I am Professor of International Security at the University of Birmingham, England, UK. A political scientist by background, I specialise in the management of contemporary security challenges, especially in the prevention and settlement of ethnic conflicts and in post-conflict state-building in deeply divided and war-torn societies. I have extensive expertise in the former Soviet Union and the Middle East, and have also worked on a wide range of other conflicts elsewhere, including in Africa and in Central, South and Southeast Asia. Bridging the divide between academia and policy-making, I have been involved in various phases of conflict settlement processes, including in the disputed territories in Iraq, in Transnistria and Gagauzia (Moldova), and in Yemen.Recent Publications
- Pluralism and Conflict Prevention, The Global Centre for Pluralism
- Subnational governance and conflict, The World Bank
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The dataset on political agreements in internal conflicts (PAIC), Conflict Management and Peace Science
Recent Talks
- COVID-19: What Future for Connectivity in the OSCE Region? OCEEA Webinar
- Economic Diplomacy and Connectivity: What Role for the OSCE? 25th Ministerial Council of the OSCE
- The OSCE in Moldova: From Confidence Building to Conflict Settlement? Workshop of the OSCE Network
Monographs
Edited Volumes
Notes
The prospects for a settlement on Transnistria under a Sandu presidency
Moldova’s president-elect, Maia Sandu, campaigned and won on an anti-corruption platform with few, if any, references to geopolitics. Yet, within days of her victory, one of the longest-standing and thorniest geopolitical issues that the country will continue to face...Libya: Subnational Governance as an Anchor of Stability
As the Libyan people see renewed prospects for peace, subnational governance may represent an integral part of a resolution to protracted instability. For such a solution to work, it will require broad participation in the negotiation process, the absence of internal and external spoilers, and that the institutional arrangements agreed upon must address the main drivers of conflict effectively.
A New Dynamic for Post-Soviet Conflict Settlement?
The protracted conflicts across the post-Soviet space have returned to the center of regional and international politics over the past several months. First, it was the military escalation between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, then the prospect of a new push to settle the conflict over Transnistria.
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