@article {26976,
	title = {Seeing peace like a city: local visions and diplomatic proposals for future solutions},
	journal = {Peacebuilding},
	year = {2023},
	abstract = {\&nbsp;Violently contested cities are at the heart of ongoing ethnonational conflicts, and their\&nbsp;final status is often a central issue for peace negotiations, without which no\&nbsp;final resolution can be reached. These negotiations, typically led by national politicians and diplo- mats, include little, if any, representation of local actors and voices. These voices are often fundamentally different from those of state- centric actors, and they may bring to the table different ideas, values, and perspectives concerning the future of contested cities. This article integrates the\&nbsp;seeing like a city\&nbsp;theoretical approach with the growing literature on urban peacebuilding and asks: How is\&nbsp;seeing peace like a city\&nbsp;different from\&nbsp;seeing peace like a state?\&nbsp;and whether the visions of local pro-peace grassroots leaders are com- plementary or contradictory to the models that national decision- makers propose for cities. We analyse the case study of Jerusalem using historical analysis, public opinion surveys, and in-depth inter- views to illustrate the tension between state-centric and city-centric logics. Our\&nbsp;findings show the distinction between the focus of state-centric processes on\&nbsp;{\textquoteleft}rigid{\textquoteright}\&nbsp;issues (e.g. security and sover- eignty) and the focus of city-centric processes on\&nbsp;{\textquoteleft}soft{\textquoteright}\&nbsp;issues (e.g. tolerance and daily life). We conclude the paper with an explication of the implications of our framework,\&nbsp;seeing peace like a city\&nbsp;for research and practice in other violently contested societies.\&nbsp;},
	url = {https://doi.org/10.1080/21647259.2023.2219130},
	author = {Lior Lehrs and Noam Brenner and Nufar Avni and Miodownik, Dan}
}
