EBA has just published three new Development Dissertations briefs based on dissertations in peace and conflict studies from Uppsala University.
Jenniina Kotajoki, senior researcher at the Centre for Security Studies, ETH Zurich, has written a Development Dissertations brief (DDB) entitled From Confrontation to Cooperation? The United Nations’ Engagement with Non-State Armed Groups. The dissertation summarised in the brief examines how the UN interacts with armed groups at different levels, for example in Mali, Lebanon and Côte d’Ivoire. Non-state armed groups are central to many conflicts. Interactions with armed groups affect the possibilities for humanitarian, development and peacebuilding efforts, but can also influence perceptions of neutrality, impartiality and legitimacy, leading to difficult trade-offs.
Gudlaug Olafsdottir, researcher at the Stockholm Centre on Global Governance, Department of Political Science, Stockholm University, has written DDB: Precarious Paths to Democracy: Electoral Violence and the Struggle for Democratisation. The thesis, which is summarised in the brief, examines, in four separate studies, the connection between election-related violence and democratisation, with a focus on citizens, parties and constitutional processes. Violence undermines democratisation, shapes different voter groups’ views on democracy and creates challenges for state-building. The thesis highlights the challenges of democratic reforms when they are accompanied by violence from different perspectives.
Juan Diego Duque-Salazar, researcher at the Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University, has written the DDB Why do some politicians withdraw from politics while others do not in violent elections? The report summarises a thesis that has investigated why some politicians in Colombia continue with their political ambitions despite the high risk of violence, while others withdraw. Threats and security risks make election campaigns more expensive and difficult, but strong political networks provide a certain degree of protection, which particularly benefits female politicians. The research highlights important challenges for democratic development in many countries from several perspectives.
The three DDBs will be presented and discussed at a seminar on 15 October together with the EBA report ‘What Are They Fighting For? An Issue-based Approach to the Analysis and Resolution of Civil War’ by Johan Brosché, Sebastian Raattamaa and Kate Lonergan.