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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Polit. Sci.
Sec. Peace and Democracy
Volume 6 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpos.2024.1471119
This article is part of the Research Topic Peace and Democracy: Views from the Global South View all articles

Article: Interrogating peace in a violent democracy: a Global South critique

Provisionally accepted
Ingri Bøe Buer Ingri Bøe Buer *Sabrina Villenave Sabrina Villenave *
  • The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This article examines the complex and often conflicting forms of 'peace' in Rio de Janeiro's favelas, using a postcolonial critique to challenge the state's top-down imposition of realist and neoliberal peace models. It begins by interrogating the concept of 'peace' in the context of the Brazilian state's historical racialisation and criminalisation of favelas. The article develops four key arguments. First, it considers how militarised public security policies in the "War on Drugs" translate into 'peace as war' in the favelas. Second, it considers criminal governance as 'peace as order'. Third, it critiques the Pacifying Police Program (UPP) as part of a neoliberal 'tourist peace,' prioritising the safety of international visitors during significant events in 2014 and 2016. Finally, it highlights non-violent peace processes within the favelas, which aim to achieve a 'positive peace.' The article argues that diVerent actors, including organised criminal groups, can produce various forms of peace, raising critical questions about whose peace is being pursued and at what cost.

    Keywords: Global South, Urban violence and drug trafficking, Favela, peace, Violence - prevention and control, postcolonial critique, Rio de Janeiro, Police - community relations

    Received: 26 Jul 2024; Accepted: 26 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Bøe Buer and Villenave. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Ingri Bøe Buer, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
    Sabrina Villenave, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.