Systems Analysis and Peacebuilding: A Conceptual Stock-Taking and Forward Research Agenda

The growing complexity of conflicts has prompted the expansion of conceptual frameworks to better understand their multifaceted and inter-connected nature. Systems thinking has emerged as a popular approach in peacebuilding in response to this need. This approach leverages peacebuilding's 'local turn' to promise a deeper study of complex social systems and their social, economic, political, and cultural factors. But what is 'systems thinking', and what does its proliferation mean for peacebuilding scholarship? To answer, this conceptual review systematically catalogues the most relevant 250 scholarly articles on systems thinking and analysis. We then build a framework for four interconnected approaches that systems thinking is commonly framed: heuristic, diagnostic, process-oriented, and adaptive. Our framework strengthens knowledge about how systems thinking is used in peacebuilding research and practice, and where its conceptual strengths and weaknesses lie. We conclude with a discussion of a critical analysis of the 'systems turn' in peacebuilding scholarship and the use of systems as a way to study complex conflict.