Research Agenda

Most research on civil war focuses on rebel actors or militaries. My research builds on recent work on civilian agency and behaviour in conflict, to better understand how people cope, respond to and manage violence. In my doctoral thesis, I argued that communities are motivated to collaborate with or resist rebels because they aim to resolve existing rivalries, conflicts and disputes. Their responses are also shaped by local dynamics of violence: assassinations and large-scale killings in nearby localities can trigger civilians to shift their response.

Continuing this research, I am interested in understanding how civilians in deeply divided societies take risks to help each other in the midst of ongoing violence. This research explores how communities use informal social institutions to promote non-violence over violence and how leaders pursue dialogue with armed groups to foster peace locally.

Methodologically, I rely on a variety of qualitative methods, including fieldwork, interviews and archival research.