Events and News

Documentation of human rights and transitional justice in Syria, Friday 20 November 2020

The Syrian war is the most documented conflict in history. But is documentation paving the way for justice? Drawing on new research from the Conflict Research Programme, the panel will discuss the current gaps in documentation and ways to address them. 

Find out more.

Finding Peace in Somalia – the Galkaio 'local' agreement, Tuesday 10 November 2020

This talk explores the 2016/17 peace agreement, in its local and national dimensions, and which occurred as part of the state-building project that is still ongoing in Somalia and offers insights on the quality of international intervention. 

Watch the recording here.

Rethinking UK policy towards conflict: lessons from the CRP, Wednesday 14 October 2020

The panel discussed the policy recommendations proposed by the Conflict Research Programme to the UK Government’s Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy.

Watch the recording here.

What's the Oil Rush in Somalia?, Tuesday 6 October 2020

Somalia is in pre-election mode and is at the same time pushing for the licensing of oil, based on the promising prospects revealed by seismic surveys. A maritime dispute between Somalia and Kenya, in the International Court of Justice, is part of wider regional interests. In 2020, Covid-19 has dramatically reduced the demand and price of oil. The panel discussed the implications of these dynamics.

Watch the recording here.

Iran in Iraq: The Limits of Smart Power Amidst Public Protest, Thursday 30 July 2020

The event launches a new paper by the CRP-Iraq Team. The paper draws on Arabic and Farsi language social and traditional media sources to argue that while the Islamic Republic has invested in potential sources of ‘soft power’ to broadly appeal to Iraqis, it has prioritised core support groups whose activities are increasingly unpalatable to the public. 

Find out more. 

Financial Strains, Health Pressures: Syria, Somalia and the COVID-19 impact, Wednesday 10 June 2020 

The event draws on recent research on the economic impact of remittances and the diaspora in Somalia, as well as the sanctions and healthcare capacity in Syria.

Find out more.

Civic Stories from Conflict Zones: Examples from the DRC, Somalia and Syria, Monday 10 February 2020

The panel will discuss recent examples of civicness and ask whether there are ways to support and strengthen civicness from the outside and whether this could help to weaken persistent conflict. 

Watch the recording here.

Food and Power in Somalia: business as usual?, 23 January 2020

Join us for a report launch and discussion on the political economy of food in Somalia, with special guest speaker from the BBC, Mary Harper.

Watch the recording here.

Approaches to Reforming the Iraqi Economy amid Popular Protests, 3 December 2019

The public payroll in Iraq has grown unchecked since 2003, commensurate with the country’s vastly expanding oil wealth. With few alternative sources of government income, the state budget’s growth poses worrying questions about whether this ongoing trend can be sustained without risking economic ruin. 

Mobilising for Sustainable Peace in Afghanistan: a global mothers' campaign, 13 November 2019

As talks between the US and Taliban raise hopes for peace in Afghanistan, mothers are mobilising inside and outside the country to hold on to their right to educate their daughters.

Find out more.

Local and regional dynamics in Syria within a historical context, 31 October 2019

Both a public talk and book launch to explore the contemporary dynamics in Syria, positioned within its historical context. The panel will discuss the state’s regional alliances and the state-society relations. 

Find out more.

Law, Justice and Civicness: Lessons from South Sudan, 15 October 2019

This event will highlight the ways in which civic activists navigate the law, fight for justice and seek accountability in South Sudan, and the wider lessons of this experience.

Find out more.

CRP Annual workshop, 14-15 October 2019

All partners in our international consortium will come together for the annual CRP workshop in London to discuss research progress across our five country sites.

Prospects for Democracy in Sudan, 11 October 2019

This event will focus on the dynamics of the Sudanese revolution: non-violent civic mobilisation and the fast-evolving transnational and mercenarised political marketplace.

Find out more.

Book Launch: South Sudan’s Injustice System, 10 October 2019

Dr. Rachel Ibreck launches her book South Sudan’s Injustice System: Law and Activism on the Frontline. This event is hosted by the Royal African Society and is the latest release in the African Arguments series.

Find out more. 

Symi Symposium, 7-11July 2019 

As the concentration of power and subsequent growing inequality are challenging our democracies, and as the evolution of technology creates the illusion that we acquire godlike attributes we need to re-imagine the way our societies address their future. The theme of the 2019 conference is "Democracy, Power - From Hybris and Nemesis to a new paradigm for shared societies”. Prof Mary Kaldor, Dr. Rim Turkmani and Marika Theros will be attending the annual Symi Symposium organising a session on conflict.

Conflict and Humanitarian Response senior-level course, 7-12 July 2019

This was an intensive course for humanitarian professionals taught by the Humanitarian Policy Group (HPG) and LSE.

Members of the CRP directorate will be leading sessions including, Mary Kaldor, Alex de Waal and Rim Turkmani, as well as CRP Advisory Board Member, Dr. Stuart Gordon.

See the agenda.

Women's Advisory Board to the UN Envoy to Syria, 26-27 June 2019

In her capacity as a member of the Women's Advisory Board, Dr. Rim Turkmani attended a meeting in Geneva. Rim provided briefings with the Deputy Special Envoy, Khawla Matar and Norwegian diplomats on the Civil Society Support Room in Syria, providing policy recommendations.

Launch of the Civil Society Support Room Paper, 20 June 2019 

This event will discuss how Syrian civil society managed to carve a place for itself in the Geneva track talks and the results and impact of the Civil Society Support Room.

Download the report

A Fragmented Landscape: Barriers to Independent Media in Iraq, 11 June 2019

The Iraqi media landscape has been characterised by partisan ownership, mainly based on political and religious affiliations. The event launched a report written by one of the recipients of a small grant from the Conflict Research Programme, Aida Al-Kaisy. It examines a number of barriers to the development of independent media in Iraq, providing some recommendations to how these obstacles might be be tackled.

Download the report.

Launch of the Political Economy and Governance in Syria Report, 3 June 2019

At this event, speakers will provide a summary of the report whilst also discussing the political economy of Syria's constitution, and humanitarianism in Syria. 

Download the report.

Satellite Sectarianisation or Plain Old Partisanship? Inciting Violence in the Arab Mainstream Media, 1 May 2019

This event launched the latest report by the CRP Research Fellow for MENA, Dr. Jessica Watkins. The report assesses widespread claims that pan-Arab satellite news channels have been responsible for inciting sectarian violence during the Arab uprisings. 

Download the report. Listen to the podcast.

International Studies Association Conference, 27-30 March 2019

Several members of the CRP consortium presented work at the 60th International Studies Association conference, held in Toronto from 27-30 March 2019, presenting on the paradigm of DDR.

Political Economy and Governance in Syria (Invitation-only), 3-4 December 2018

On 3 - 4 December the CRP is hosted the Political Economy and Governance in Syria conference, bringing together an interdisciplinary group of academics, experts from the field and policy makers.The conference will be led by the Director of Research in Syria, Dr. Rim Turkmani.

The conference intends to primarily build common understandings on three main interrelated themes with regards to Syria: 

1. The current political economy with emphasis on main economic developments, shifting power relations and the creation of new business elites, housing and land management, diagnosing current reconstruction efforts and discussing possible conditionalities, and the potential role of Syria’s private sector in economic development and peacebuilding mechanisms.

2. The current and post-conflict governance, with particular attention to local governance mechanisms and elections, health governance, and the potentialities, opportunities and obstacles to decentralisation in Syria. 

3. The role of civil society, with a focus on new CRP research on the contribution of the Syrian Civil Society to the Geneva process through the Civil Society Support Room and on its research on the documentation required for transitional justice mechanisms in Syria. 

LSE’s Syria Conflict Research Programme hopes that, through the conference, it will be able to contribute to the constitution of an objective, timely, and productive body of knowledge on Syria which speaks to relevant policy makers and engages with ongoing processes of transitional justice, peacebuilding, and negotiations.

Download the report.

The Politics of Humanitarianism: Perspectives from South Sudan, 30 November 2018

Join us for the launch of the Conflict Research Programme’s new paper on the politics of humanitarianism in South Sudan, which adds a distinctive perspective to these debates by drawing on the expertise of twelve prominent South Sudanese academics and activists. The paper explores issues of humanitarian access, accountability, authority and the roles of South Sudanese humanitarian activists. It questions norms of humanitarian knowledge production, and discusses the histories and futures of South Sudanese humanitarian agenda setting.

Download the report.

Civic Perspectives on Conflict, 29 November 2018

This event brings two critical intellectuals from the Democratic Republic of Congo and from Syria presenting their analyses and prognoses of the violence in their countries, with commentary from our CRP researchers and from Dr Javier Solana, the former High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union and Professor of Practice at LSE.

Listen to the podcast.

"What Works" in Security Interventions workshop, 1-2 November 2018

The Conflict Research Programme, together with our partners the Social Science Research Council hosted a workshop seeking to understand "what works" when intervening in the security arena in our five research sites. The workshop was hosted in New York and attended by our CRP researchers, as well as UN think tank representatives. A report and podcast will be available on the workshop soon.

CRP Annual workshop, 25-27 June 2018

The Conflict Research Programme hosted its first annual workshop. The workshop brought together researchers focusing on each of the research sites: Iraq, Syria, South Sudan,Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including core country teams and incoming research fellows. Sessions took place across three days, and included site-by-site updates on research progress and plans, and presentation. Read the full workshop report here.

Launch of the Conflict Research Programme, 19 March 2018

The Conflict Research Programme was formally launched with a panel debate on 'Understanding Violence in Africa and the Middle East'.  The event was facilitated by Lyse Doucet with Mary Kaldor, Rim Turkmani, Toby Dodge and Rachel Ibreck speaking to aspects of the CRP's work and Javier Solana responding. 

Listen to the podcast.