Key research themes
1. How do third-party interventions influence the trajectory and resolution of internal armed conflicts?
This research theme examines the roles, motivations, and impacts of third-party actors—state and non-state—intervening in civil wars and internal conflicts. Understanding such interventions matters because they can either mitigate violence and promote resolution or exacerbate conflicts, influencing conflict duration, intensity, and outcomes. The scholarship explores legal legitimacy, geopolitical interests, and the interplay between international norms and local dynamics in shaping intervention effects.
2. What mechanisms and methodologies enhance the effectiveness of peacebuilding and conflict resolution post-intervention?
This theme investigates the tools, frameworks, and approaches—such as peacekeeping, mediation, conflict prevention, and impact measurement—that shape the success of peacebuilding following conflict interventions. It addresses how interventions can be designed, evaluated, and sustained, focusing on both macro-political and micro-social processes. Such methodologies are crucial to transform violent conflict into stable peace, considering the complexity of conflict cycles, local-global interface, and the plurality of actors involved.
3. How do non-traditional and non-conflict interventions contribute to conflict de-escalation and peacebuilding?
This theme investigates the effects of non-conflict-specific interventions—such as community-driven development, employment creation, conditional cash transfers, humanitarian initiatives, and justice mechanisms—on reducing conflict intensity, promoting negotiations, and supporting long-term peace. It foregrounds how socio-economic and developmental portfolios can alter incentives, improve local trust, and facilitate demobilization, especially in protracted, multi-actor conflicts. Evaluating these interventions offers actionable insights for inclusive and locally relevant peacebuilding strategies.