About Us

October 2017 – March 2021

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exploring the logics of the political marketplace and identity politics through the framework of civicness

The Conflict Research Programme

The Conflict Research Programme (CRP) was a four year research programme hosted by LSE IDEAS and formerly hosted by the LSE International Development Department. The goal of the CRP was to understand and analyse the nature of contemporary conflict and to identify international interventions that ‘work’ in the sense of reducing violence, or contributing more broadly to the security of individuals and communities who experience conflict.

It is often assumed that contemporary conflicts are the consequence of ‘fragile’, ‘failed’ or ‘collapsed’ states. The CRP used the concept of public authority, which could refer to a state, a municipality, a chiefdom or an international organisation—or any emergent form of socio-political institution. The programme investigated how different forms of public authority actually function; and argued that levels of violence and insecurity tend to depend on the nature of the different logics. 

Read our Research Framework for more information.

Where did we carry out work?

Our five research sites:

As well as our five sites, we also conducted research in the wider Horn of Africa/Red Sea and Arabian Gulf/Middle East regions.

We took a comparative politics approach to analysing the specifics of these locations, whilst also elaborating on local political idioms to better understand the complex economic and social underpinnings of politics and conflict that help explain the frustrations of state-building. 

Who funded us?

The CRP was an international research consortium led by the LSE that received a £6.68m grant from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (formerly DFID). Following the successful completion of an inception phase, the programme was funded from October 2017 to March 2021.

Find out more on Our Funder page.

Who led the programme?

The programme was led by Consortium Executive Director, Professor Mary Kaldor and Co-Director for Research, Professor Alex de Waal.

Professor Toby Dodge led the work on Iraq and the wider region.

Dr Rim Turkmani led our Syria research.

Prof Koen Vlassenroot led our work in eastern DR Congo. 

Find out more on our Meet the Team page.

Who are our partners?

Lead partners in the programme were:

  • Conflict Research Group at Ghent University.
  • World Peace Foundation (WPF) and Feinstein International Center (FIC) at Tufts University.
  • The Institute of Regional and International Studies (IRIS) at the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani.
  • Al Bayan Center for Planning and Studies

Find our more on Our Partners page. The consortium also worked closely with locally based research networks in each of the sites being studied. 

How can I find out more?

The CRP officially ended on 31 March 2021.

To find out more, please email: intdev.crp@lse.ac.uk or contact the team at LSE IDEAS.

We are located in LSE IDEAS, Connaught House, Fifth Floor, 265 Strand, Holborn, London WC2R 1DH.

 

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Conflict Research Programme, LSE IDEAS, Floor 9, Pankhurst House, Clement's Inn, London, WC2A 2AZ

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