THE ARCHITECTONICS OF AGREEMENT: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS AND EXPANSION OF CHRISTINE BELL’S THEORY OF PEACE AGREEMENTS IN CONFLICT RESOLUTION AND PEACEBUILDING

Апстракт

Тheoretical framework for peace agreements represents a paradigmatic shift
in understanding their nature, function, and impact in conflict resolution theory and
peacebuilding practice. Moving beyond viewing agreements as mere endpoints or procedural
instruments, Bell conceptualizes them as dynamic, constitutive, and inherently
legal-political processes that fundamentally reshape conflict landscapes and state-society
relations, often acting as de facto constitutions that generate a unique hybrid legal
order—the lex pacificatoria. This paper critically analyzes Bell’s core theoretical propositions,
highlighting their profound relevance for reframing scholarly understanding
and transforming practice. It examines her concepts of peace agreements as constitutional
moments, lex pacificatoria, process dynamics , and so on.phase constitutionalism.
The paper then analyses the theory’s impact on conflict resolution scholarship,
challenging liberal assumptions about peace and reframing the role of law, as well as its
transformative impact on peacebuilding practice, particularly in relation to the design,
implementation and inclusiveness of agreements. In a critical engagement section , the
paper addresses significant limitations, including state-centrism, elitist bias, normative
ambiguity within the lex pacificatoria, challenges to phase constitutionalism, gender-related
blind spots and operational complexity. The paper concludes by acknowledging
Bell’s contribution, and arguing for its continued refinement and contextual adaptation,
particularly in relation to non-state actors , local action, digital mediation, climate
conflicts and shifts in global power. The extended list of references includes scholars who
deal with and criticize the theoretical Bell’s frame.