Background to the Theme
Recently, there have been a series of long-term changes in the character of conflict, including shifts in scale, intensity and duration as well as changes in the principal actors involved in violence.
While many countries experience cycles of repeated violence, weak governance and instability, new conflicts continue to emerge across the world.
Conflict is complex, context-specific and has multiple causes, including environmental insecurity, resource scarcity, migration, poverty, inequality, lack of social cohesion, weak state institutions, corruptions and identity politics.
Further research is needed to increase our understanding of the nature of conflicts, how they arise and are maintained, their impact and effective approaches and tools for conflict prevention, resolution and post-conflict development.
With this in mind, PaCCS championed six interdisciplinary research grants under the conflict theme, focusing on:
- New Perspectives on the Changing Character and Mosaic of Conflict, and Transitions to and from Conflict, through Time
- Community Experiences of, and Responses to, Conflict
- Conflict in the Information Age
The Conflict theme is led by the Arts and Humanities Research Council on behalf of the partnership.
Past Projects:
The call for Interdisciplinary Innovation Awards (up to 18 months and up to £100,000 fEC) supports the development of innovative, adventurous, higher risk, interdisciplinary research, including projects at an earlier stage of interdisciplinary evolution and/or led by early career researchers.
GCRF / PaCCS: Interdisciplinary Research Innovation Awards on Conflict and International Development
The Partnership issued a call for cross-disciplinary and innovative research projects that will extend our understanding of how transnational organised crime has evolved through time and in different cultural contexts, why and how it extends across borders, what impact it has on populations and sustainable international development, and effective ways of preventing and mitigating its impact. Proposals spanned the remits of the AHRC and ESRC, focused on the interconnections between conflict and international development, and sought to contribute to the welfare and/or economic development of Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs).
Conflict Theme Leadership Fellow
From 2015-2019, Professor David Galbreath was the Conflict Theme Leadership Fellow. He is Professor of International Security and the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences at the University of Bath. As Leadership Fellow, Professor Galbreath provided intellectual leadership and strategic advice on the conflict theme for the Partnership.
To support the development of the conflict theme, the Partnership, through the ESRC, commissioned the University of Exeter to undertake a scoping study to identify gaps in existing research in the area of conflict.
Conflict Theme Networking Database
Our networking database was designed to support calls for Interdisciplinary research grants, but continued to operate in order to encourage other research opportunities.
ESRC-AHRC Forced Displacement Call
The ESRC, in collaboration with Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), funded innovative, interdisciplinary projects focusing on the experiences of the forced displaced whether due to poverty, war, conflict, persecution or human rights violations.
Ethics and Rights in a Security Context
The Ethics and Rights in a Security Context grant commissioned new research projects to develop greater understanding of the role of ethics and rights in a security environment, with a focus on governance.
Ideas and Beliefs Leadership Fellows
The Ideas and Beliefs Leadership Fellows were appointed to explore how individuals, communities and nation states form their ideas and beliefs about security and insecurity.
