Conflict’s Long Game: A Decade of Violence in the Bangsamoro | A Review

 

The book Conflict’s Long Game: A Decade of Violence in the Bangsamoro thoroughly examines enduring post-conflict violence in the Bangsamoro. Edited by Franisco J. Lara, Jr. and Nikki Phillline C. de la Rosa, experienced scholar-practitioners, its focus lies particularly on various drivers of violence and an assessment of the potential for long-lasting peace in the region. The different essays combine quantitative and qualitative approaches to grasp the intersection of land conflicts, identity, clan politics, and militancy affecting present conflicts in the Bangsamoro. At the same time, the authors give ample space to political, economic, and social factors that have affected conflict until the present. This line mirrors many conflict scholars who highlight that the study of violence is, by default, a mixed-method undertaking. This interdisciplinary approach, often with the help of data and statistics, helps shape the academic discussion of a peace process that needs to be addressed in scholarship and should influence policy, both on a national level and towards the international support side. The book was also nominated for the 42nd National Book Awards.