Peace in a Defutured World Rethinking Ontology, Relationality and the Pluriversal Imagination

Abstract

In these uncertain and violent times, I want to explore the deeper conditions that shape and limit our capacity to imagine, enact and live peace. Drawing on the concepts of defuturing, relationality and pluriversality, I argue that today’s crises are not only multiple and complex, but also profoundly ontological. They are rooted in an ontology of separation that positions humans as autonomous and the world as a commodified resource. A different ontological grounding might be found in relationality and pluriversality. Relationality emerges as both an ethical orientation and a mode of being that foregrounds interdependence, care and co-creation. Pluriversality expands this by rejecting the logic of a single world and embracing the existence of many worlds, knowledges and ways of being. This shift requires not only conceptual rethinking but also a transformation in how we relate to the world and to one another. Peace cannot remain merely a normative ideal; it requires a more grounded, embodied and imaginative engagement. It is an ongoing and fragile  practice, deeply entangled with the stories we live by and the futures we choose to nurture.