PeaceRep

Regional Peace Co-construction in Colombia: Innovations and Challenges
2024-10-30 15:00 - 16:00 UTC | Edinburgh School of Law, Old College, South Bridge, Edinburgh, EH8 9YL, United Kingdom
With Andrei Gómez-Suárez, Delegate of the Colombian government to the negotiations with guerrilla group Comuneros del Sur.

Location:
Teaching Room 03, Old College, University of Edinburgh Law School
Date/time:
Wednesday 30 October 2024
15:00–16:00 GMT
About this event:
PeaceRep and the Global Justice Academy are delighted to host visiting academic, Andrei Gómez-Suárez, for a discussion on the ongoing peace process negotiations in Colombia.
Following over a half a century of conflict, the Colombian government is now pursuing a “Total Peace” strategy, which involves negotiating with all armed and political rebel groups including the National Liberation Army (ELN) and dissent groups of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Peace negotiations have also involved efforts towards reconciliation, including assistance and reparation for victims of conflict.
In this seminar, Andrei will share his first-hand experience of negotiating as part of the Colombian government’s delegation in Nariño with guerrilla group Comuneros del Sur.
Andrei will discuss the innovative approaches he and his colleagues are taking to build lasting peace, while also sharing the challenges inherent in fostering inclusive dialogue and navigating complex regional dynamics.
Following the presentation, there will be an opportunity for attendees to participate in a Q&A.
This event is in-person only. Refreshments will be provided.
Registration: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/regional-peace-co-construction-in-colombia-innovations-and-challenges-tickets-1037680108137
About the speaker
Andrei Gómez-Suárez (PhD University of Sussex) is part of the Colombian government’s delegation in a peace process in Nariño, living in Edinburgh but spending part of each year in Colombia. He is visiting academic at the University of Edinburgh and co-founder of peacebuilding organisation Rodeemos el Diálogo (ReD, or Embrace Dialogue). He has lectured at the Universities of Bristol, Oxford, Sussex, and Winchester and has done consultancies for Conciliation Resources, the International Organisation for Migrations, and in Colombia for the Office of the High Commissioner for Peace, the National Centre for Historical Memory, and the Ombudsman’s Office. His books include Genocide, Geopolitics and Transnational Networks: a Con-textualisation of the Destruction of the Patriotic Union in Colombia (Routledge, 2015), El Triunfo del No: la Paradoja Emocional detrás del Plebiscito (Icono, Colombia, 2016), and We are not made of sugar: a childhood memoir from Colombia (forthcoming, Fuller Vigil 2025).

The end of the Assad regime: what happens now?
2024-12-10 15:00 - 16:30 UTC
Location:
Zoom
Date/time:
Tuesday 10 December 2024
15.00 – 16.30 London / 10.00 – 11.30 New York / 16.00 – 17.30 Paris / 18.00 – 19.30 Damascus
Register to attend on Zoom.
About this event:
Bashar al-Assad has been overthrown. The surprise offensive of the rebel groups, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the Syrian National Army (SNA), in the end met little resistance, sparking a broader uprising that brought down the regime. A new chapter in the Syrian crisis has opened with enormous regional and global implications. A regime that committed mass slaughter to cling to power is no more.
The LSE Syria team, based at LSE IDEAS/Conflict and Civicness Research Group, have been researching the conflict at every stage of its development as part of their work for PeaceRep (the Peace and Conflict Resolution Evidence Platform). Through the Mapping Syria project, they run local teams of researchers that feed real-time data on conditions on the ground.
This rapid response webinar will draw on this experience and local research network to analyse this extraordinary moment of change for Syria and its people. The briefing will address:

Who are the forces/factors behind this offensive?
How do they interface with international actors?
How will it shape international and regional dynamics?
What are the risks and scenarios going forward?
What are the potential pathways for peace and justice based outcomes?

Speakers

Dr Munzer Alkhalil (LSE)
Mazen Gharibah (LSE)
Zaki Mehchy (LSE)
Dr Rim Turkmani (LSE)

Discussant
Mary Kaldor (LSE)
Chair
Dr Luke Cooper (LSE)
Format
In-conversation with audience Q&A
How do I participate?
Sign up to the Zoom registration page here:
https://lse.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0YiI_d6WRJGuUDPf9FmJpg#/registration
Is this event private/public?
This is a public on the record webinar. Please forward it to colleagues who might be interested.
This event is supported by the Peace and Conflict Resolution Evidence Platform (PeaceRep), funded by UK International Development from the UK government. However, the views expressed are those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the UK government’s official policies.

Transformative Indicators for Women, Peace and Security | PeaceRep research seminar with Dr Laura McLeod
2025-01-09 14:00 - 15:30 UTC | Edinburgh School of Law, Old College, South Bridge, Edinburgh, EH8 9YL, United Kingdom
Location:
Teaching Room 07, Old College, University of Edinburgh Law School
Date/time:
Thursday 09 January 2025
14:00–15:30 GMT
Register to attend on Eventbrite.
About this event:
Join us for a research seminar with Dr Laura McLeod, Senior Lecturer in International Politics at the University of Manchester. Laura will present her recent article, Transformative indicators? Gender expertise and technocratic peace, followed by a response from Senior Research Fellow Laura Wise and an open discussion.
Presented in collaboration with PeaceRep, Edinburgh Law School, the International Relations Research Group, and GENDER.ED.
The seminar will be held in person. Refreshments will be provided.
Format:

Research presentation (Laura McLeod) – 20 mins
Response (Laura Wise) – 10 mins
Discussion (all) – 30 mins

Article abstract:
In the last decade, the use of indicators to track implementation of international peacebuilding and peacekeeping programmes, policies and practices has proliferated. Indicators are criticised by many scholars for their technocratic, standardised and colonialising effects. This article follows a different line of inquiry. Can indicators be transformative? Contemporary critiques place indicators as bureaucratic artefacts in a vacuum, detached and decontextualised from the nuances of human agency developing, utilising and subverting them. I conceptualise indicators as powerful gendered technologies of knowledge creation developed, used and subverted by institutional actors. Using interviews with institutional actors and United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Reports, I trace institutional stories of one indicator (out of 26) developed to capture implementation of the UN Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. The indicator investigated tracks the number of senior gender experts employed within UN Peacekeeping and Special Political Missions. Stories of progress, skill, and location in the reporting of this indicator between 2010 and 2020 highlight strategies deployed and opportunities taken by feminist-change advocates within the UN to prompt a deeper implementation of the WPS agenda. While indicators hold the danger of reinforcing neoliberal norms, the failure to conceptualise the potential for developing, utilising and/or subverting the indicators smacks of hubris, limiting opportunities for meaningful transformation.
About the speaker:
Dr Laura McLeod is Senior Lecturer in International Politics at the University of Manchester. She works broadly in the areas of gender, feminism, security and peacebuilding in post-conflict contexts. Much of her focus has been on the United Nations Security Council’s Women, Peace and Security agenda, activities around it and its implementation within the United Nations and former Yugoslavia, in particular Serbia, Kosovo and Bosnia & Herzegovina.

The Future of Power-Sharing in Iraq: Youth Perspectives
2025-02-24 17:30 - 19:00 UTC
Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images
This event will be a panel discussion exploring the future of power-sharing in Iraq with Iraqi researchers both within Iraq and in the diaspora.
Register to attend in person or online
This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of Iraq’s new constitution, a milestone that coincides with a significant generational shift—nearly 50% of the population has been born since this transformative period. These demographic changes have brought new perspectives, challenges, and opportunities to the forefront of political discourse.
As part of the PeaceRep Iraq Programme at LSE Middle East Centre, this event will bring together Iraqi researchers to examine how younger generations perceive the power-sharing system in Iraq. The discussion will address the Iraqi political system’s effectiveness in meeting societal needs and explore the aspirations of a new generation poised to shape Iraq’s political and social future.
Speakers:

Oula Kadhum – SOAS
Khogir Mohammed – Middle East Research Institute
Muhaned Seloom – Doha Institute for Graduate Studies

Chair:

Kamaran Palani – LSE Middle East Centre

Learn more about the speakers and register to attend: https://www.lse.ac.uk/middle-east-centre/events/2025/future-of-power-sharing-iraq-youth

Film Screening: Devi
2025-02-27 17:30 - 19:30 UTC | Edinburgh School of Law, Old College, South Bridge, Edinburgh, EH8 9YL, United Kingdom
Location: MacLaren Stuart Room, Old College, University of Edinburgh Law School
Date/time:
Thursday 27 February 2025
17:30 GMT
Register to attend on Eventbrite
Join PeaceRep, GENDER.ED, and the Global Justice Academy for the Scottish premiere of Devi, a multi-award winning documentary about the life of Devi Khadka.
About this event:
Nepal’s Civil War ended in 2006, but not for Devi; rebel warrior, mother and sexual violence survivor. As those in power try to erase rape from the history of war, Devi has to battle her own demons before she can begin to build a movement to fight for justice. In August 2024 Devi Khadka finally saw Nepal’s government pass a key law on conflict related sexual violence – which Devi puts down in part to the process of making the film and the support of director Subina Shrestha.
The film screening will be followed by a Q&A with Devi director Subina Shrestha and Global Justice Academy Director Kasey McCall-Smith at Edinburgh Law School.
Refreshments will be provided upon arrival.
https://www.devidocumentary.com/
“A deeply moving and inspiring film about the long and often complicated road to justice. Devi shows us what it takes to be a human rights defender, standing up for women’s rights whatever the cost.”
Sherine Tadros – Deputy Director of Advocacy for Amnesty International

ISA 2025 | PeaceRep Reception: Rethinking Peace and Transition Processes in a Changing World
2025-03-02 19:45 - 20:45 (America/Chicago)
Attendees of the 2025 International Studies Association (ISA) conference in Chicago are invited to join PeaceRep for a reception on Sunday evening.
When: Sunday 02 March 2025, 7:45pm – 8:45pm (CST)
Where: Buckingham at the Hilton Chicago
PeaceRep researchers from the University of Edinburgh, University of St Andrews and Coventry University will be hosting this event, and are looking forward to this opportunity to talk about our research on peace and conflict resolution in a friendly and cordial atmosphere.
At the reception, we will share more about our data-driven approach to peace and conflict research, including:
• Hands-on demos of our data and PeaceTech tools like the PA-X Peace Agreements Database and Peace Process Tracker
• Key insights from our comparative research into global fragmentation and the evolving role of local and international actors and mediators
• Our work on perceptions of peace in South Sudan, including findings from a longitudinal survey recording daily experiences of safety and views on elections, governance, security, trust in public authorities, and civic space.
Please note that this event is open to those registered to attend the 2025 ISA Conference.
Attending ISA 2025? Visit PeaceRep in Booth #314 in the exhibit hall.
You can also hear from PeaceRep researchers in the following sessions:
• SA68: Sunday 8:15am. The Origins of Peacebuilding and Interrogating Structural Violence. Mateja Peter and Elisa D’Amico, University of St Andrews
• SB20: Sunday 10:30am. Resilience, Counter-radicalisation and the construction of responsible subjects. Jan Pospisil, Coventry University
• SD35: Sunday 4:00pm. Crisis or Opportunity? The future of peace missions in an evolving global order. Mateja Peter, University of St Andrews
• SD54: Sunday 4:00pm. Beyond comprehensive peace agreements: the role of civil society in promoting liberal values in local agreements. Jennifer Hodge, University of Stirling
• MC43: Monday 1:45pm. Expanding Peace: New Perspectives and Conceptual Innovations. Sanja Badanjak, University of Edinburgh
• MD41: Monday 4:00pm. Contemporary Peace Negotiations: Design, Dynamics and Case Analyses. Kasia Houghton, University of St Andrews
• MD48: Monday 4:00pm. Rebel Groups in Conflict Transformation. Jan Pospisil, Coventry University
• TB39: Tuesday 10:30am. Book Reviews Roundtable: Why and how they can benefit you. Jennifer Hodge, University of Stirling
• WB66 Wednesday 10.30am. Challenges and Adapations in African Peacebuilding. Ibrahim Sakawa Magara, Coventry University
• WD54: Wednesday 4:00pm. World Order, Ideological (re)alignments and the War against Ukraine. Jan Pospisil, Coventry University

About PeaceRep
PeaceRep: The Peace and Conflict Resolution Evidence Platform is a research consortium based at the University of Edinburgh and funded by UK International Development from the UK government.

Peace Mediation and the Climate Crisis – Opportunities for Germany to Advance Climate-Sensitive Mediation
2025-03-27 15:00 - 16:30 (Europe/Berlin)
a Zif Xchange Space
When: 27 March 2025, 15:00 – 16:30 (CET)
Where: Online
Climate crisis is increasingly recognized as a crucial factor influencing conflict dynamics worldwide. As extreme weather events, resource scarcity, and environmental degradation exacerbate existing tensions, peace mediation must evolve to incorporate climate considerations.
This launch event followed by a discussion will introduce the findings of the study “Peace Mediation in the Climate Crisis: Opportunities for Germany to Advance Climate-Sensitive Mediation.” The study, authored by Tim Epple and Amelie Overmann, is based on an expert workshop, highlighting the key challenges, existing gaps, and Germany’s potential contributions to strengthening the link between climate change and peace mediation.
We invite you to join this important exchange, including discussions on what role Germany plays in shaping global climate-sensitive mediation strategies and how interdisciplinary collaboration enhances the effectiveness of peace mediation in climate-affected regions.
Presentation of Findings
• Tim Epple, Managing Director, PeaceRep, University of Edinburgh
• Amelie Overmann, Former Head of Project “Strengthening Mediation and Dialogue Capacities,” ZIF
Discussants
• Anne-Sophie Beckedorf, Deputy Head of Division S03, German Federal Foreign Office
• Nisreen Elsaim, Environmental and Climate Expert and Activist
The results of the study will be made available to all participants in advance, enabling them to review the findings thoroughly and to engage in a well-informed exchange during the event.
Registration
Please register by Monday, 24 March 2025, via email at mediationsupport@zif-berlin.org. You will receive the Zoom log-in Information for the event upon registration.

Somalia, Mapping the Fragments: Justice & Security in Kismayo and Galkayo
2025-06-19 14:00 - 15:00 (Europe/Berlin)
Zoom Webinar hosted by the LSE Conflict and Civicness Research Group
Register to attend online
When: 19 March 2025, 14:00 – 15:00 (BST)
Where: Zoom
The general failure of national peace processes has contributed to the emergence of new spaces and dynamics of both peace and conflict, particularly at sub-national levels. In this light, Christine Bell and Laura Wise ask us to reimagine peace processes by mapping and understanding the fragmented peace-conflict spaces that they have identified through PeaceRep’s PA-X Local Peace Agreement database.
This webinar, based on research by the PeaceRep Somalia team, seeks to illustrate how a granular understanding of Somalia’s fragmented governance landscape – Kismayo and Galkayo – can enhance policy and programmatic engagement, by shifting the focus from dominant elite-level narratives to local realities. This is particularly important in securitized, “bunkerized” environments such as Somalia.
This event is part of a three part webinar series drawing on research from Galkayo and Kismayo in Somalia and Tumaco and Chocó in Colombia’s Pacific region across the CCRG. It explores how peace and security processes unfold in fragmented, multilayered, and transcalar environments, where cycles of violence are shaped by limited or uneven state presence, chronic underdevelopment, and contested forms of authority. The series examines how these processes operate within broader political economies and connect across local, national, and international levels, highlighting the potential of transcalar peace and security processes to support more inclusive and sustainable outcomes. More information and information on future webinars can be found here. For more information and to register for upcoming webinars, please visit Conflict and Civicness Research Group Events.
Speakers & Chair

Khalif Abdirahman, Senior Field Researcher at the LSE’s Conflict and Civicness Research Group
Nisar Majid, Research Director of Peacerep Somalia at the LSE’s Conflict and Civicness Research Group
Abdifatah Ismael Tahir, researcher at Hilin, a non-profit research organisation
Marika Theros (Chair), Policy Fellow at the Conflict and Civicness Research Group at LSE IDEAS and the Director of the Civic Engagement Project

Learn more about the speakers here
Registration
This event if free and open to all. However, pre-registration is required. Register here.

Dr Houda Abadi: Reimagining Women, Peace and Security for Today's Geopolitics
2025-10-21 17:30 - 19:30 UTC | Playfair Library Hall, Old College, South Bridge, Edinburgh, EH8 9YL, United Kingdom
Distinguished peacebuilder Dr Houda Abadi will reflect on lessons learned from 25 years of the UN Women, Peace and Security agenda.
Register on Eventbrite
Join Edinburgh Law School and Beyond Borders Scotland for a public event marking the 25th anniversary of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) was passed in October 2000, reaffirming the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of armed conflicts. Now, 25 years later, the WPS agenda is more relevant than ever as women peacebuilders face continued challenges amidst shifting global conflicts and escalating violence.
To mark the anniversary, distinguished peacebuilder Dr Houda Abadi, Founder and Director of Transformative Peace, will reflect on “Reimagining WPS for Today’s Geopolitics: Lessons from 25 Years”. The lecture will be followed by a Q&A and networking reception.
Dr Abadi has more than 18 years of experience designing and implementing peacebuilding programs in the US, Europe and the MENA region. Dr Abadi works with a wide range of stakeholders to facilitate dialogue and promote peacebuilding in sensitive conflict zones such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Palestine, Syria, and Sudan. She develops programs to foster women’s inclusion in peacebuilding processes; provides expertise in designing community based and gender sensitive PVE programs that are locally owned and led; facilitates collaboration between policymakers and grassroots leaders across political and religious divides; conducts evidence based research to help shape policy decisions at the national and international levels, and lastly empowers community leaders to be positive agents of change. Read more at Transformative Peace.
The event will also celebrate the Women in Conflict 1325 Fellowship Programme, which has trained more than 360 women peacebuilders from 40 conflict-affected countries across the Middle East, Africa, South Asia, Europe, and Latin America since 2017. Run by Beyond Borders Scotland in partnership with Edinburgh Law School and funded by the Scottish Government, the Fellowship supports women peacebuilders and the critical work they do to end and transform violent and non violent conflict.
This is a free public event with limited spaces. Registration is essential. Register on Eventbrite

Provisional programme
17:30: Welcome Remarks
17:40: Introduction of speaker and Women in Conflict Fellowship: Kaukab Stewart MSP, Minister for Equalities
17:45: Keynote lecture: Dr. Houda Abadi, Founder and Director of Transformative Peace
18:15: Q&A
18:35: Networking reception

The Crisis of Legitimacy in Peace Work and the Return of ‘Peace as Force'
2026-02-24 10:30 - 12:00 UTC | G42 (Paterson’s Land)
Photo by JOSPIN MWISHA/AFP via Getty Images
Join PeaceRep, the Centre for Security Research, and the Global Justice Academy for a public talk with Gearoid Millar examining the diminishing legitimacy and future of peace work
Register on Eventbrite
When: 10:30 am – 12:00 pm, Tuesday 24 February 2026
Where: G42, Paterson’s Land, University of Edinburgh
In this talk, Gearoid Millar examines the diminishing legitimacy of peace work as it has come to be framed in the post-Cold War era. The talk presents data from interviews with 99 peace work professionals examining what they each thought were the biggest challenges to peace that we had faced in the recent past and that we would face in the foreseeable future. Conducted over two phases that straddle a pivotal inflection point for the field (one in 2018–19 and another in 2024–25), Gearoid’s research presents many voices from those who have worked either to understand (academics) or to implement (practitioners) peace work.
As these voices illustrate, one of the most common challenges these groups identified was the decreasing legitimacy of peace work; specifically, the decreasing legitimacy of the model of peace that has previously been pursued (the liberal peace) and of the actors who have most clearly pursued it (the Western states and the UN). The most worrying implication of these findings, however, is that the very concept of peace itself as a “just peace” allowing progressively more protection and emancipation for individuals and sub-state communities is also becoming delegitimated, to be replaced again by “peace as force”.
Gearoid Millar is a Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies in the Department of Sociology at the University of Aberdeen, in the UK, where he also Coordinators both the MSc in Peace and Conflict Studies and the MSc in Policy Evaluation. His fieldwork research in West Africa has focused on examining the local experiences of international interventions for peace, justice, and development – primarily in Sierra Leone – and he has published widely about the complex and unpredictable interactions (characterised by Hybridity and Friction) between international peacebuilding interventions and the local communities and individuals who experience those interventions. He has contributed widely to the field of Peace and Conflict studies over the past 15 years, with four books and more than two dozen contributions to key journals, such as the Journal of Peace Research, Cooperation and Conflict, International Peacekeeping, the Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, Third World Quarterly, Peacebuilding, and many others.
This is a free public event with limited spaces. Please register via Eventbrite

Time to Make a Change: Reimagining Peace Processes in a Fragmented World
2026-03-12 08:30 - 17:00 UTC | Playfair Library Hall, Old College, South Bridge, Edinburgh, EH8 9YL, United Kingdom
Illustration by Marie Bertrand via Getty Images
Join us for a full-day conference marking the culmination of the PeaceRep programme
As the PeaceRep programme draws to a close, join us in Edinburgh to mark the culmination of five years of data-driven research into the changing nature of peace processes. This full-day conference will showcase insights from PeaceRep’s data-driven research, featuring key findings on fragmentation, multimediation, PeaceTech, peace analytics, and country contexts, together with implications for policy and practice.
The full programme includes a keynote speech by Mary Kaldor (LSE), together with other high-level speakers to be confirmed. The event will feature PeaceRep researchers, PeaceTech developers, mediators, and policy-makers, offering a space for inter-disciplinary discussions on contemporary peace and transition processes, and what needs to change to advance conflict resolution. The afternoon will include a breakout session with a country focus; please choose your top two choices below to allow us to allocate rooms accordingly.
Spaces are free but limited. Register below to secure your place.
Register now
When: 8:30 am – 17:00 pm, Thursday 12 March 2026
Where: Playfair Library, Old College, University of Edinburgh
Registration deadline: Thursday 26 February 2026
This is a free public event with limited spaces. Registration is essential.
The conference will be followed by an evening reception from 17:00 – 19:30.
A provisional programme is now available. Please note that details are subject to change.
