Scope and Objectives

While it aims at being the most comprehensive analysis of the conflict in West Kalimantan, it also launches a new theoretical approach, neo-pragmatism, and offers lessons for the prevention of conflicts elsewhere.

Theoretical Foundations

While being based on the classical pragmatist theories of truth and explanation, the approach developed in this book incorporates the complications to social science theory caused by the discovery of socially constructed realities, and concepts such as speech acts.

Practical Mission

Yet, instead of just theorizing speech acts and social constructs, the theoretical mission is to offer pragmatic, detailed, concrete prescriptions of what to do to deconstruct realities that threaten peace by the means available for research and scholars of peace.