Research Seminar: Reparations and reproductive violence - The case of children born of conflict-related sexual violence in Colombia
2023-11-22 16:00 - 17:30 UTC | Edinburgh School of Law, Old College, South Bridge, Edinburgh, EH8 9YL, United Kingdom
Researcher Dr Tatiana Sanchez Parra (Marie Sklodowska-Curie Action Fellow, University of Edinburgh Politics and International Relations) shares her work on reproductive justice from a chapter of her upcoming book, ‘Born of War in Colombia: Reproductive Violence and Memories of Absence’.
Please RSVP via Eventbrite to attend
Tatiana’s work:
Tatiana Sanchez Parra works on issues related to feminist peacebuilding, reproductive justice, and reproductive violence in contexts of war and political transitions. Her research is situated at the intersection of feminist studies, socio-legal studies, and Latin American studies.
Her current project, ‘Advancing Gender Justice, Tackling Reproductive Violence: Forced Parenthood in Contexts of War’, focuses on the experiences of cisgender women and transgender men who are parenting children born of conflict-related sexual violence in Colombia. Through a collaborative, ethnographic, and arts-based approach, the project seeks to: (1) offer a comprehensive understanding of diverse experiences of these forms of parenthood; (2) advance knowledge regarding justice and redress for these cases; (3) facilitate knowledge exchange to render visible and address these experiences of parenthood.
About Tatiana:
Tatiana is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Fellow in the School of Social and Political Science at the University of Edinburgh.
Tatiana holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Essex, where she also obtained a Master’s degree in Human Rights. Prior to her studies in the UK, Tatiana completed a Master’s in Social Anthropology at the Universidad de Los Andes, where she also studied her undergraduate degree in Social Anthropology. Before starting her current position at the University of Edinburgh, Tatiana worked as an Assistant Professor at Instituto de Estudios Sociales y Culturales Pensar of the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Colombia) and as a consultant for the Global Survivors Fund (Switzerland).
Please RSVP via Eventbrite to attend

Peace Talks Webinar - Vulnerability and Resilience to Violent Extremism: An Actor-Centric Approach
2023-12-07 11:00 - 12:30 UTC | Online
Register to attend via Zoom
Join us for the launch of ‘Vulnerability and Resilience to Violent Extremism: An Actor-Centric Approach’ and explore the intricate web of societal dynamics surrounding violent extremism.
Adopting an actor-centric approach, this volume examines the roles of state representatives, religious institutions and civil society actors. The analysis builds on empirical evidence collected in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Serbia, Iraq, Lebanon, and Tunisia.
Learn why vulnerability and resilience to violent extremism can be considered two sides of the same coin.
After hearing from the authors, attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and participate in a discussion of the book’s key themes.
Speakers:
Dr. Juline Beaujouan
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
PeaceRep | University of Edinburgh
Dr. Véronique Dudouet
Senior Research Advisor
Conflict Transformation Research Programme | Berghof Foundation
Dr. Maja Halilovic-Pastuovic
Assistant Research Professor
Trinity College Dublin | The University of Dublin
Dr. Amjed Rasheed
Lecturer of Defence Studies
Department of Security Studies | King’s College London
Who Should Attend?
This book launch will be of interest to students and scholars interested in countering violent extremism, terrorism, political violence, and the fields of security studies and International Relations.
Please register to attend on Zoom. Attendees will receive a confirmation email with details on how to join the webinar.
About the book:
‘Vulnerability and Resilience to Violent Extremism’ is available Open-Access at www.taylorfrancis.com.
The volume is co-edited by Juline Beaujouan, Véronique Dudouet, Maja Halilovic-Pastuovic, Johanna-Maria Hülzer, Marie Kortam, and Amjed Rasheed.

Register to attend via Zoom

What role for youth in peace agreements?: Introducing a new dataset
2023-12-13 11:00 - 12:30 UTC | Edinburgh School of Law, Old College, South Bridge, Edinburgh, EH8 9YL, United Kingdom
Asli Ozcelik Olcay (University of Glasgow School of Law) introduces a new dataset on references to youth in peace agreements from 1990-2022 and discusses key findings on the relationship between youth and armed conflict.
Please RSVP via Eventbrite to attend
What role for youth in peace agreements?: Introducing a new dataset
Today’s youth population is the largest in history, representing 24% of the global population, A significant part of the youth population globally is estimated to be affected by armed conflict. Marginalisation of youth in different avenues of life is among the root causes of some conflicts. Armed conflict also has significant adverse consequences for young people, from impeding their access to education, health, and livelihoods to leading to displacement. While some young people join the armed forces of conflict parties, many remain unarmed and play other roles in conflict situations, delivering humanitarian aid, acting as local mediators, and building peace. Where peace agreements refer to youth, they provide valuable insights into the multifaceted relationship between youth and armed conflict. Where this is not the case, it may be an indication of youth’s marginalisation in a peace process.
The aim of this talk is to introduce the first peace agreement dataset that adopts a youth lens, “References to Youth in Peace Agreements, 1990-2022 (YPAD)”, which draws on the PA-X Peace Agreements Database. YPAD contains 208 peace agreements that refer to youth, young people, or similar, concluded between the years of 1990-2022 to bring an end to conflicts of inter-state, intra-state, or local nature. The data demonstrates that referencing youth in peace agreements remains a marginal practice, with only 12% of the peace agreements concluded in the said timeframe referring to youth. Yet, it also reveals a wide variety of practices to be learned from in relation to youth inclusion in the negotiation process, content, and implementation of peace agreements, which to date were not systemically analysed. In addition to introducing the data, Asli Ozcelik Olcay will discuss some of the key findings and offer a thematic analysis of the references to youth.
Please RSVP via Eventbrite to attend

Full-day Workshop: Race, Empire and Legal and Constitutional Theory
2024-04-18 09:00 - 17:00 UTC | University of Edinburgh
What are the relationships between critiques of race and empire, and legal-theoretical approaches to the constitutionalisation of power? This workshop foregrounds this encounter, with an emphasis on the methodological challenges and innovations it generates. The workshop brings together scholars from different disciplinary methodologies and practices, spanning law (human rights, constitutional law, international law), the humanities (performance studies), and social and political theory (critical race theory, gender studies, cultural studies). Together, they will explore the methods of and relationships between these different critical approaches, and their consequences for legal and constitutional theory.
Please register to attend on Eventbrite.
Location: Seminar Room 1, Chrystal Macmillan Building, 15a George Square, Edinburgh
Agenda
9.15am – Tea and coffee
9.30am – Welcome and introductions
9.45am-11.15am – Panel 1: Land, Nature and the Racial Logic of Rights
‘In themselves a hazard’: The racial capitalist logic of amenity value
Sarah Keenan, Birkbeck College, University of London
Granting rights to protect nature: possibilities and limitations
Helena Alviar García, SciencesPo
Discussant: Tsampika Taralli, University of Edinburgh
11.15am – Comfort break
11.30am-1pm – Panel 2: Silence and Silencing
We Who Must Fight in the Shade
Tommy J Curry, University of Edinburgh
Constitutionalizing racial aphasia
Christopher Gevers, University of KwaZulu-Natal
Discussant: Mihaela Mihai, University of Edinburgh
1pm-2pm – Lunch
2pm-3.30pm – Panel 3: State-building and Colonial Orders
The rule of law and racial difference in the British Empire
Kanika Sharma, SOAS, University of London
Constituting digital infrastructure in Latin America
Rene Urueña, Universidad de Los Andes
Discussant: Kathryn Nash, University of Edinburgh
3.30pm – Comfort break
3.45pm-4.45pm – General discussion
4.45pm – Closing comments
This event is organised by Peacerep, in conjunction with the Centre for Legal Theory and Race.Ed.
This event is in person only.

Seeing Conflict through Data: Visualising Peace Process Trajectories
2024-04-25 18:00 - 19:30 UTC
Conflict seems ever-present at the moment. In too many places, wars and disputes flare up and rumble on, and peace-making efforts follow in their wake. But all too often, the vital evidence about what is happening can be hard to find and interpret.
Edinburgh DataVis Community is back with a talk from two researchers from the Peacerep programme, a peace and conflict resolution evidence platform which seeks to collate and visualise this critical information.
Tomas Vancisin and Niamh Henry will talk about the aims of the multi-institution project, and give us a glimpse into how they display and make use of the wide variety of data they gather.
WHEN: 6 pm, Thursday 25 April 2024
WHERE: Inspace, 1 Crichton Street
For further details and to register, please visit MeetUp.
The Edinburgh DataVis Meetup is an informal community event open to all, that has been bringing together practitioners, designers, academics and the just plain curious in this highly active field since 2018.
This is a joint event with Newcastle University, and a hybrid event.
A zoom link will be shared a couple days before the event date.
Doors open at 18:00; talk starts at 18:15. Non-alcoholic refreshments provided.
Description of the talk:
PeaceRep is building PeaceTech innovation focused on better data for supporting adaptive management of peace and transition processes. We are producing a state of the art method for measuring change across a portfolio of indicators, to support analysis of peace processes and implementation. As the cornerstone of our PeaceTech work, the PA-X Peace Agreements Database contains more than 2,000 peace agreements from peace processes between 1990 and 2022. PA-X data underpins a range of digital tools to support policy and practice, including visualisations, trackers, interactive timelines, infographics, and a mobile app.
In this event Tomas Vancisin and Niamh Henry will talk through the design and development of key PeaceRep visualisations that have had impact in the field of peace building to better understand trajectories of peace processes. This includes temporal, network, geospatial and combined visualisations.

Book Talk with Miranda Melcher: Securing Peace in Angola and Mozambique
2024-05-09 10:30 - 11:30 UTC | Edinburgh School of Law, Old College, South Bridge, Edinburgh, EH8 9YL, United Kingdom
Photo by PASCAL PAVANI/AFP via Getty Images
Does it really matter what’s written on page 36, protocol V, section III, point 5 of a UN-endorsed peace treaty?
Join us as Dr Miranda Ruwart Melcher presents her new book, Securing Peace in Angola and Mozambique: The Importance of Specificity in Peace Treaties.
This book helps explain how and why there are such diverging outcomes of UN peace negotiations and treaties through a detailed examination of peace processes in the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Dr Melcher shows that seemingly small details – such as who wears suits, who has toothbrushes, and how specific words are translated between French and English – can and have delayed peace or contributed to restarting wars.
Following a presentation of the book, there will be time for a discussion of its key themes.
WHEN: 10:30 am – 11:30 am, Thursday 09 May 2024
WHERE: Teaching Room 07, Old College, Edinburgh University Law School
Please register to attend on Eventbrite.
About the book:
Securing Peace in Mozambique and Angola presents a detailed qualitative analysis of the peace treaties of the civil wars in Angola and Mozambique, analysing the text in comparative detail while also investigating and making arguments about the processes through which the treaties were negotiated, and how this impacted their implementation. In addition to using the treaties themselves, the book draws on previously unopened UN archives about peacekeeping missions in Angola and Mozambique, giving unique insight in on-the-ground peacekeeping in the 1990s and the evolution of what UN peacekeeping meant and means.
The book also:

Combines UN archival material with interviews from key figures involved in negotiations, going behind closed doors to illuminate how peace treaties are actually negotiated
Explains divergent outcomes for two long civil wars that have important similarities to many civil wars currently underway
Traces how the end of the Cold War played out in proxy conflicts and explains why the end of the Cold War made some conflicts worse
Offers an alternative option to the oft-implemented Disarmament, Demobilisation, and Reintegration (DDR) which has mixed outcomes and logic

Please register to attend on Eventbrite.
This event is organised by Peacerep.
This event is in person only.

IGO Engagement in Peace Agreements: Building a Dataset with PA-X
2024-05-22 16:00 - 17:30 UTC | Edinburgh School of Law, Old College, South Bridge, Edinburgh, EH8 9YL, United Kingdom
Join us as Kathryn Nash and Brooke Coe discuss their research methods for building a new dataset using the PA-X Peace Agreements Database.
Their dataset on IGO engagement in peace agreements informed their minibook, ‘Regionalized Governance in the Global South’. A year on from its publication, Nash and Coe have released a new policy brief, which summarises the book’s findings for a broad audience, and their dataset and codebook, which underpins their research findings.
This event is hybrid. Those who are able to attend in person are invited to join us for a drinks reception following the panel discussion to celebrate the release of the dataset and policy brief.
WHERE: Online/Moot Court Room, Old College, University of Edinburgh Law School
WHEN: 4 pm – 5:30 pm GMT, Wednesday 22 May 2024.
AGENDA:

4 pm: Panel discussion
5 pm: Q&A
5:30 pm: Wine reception

Register to attend in person via Eventbrite.
OR
Register to attend online via Zoom.
This event is organised by PeaceRep in conjunction with the Global Justice Academy.

About ‘Regionalized Governance in the Global South’:
This minibook explores the division of labour and concentration of authority amongst inter-governmental organisations (IGOs) in Latin America and Africa. It focuses on multilevel governance across global and regional IGOs in the domains of peace and security and human rights.

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.
