Peace In Conflict: An Oceania Reimagining of Peace and Conflict Studies
April 2026
AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples
This special issue offers a decolonial intervention into Peace and Conflict Studies by centring Indigenous Oceanic philosophies, epistemologies, and lived practices of peace within contexts of ongoing colonial conflict. Rather than treating peace as a universal, state-centred condition or as the resolution of discrete episodes of violence, the collection asks a foundational question: what is peace from Indigenous perspectives in Oceania, where colonisation remains an active structure rather than a historical event? Drawing on Indigenous Oceanic concepts of relationality, balance, kinship, law, land, and intergenerational responsibility, the collection repositions Indigenous peoples of Oceania as theorists and practitioners of peace in their own right. We welcome theoretical, empirical, and methodological contributions, including Indigenous methodologies, autoethnography, community-based research, and creative or narrative approaches grounded in Oceanic knowledge traditions. Prompts to stimulate thinking include:
- What does peace mean from Indigenous Oceanic perspectives where colonial conflict is ongoing?
- How have Indigenous peoples practised peace in contexts of dispossession, militarisation, and state control?
- In what ways do Indigenous legal orders, kinship systems, and spiritual frameworks constitute peace-making practices?
- How do Indigenous refusals of colonial ‘peace’ generate alternative political and ethical worlds?
- What might Indigenous Oceanic theories of peace contribute to wider Indigenous and decolonial scholarship?
- How do Indigenous Oceanic concepts of peace challenge state-centred or liberal models of governance and conflict resolution?
Te moana e kore e tua, e ara. The ocean is not a boundary; it is a pathway.
Submission Process
- Abstract submissions (no more than 250 words) should be emailed directly to the relevant Guest Editor (details below). See Submission Guidelines: AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples: Sage Journals
- Full manuscripts will be submitted via the AlterNative ScholarOne system by invitation only, following review and acceptance of abstracts by the Guest Editors.
Timeline
Abstract submissions due: 27th May 2026 (via email to Guest Editors)
Invitations to submit full papers: 11th June 2026
Online contributors’ symposium: 10th November 2026
Full manuscripts due: 27th December 2026
Revised manuscripts submitted: 26th March 2027
Online publication: 1st June 2027
For more information and to submit an abstract, contact the Special Issue Guest Editors for different parts of Oceania:
Melanesia
Ass. Prof. Gordon Nanau
Micronesia
Prof. Lisalinda Natividad
Polynesia (excluding Aotearoa)
Prof. Patrick Vakaoti
Aotearoa New Zealand
Ass. Prof. Liana MacDonald