Explores the complex interplay of forces that shape 'peace' in the modern state Why do states that have emerged from intervention, peacebuilding and statebuilding over the last quarter century appear to be 'failed by design'? What emerges from the interplay of local peace agency with the (neo)liberal peacebuilding project? How far can local 'peace formation' dynamics counteract the forces of violence and play a role in rebuilding the state, consolidating peace processes and inducing a more progressive form of politics? Picking up where Liberal Peace Transitions (2009) left off, this book looks at local agency related to peace formation in order to find answers to the pressing question of how large-scale peacebuilding or statebuilding may be significantly improved and made more representative of the lives, needs, rights and ambitions of its subjects. Oliver Richmond is a Research Professor in International Relations, Peace and Conflict Studies in the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute at the University of Manchester. He is also International Professor AT THE College of International Studies, Kyung Hee University, Korea and a Visiting Professor at the Centre for Peace Studies, University of Tromsø. His publications include Liberal Peace Transitions, (with Jason Franks, Edinburgh University Press, 2009). Sandra Pogodda is Lecturer in Peace and Conflict Studies in the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute at the University of Manchester. Her research focuses on state-formation processes in the revolutionary societies of the Arab region, resistance movements, (post-) revolutionary challenges to peace and conflict studies and critical development studies. Cover image: the wall blocking Sheikh Rihan Street, at the corner of the American University in Cairo, 2012 © Mohammed Hossam/AFP/GettyImages Cover design: [EUP logo] www.euppublishing.com