Publications
Subnational Governance and Conflict
The potential for subnational governance to serve as a catalyst of peace has been widely recognized. This is reflected in the frequent inclusion of subnational governance arrangements in political settlements negotiated in war-to-peace transitions. In this book, my... read moreThe Dynamics of Emerging De-Facto States: Eastern Ukraine in the Post-Soviet Space
What are the causes and consequences of the crisis in Ukraine, and what has been the nature of local, national, and external actors’ involvement in it? These are the questions that my colleague Tetyana Malyarenko and I examine in this comprehensive analysis of the... read moreEthnic Conflict: Causes, Consequences, and Responses
Why does ethnic conflict remain one of the major security challenges in today’s world? Can we avoid another Rwanda in the future? How was it possible, after almost four decades, to achieve a lasting settlement to the conflict in Northern Ireland, while that in... read moreCritical Concepts in Political Science: Ethnic Conflict
The study of ethnic conflict saw its heyday in the aftermath of the Cold War with a proliferation of theories about its causes and management. But its origins as a subject of academic inquiry not only predate the end of the Cold War but also its inception, with some... read moreThe European Union as a Global Conflict Manager
Co-edited with Richard Whitman and published by Routledge, this book offers an up-to-date and accessible analysis of the theories, processes and practice of the European Union’s role in managing conflict in Europe, Asia and Africa and examines both institutional... read moreConflict Management in Divided Societies: Theories and Practice
Taking a multi-perspective approach to the study of conflict management in divided societies and offering a wide range of perspectives from leading experts in the field, this book examines the philosophies underpinning constitutional design, the actors and processes... read moreMission (im)possible? UN military peacekeeping operations in civil wars
Under what conditions can UN military peacekeeping operations (PKOs) succeed in contexts of civil war? Our key finding is that what matters most and consistently across all of these missions is the presence or absence of domestic consent to, and cooperation with, deployed PKOs.
read moreThe dataset of Political Agreements in Internal Conflicts (PAIC)
Introducing the new dataset of Political Agreements in Internal Conflicts (PAIC) and presenting its first application, my co-authors Giuditta Fontana, Argyro Kartsonaki, Natascha S. Neudorfer, Dawn Walsh, Christalla Yakinthou and I develop an argument in this freely... read moreEnhancing the Robustness of Causal Claims Based on Case Study Research on Conflict Zones
Focusing on process tracing and using the example of fieldwork in Donbas, I develop an argument in this freely accessible article in Nationalities Papers on what theoretically grounded and empirically detailed methodological solutions can be considered to mitigate the... read moreChina’s Belt and Road Initiative: Implications for the OSCE
Since its inception in late 2013, China’s Belt and Road Initiative has grown into a vast global development project with increasing geopolitical and geo-economic implications. By 2020, Belt and Road co-operation involved more than half of the OSCE’s 57 participating... read morePluralism and Conflict Prevention
A pluralistic approach to conflict prevention requires practitioners to identify the divisions and exclusions in a society that can lead to violence long before conflict is imminent. Paying careful attention to these early warnings of conflict, and addressing them before they are exacerbated, can pave the way for institutional and cultural environments that foster inclusion and thus, more sustainable peace.
read moreAn Assessment of Global Values-based Benchmarks and Indicators
Building on the results of previous research for the Global Centre for Pluralism (GCP) that included a scan of audit and assessment tools, my colleague Argyro Kartsonaki and I, in this paper, provide an overview of four existing values-based audit tools and outline... read moreSudan: ‘Successful’ Constitutional Reform Spurs Localized Violence
Institutions are important in mitigating the extent to which shocks produce violent consequences, but their effectiveness is conditioned by the behavior of local and international leaders. Ostensibly perfect institutions may fail due to poor stewardship, while even imperfect ones can succeed at preventing violent escalation if local and international political leaders have sufficient political will.
read more