Peace, Conflict, and Justice
There is a long established link between peace, conflict, justice and development. War and violence have devastating effects on human development as well as the economic and social life of a community or country. Peace can also have positive effects on development, allowing stability and freedoms to flourish. But what counts as ‘peace’ and under what conditions it can be sustained are subjects of debate. Moreover, the role of conflict in dialogue, debate and empowerment also require greater understanding. The key questions that WICID will focus on include: how can societies address legacies of violence to build just and peaceful futures? What role does politics play in realizing people’s hopes and expectations? Where can we find peace in the midst of war or conflict in the midst of peace? What does greater inclusivity and greater equality mean for peace and justice seeking? In doing so we are interested in multiple actors, agencies and activism as well as acknowledging the varied and contested ways of defining peace, conflict or justice.
Current Projects
L'homme n'est pas le maître de la terre, mais la terre est le maître de l'homme: encouters, dialogues and solutions for natural resource management and sustainable development in Côte d’Ivoire
Funder: Warwick International Partnership Fund
Investigator(s): Dr Briony Jones (WICID), Dr Mouzayian Khalil-Babatunde (WICID), Dr Adou Djane Dit Fatogoma (Centre Suisse de Recherche Scientifiques en Côte d’Ivoire)
Partners: NOFNA (Notre Forêt Notre Avenir)
Inequalities and inequities in distribution, access and management of natural resources is at the heart of most development problems in the Global South. And this overlaps with issues of governance at all levels. The history of natural resource management is steeped in colonial and postcolonial power contentions. Ontological and material precedence of western power and structures over global order and development goals/policies/approaches marginalize alternative ways of being and doing development, and Global South politics must contend with and overcome this limitation. The importance of peoples’ voices articulating their experiences in negotiating the relationship with natural resources in their communities/countries is still not full acknowledged or incorporated into policy decision-making. Trust building between communities and formal state structures/processes/policies/personnel is thus a key principle in the methodological design of this project, which: works with communities to capture their voices and expertise for natural resource management and generates a space for key stakeholders to hear and incorporate this expertise. By bringing the different actors together they will have the space to reflect and discuss, together, to imagine creative outcomes and solutions for national resource management challenges. Our project will also generate important knoweldge about how local expertise can be incorporated into policy decision-making and what happens in the encounter between local voices, international goals, and national regulations.
Data and Displacement: Assessing the Practical and Ethical Implications of Targeting Humanitarian Protection
Funder: AHRC and DFID under the Collaborative Humanitarian Protection Programme
Investigator(s): Prof Vicki Squire (PI, WICID), Dr Briony Jones (Co-I, WICID), Dr Olufunke Fayehun (University of Ibadan), Dr Leben Moro (University of Juba), Prof João Porto de Albuquerque (University of Glasgow), Prof Dallal Stevens (Warwick Law), Rob Trigwell
Partners: University of Ibadan, University of Juba, International Organisation for Migration
Data and Displacement assesses the data-based humanitarian targeting of assistance to internally displaced persons in two contexts that are characterised by conflict and high levels of displacement: northern Nigeria and South Sudan. It examines the production and use of large-scale data in each case, focusing on the operational and ethical challenges that arise in the collection and use of such data. The project employs mixed methods, combining a range of data analysis techniques with qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews. It emphasises the importance of involving local stakeholders in the assessment of data-driven processes of targeted assistance, in particular IDPs themselves. In so doing, the project aims to explore issues such as barriers to participation in data collation processes for ‘at-risk’ groups, the implications of data-based targeting on intersecting and spatial inequalities, and the impacts of large-scale data use for humanitarian principles such as ‘do no harm’.
Previous Projects
Connecting Legal and Psychosocial Aspects in the Search for Victims of Enforced Disappearance in Colombia and El Salvador
Funder: Swiss Network for International Studies
Investigators: Dr Lisa Ott, swisspeace (PI) Dr Briony Jones, WICID (Principal Member) Dr Mina Rauschenbach, University of Lausanne (Principal Member) Camilo Sanchez, DeJusticia Colombia (Principal Member) Heli Hernando, ProBusqueda El Salvador (Principal Member) Ana Julia, ProBusqueda (Principal Member)
Partners: swisspeace; University of Lausanne; DeJusticia in Colombia; Pro Busqueda in El Salvador; United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearance; International Committee of the Red Cross
Knowledge for Peace. Understanding Research, Policy, Practice Synergies
Funder: Swiss National Science Foundation and Swiss Development Cooperation
Investigators: Prof. Laurent Goetschel, University of Basel (PI) Dr Briony Jones, WICID (Co-I and Project Lead) Dr Leben Moro, University of Juba (Co-I), Dr Gilbert Fokou, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Cote d'Ivoire (Co-I)
Partners: swisspeace; University of Juba, Centre Suisse de Recherche Scientifiques en Côte d’Ivoire