The present thesis is a comparative study of the conflict management processes of Northern Ireland and Sri Lanka, from the perspective of the post-Cold War liberal peacebuilding paradigm. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach that cuts across political history and political economy, this thesis engages with broader debates on the liberal peace, questioning the position of Northern Ireland as an exemplary case of conflict management. Concerning Sri Lanka, it strives to demonstrate that the peace process was the key factor that helped create the circumstances for a military solution to be introduced. Chapters Two and Three examine the long-standing liberalising political trajectories of Northern Ireland and Sri Lanka. Chapters Four and Five examine the vital intergovernmental partnerships that have been of decisive importance to conflict management in both cases. Chapter Six explores comparative connections between the two cases, while Chapters Seven and Eight combine to engage in a critical reading of the liberal peacebuilding drives in each case. It is argued that in both cases, conflict management has involved essentially political processes of bargaining, marked by illiberal dimensions. The thesis concludes with a reflection on the limits of the liberal peacebuilding paradigm, highlighting the necessity of a new. liberal-realist approach to conflict management as a promising strategy of stretching the limits of the liberal peace.