With his wide-angle historical lens, Richmond offers critical reflections on the formation and evolution of the international peace architecture. The breadth of his scholarship and the depth of his knowledge are truly impressive.
Richard Caplan, author of Measuring Peace: Principles, Practices, and Politics
In this extraordinary book, Oliver Richmond engages with the intellectual traditions of war and peace to closely trace the evolution of the contemporary, layered peace architecture. Richmond provides profound insights into the complex relationship between power and peace, and exposes counter-peace processes, agents, and frameworks that act as blockages of peace. This book offers one of the best efforts of its kind yet, tracing liberal peace's core ideas from the time of Kant's Perpetual Peace to the convulsions of the current vexed moment.
Annika Björkdahl, Professor of Political Science, Lund University
In an ambitious tour-de-force, Oliver Richmond examines the shifting meanings and practices of peace over several centuries. Written by one of the most prolific and influential scholars in the field, The Grand Design reveals how an 'international peace architecture' emerged from the complex entanglement of peace and war during key historical moments.
Roland Bleiker, Professor of International Relations, University of Queensland
In this book, Oliver Richmond once again delivers a text that sets the standard for the field. In an account that is both historically comprehensive and conceptually rigorous, The Grand Design highlights a gap in our knowledge and in so doing acknowledges the dilemmas that are inherent in the search for peace.
Ali Watson, Professor of International Relations, University of St Andrews, Scotland
In The Grand Design, Oliver Richmond succeeds at his stated goal of illuminating the international peace architecture (IPA) at the macro-level.
Samantha Marie Gamez, swisspeace; University of Basel, International Peacekeeping.