dominant( Bakke 2014; Hopf 2010; Keck and Sikkink 1998; Lanz 2011). Certain ideas resonate more and are more effective at influencing action because they latch on to preexisting assumptions( for instance, the idea that democracy promotes peacebuilding latching on to the belief that all good things go together), identify a short and clear causal chain, and suggest a simple solution. As was evident from my fieldwork, these last two features are particularly important in enabling an assumption to achieve and maintain prominence even when it generates negative impacts. Peacebuilders face two conditions that make shortcuts like assumptions or habits indispensable: situations of“ cognitive overload” having to think about more than one task at once and circumstances with“ severe time constraints,” in which people lack the time necessary for conscious deliberation( Hopf 2010, 542 – 43 and 547). International interveners have so many priorities to address in so little time that they do not have much opportunity to question their usual views on peacebuilding and their role as peacebuilders. Moreover, the lack of in-depth knowledge of local situations further incentivizes them to rely on shortcuts, like assumptions, to interpret and respond to their environments( Autesserre 2014b, 68 – 96).
When donors adopt a given assumption, this also boosts the likelihood that this assumption will achieve preeminence. Indeed, foreign ministries, aid departments, foundations, and United Nations agencies often use their control over financial resources to orient the programs of peacebuilding implementers( nongovernmental organizations, civil-society associations, and local or national authorities). This authority structure creates incentives for on-the-ground peacebuilders to adopt or, at least, claim to adopt— assumptions in which they may not have originally believed or with which they may actually disagree. Once assumptions become dominant, a series of formal and informal mechanisms help spread and reproduce them( Autesserre 2014b, 38 – 39). Graduate programs( in international affairs, aid, or conflict studies) and internal trainings draw from a common set of ideas and encourage a common mindset, which participants then bring to various organizations or theaters of deployment. In addition, international peacebuilders change agencies and countries regularly over the course of their careers, usually carrying over the assumptions acquired from their previous postings to their new positions( Autesserre 2014b, 81 – 84). In the field, numerous coordination meetings among interveners, as well as frequent informal interactions at parties, bars, and restaurants, provide forums to exchange information, reiterate the prevailing assumptions, and socialize newcomers in the dominant thinking( Autesserre 2014b, 38 – 39 and 159 – 69).
As with the adoption of habits( Hopf 2010, 542), novices adopt dominant assumptions because of costbenefit calculations, imitation of surrounding peacebuilders, or socialization to the norms of their new environment. Unfortunately, even when some individuals are initially skeptical, the lack of local knowledge, the focus on short-term and quantifiable results, and the fact that peacebuilders are not accountable to their beneficiaries( Autesserre 2014b, 68 – 96, 209 – 13, and 239 – 45) often prevent interveners from realizing just how detrimental some of their dominant assumptions are and how important it is to dispute them. Confirmation biases and motivated reasoning the psychological processes that enable people to reach conclusions in line with preexisting beliefs and interests despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary( Janis and Mann1977; Kunda 1990; Levy and Thompson 2010, 141 – 50; Lord, Ross, and Lepper 1979)— help further entrench existing assumptions. To make matters worse, as the last section of this article explains, the power dynamics between international and local peacebuilders are such that the latter have little opportunity to challenge even the most counterproductive ideas.
How Assumptions Influence Action
Research on related concepts, such as frames( Barnett and Finnemore 2004; Eden 2004; Finnemore 1996; Weick 1995), representations( Dunn 2003), discourse( Pouliot 2010; Neumann 2008; Wendt 1999, 83 – 88), habits( Hopf 2010; Swidler 1986), knowledge( Berger and Luckmann 1967), and narratives( Klotz and Lynch 2007; Krebs 2015), is crucial to understanding the process through which assumptions influence peacebuilding efforts and outcomes. Rather than causing or