Last week, PeaceRep and Edinburgh Law School welcomed participants from a record-breaking 137 institutions to the 61st annual Conflict Research Society (CRS) conference.
Over the course of three days, PeaceRep and CRS hosted three specialized workshops and 45 panels. Researchers and practitioners from around the world, including recipients of the PeaceRep-funded ODA scholarship, presented 165 papers covering a broad spectrum of issues in peace and conflict studies.
Global Fragmentation in Focus: PeaceRep Hosts International Scholars at 61st CRS...
Global (De-)Fragmentation in Peace and Conflict Research
The overarching theme of the conference, “Global (De-)Fragmentation? Consequences for Peace and Conflict Research and Practice,” invited reflection on the complexities of fragmentation in international peace processes.
Representing an opportunity for the peace and conflict community to come together, panels covered a wide range of topics, from marriage, gender and social control, biodiversity and natural resources, and trends in data collection, to armed group fragmentation and the role of international actors in crises.
PeaceRep research contributed substantively to this discourse, with papers by PeaceRep scholars featuring in numerous panels. Notably, several attendees also presented papers that showcased findings derived from the PA-X Peace Agreements Database. For example, Emilian Berutti from the Centre on Conflict, Development & Peacebuilding, introduced his urban agreements dataset, which builds on the PA-X Local database.
PeaceTech as a Focus of Innovation
A major highlight of the conference was the PeaceRep-led PeaceTech workshop: “Digital Tools for Data-Driven Peace and Conflict Resolution: Demos, Challenges, and Opportunities.”
With over 50 participants from leading organisations such as ACLED, Earth Blox, the UN, and International IDEA, the workshop offered practical demonstrations and discussions on cutting-edge tools for geospatial mapping, data visualization, and peace analytics.
These technologies, many developed or applied by PeaceRep, aim to transform how researchers and practitioners engage with peace and conflict data, making it more accessible and actionable for policy interventions.
In a significant milestone for peace process tracking, PeaceRep’s Managing Director Tim Epple and Data Engineer Niamh Henry officially launched the PA-X Tracker: Peace and Transition Process Tracker during the conference’s first keynote. The innovative tool promises to become an essential resource for academics and practitioners alike, offering timely insights into peace and transition processes globally, with data drawn from PeaceRep’s comprehensive PA-X Peace Agreements Database and other trusted sources.
PeaceRep’s Commitment to Inclusivity and Global Dialogue
For the first time, PeaceRep-funded scholarships were awarded to seven participants from countries eligible for Official Development Assistance (ODA). These scholarships, designed to foster global dialogue, diversity, and inclusivity, enabled scholars from underrepresented regions to attend and contribute to the conference. This initiative underscores PeaceRep’s commitment to expanding collaborative research opportunities and elevating diverse voices in peace and conflict discourse.
Keynotes: Expanding the Scope of Peace Research
Another highlight was the keynote delivered by Roger Mac Ginty, a member of PeaceRep’s International Advisory Board. His presentation, titled “Peace Fragmentation: Maybe That’s a Good Thing,” offered provocative insights into how fragmentation within peace processes can present both challenges and opportunities for conflict resolution. Questions raised by this keynote were alluded to throughout the conference in later panels.
The conference also recognized outstanding contributions to the field. Imrana Alhaji Buba was awarded the Cedric Smith Prize for the best piece of research by a PhD candidate or someone having recently passed their PhD defense, for the paper, “Civilian Protection Payment and the Escalation of Violence against Civilians in Northwestern Nigeria.”
The CRS Book of the Year Prize, which honours research that is contemporary, exceptional and world-leading, went to Peer Schouten for “Roadblock Politics: The Origins of Violence in Central Africa.” Despite an unfortunately timed fire alarm, attendees were happy to return to hear his keynote, which discussed the motif of the roadblock to explain much broader patterns of conflict and state building in Central Africa.