In a recent article in the International Organization, Manuel Vogt, Lecturer in International Security at the Department of Political Science, explores why ethnic movements are more likely to turn violent in some multi-ethnic countries than in others. He finds that colonial legacies still have a profound impact on civil conflict risk in multi-ethnic states today. Internal colonialism in settler states is not only associated with high inter-group inequality but also with significantly lower levels of intergroup violence than those found in other multi-ethnic countries. In contrast, ethnic mobilization in the decolonized states and other segmented multi-ethnic societies is more likely to trigger violent conflict. See “Ethnic Stratification and the Equilibrium of Inequality: Ethnic Conflict in Postcolonial States” in International Organization.
Seminar by Carlo Koos, University of Konstanz
Carlo Koos from the University of Konstanz, who has been a visiting fellow in the Department of Political Science in fall 2017, presented a paper (with Alexander de Juan) on “Precolonial Nation-building and Contemporary Social Capital: Evidence from the Bushi Kingdom in Eastern Congo.”
Workshop on Institutions in Conflicted and Fragile States
On October 25, 2017, UCL’s Global Governance Institute (GGI) and Conflict & Change members Kristin M. Bakke, Alexandra Hartman, and Kit Rickard hosted a workshop on “Institutions in Conflicted and Fragile States.” The workshop, which was organized in collaboration with UCL’s Institute of Advanced Studies (IAE), brought together more than 20 practitioners, policy-makers, and academics.
Contrary to the common perception that conflict and instability lead to a governance vacuum, recent scholarship stresses the importance and variety of institutions in states affected by armed conflict and violence. A series of three roundtable discussions provided participants with the opportunity to discuss cutting-edge research and new ideas in the areas of property rights, governance and justice and reconciliation. For more info, see here.