Krigets diskurs och vägar till (positiv) fred: En idé- och diskursanalys av Belfastavtalet och Annanplanen med diskursiv konflikttransformation som normativ utgångspunkt

Sammanfattning: Protracted social conflicts, as those in Cyprus and Northern Ireland, are based on deep rooted perceptions of identity and definitions of "the other". According to the theory of discursive conflict transformation, war is primarily a social phenomenon, which is legitimated by a discourse of identity defined in terms of exclusionist boundaries and structural ideas of the social relations in society. In order to develop positive peace, the discourse of violence has to be challenged and the discursive structures that enable war have to transform into a counterdiscourse of inclusion and individuality. For the purpose of making a critical peace analysis, I have, with the assistance of established conflict theories, analysed the basic ideas behind the the Annan Plan and the Belfast Agreement and thus been able to interpret to what extent they may foster positive peace. I argue, that in order to provide basic needs on a group basis, power sharing arrangement, based on ethnicity or religion, exacerbates division rather than ameliorating it. It also creates barriers to normal politics and mobilization based on alternative motives. Therefore new societal security dilemmas might be fostered and peace proposals such as the Belfast Agreement and the Annan Plan could be counterproductive in the process of developing positive peace.