Séverine Autesserre is Assistant Professor of Political Science, specializing in International Relations and African Studies, at Barnard College, Columbia University. Autesserre's work has appeared in such publications as Foreign Affairs, International Organization, African Affairs, the New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, Critique Internationale, the Review of African Political Economy, the African Studies Review, the African Security Review, and the Journal of Humanitarian Affairs. Her previous book, The Trouble with the Congo: Local Violence and the Failure of International Peacebuilding (Cambridge University Press, 2010), won the 2012 Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order and the 2011 Chadwick Alger Prize presented by the International Studies Association to the best book on international organizations and multilateralism. Autesserre has won several prestigious fellowships for her work, notably research grants from the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation and the United States Institute of Peace.

• Introduction; 1. Studying the everyday; Part I. Constructing Knowledge of the Host Country: 2. The politics of knowledge; 3. Local reactions; 4. Fumbling in the dark; Part II. Constructing and Maintaining Boundaries: 5. The interveners' circle; 6. A structure of inequality; 7. Daily work routines; Conclusion: transforming Peaceland; Appendix: an ethnographic approach.

'In this book, Séverine Autesserre makes another superb contribution to the study of peacebuilding, this time by exposing and analyzing the subculture of expatriates who participate in peacebuilding efforts on behalf of a diverse array of international and nongovernmental organizations. Many of the persistent dysfunctions of peacebuilding missions, she suggests, can be traced back to the routine practices, habits, and narratives within this subculture. It is a fascinating argument, of importance to both students and practitioners of peacebuilding.' Roland Paris, University Research Chair in International Security and Governance, University of Ottawa