PhD Workshop Rundown

The third edition of the UCL PhD workshop hosted by the Conflict & Change research cluster featured the research of 30 doctoral candidates who presented their ongoing projects across 16 panels. The workshop kicked off with an inspiring keynote address from Prof Neil Mitchell on puzzles in principal-agent theory. His new book, Why Delegate? (Oxford University Press), is due to be released this month. For a detailed overview of the entire workshop and the full list of participants, the official programme is available to download here.

Despite shifting to a virtual format, this year’s workshop maintained the collaborative environment of previous editions thanks to the outstanding involvement of presenters and discussants. The virtual format enabled us to host our largest workshop to date as well as invite an incredible roster of external discussants from across the world. The Conflict & Change group extends a special thanks to all of the external discussants who were able to join us: 

C&C members kick-off season 2 of UCL's "Uncovering Politics" podcast

C&C members Dr Kristin Bakke, Dr Katerina Tertytchnaya, and Dr Nils Metternich discussed the political impact of Covid-19 on the season two premier of UCL’s “Uncovering Politics” podcast hosted by Dr Alan Renwick. In this latest episode, they consider the pandemic’s effects on protests, free speech, and other areas of ‘contentious politics’.

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C&C members speak to Dr Alan Renwick on UCL's "Uncovering Politics" podcast

C&C members Dr Kate Cronin-Furman, Dr Inken von Borzyskowski, and Dr Julie Norman recently appeared on UCL’s “Uncovering Politics” podcast hosted by Dr Alan Renwick to discuss their research. “Uncovering Politics” explores key themes of contemporary politics and shares research findings from scholars at UCL to the wider world.

In the latest episode titled “Survivors of Violence”, Dr Kate Cronin-Furman discussed one of her recent publications that focuses on the relatives of people who have been ‘disappeared’ during conflict as well as other lasting traumas following civil war.

Civil war has ravaged all too many societies in recent decades. And civil wars leave deep scars long after the fighting is over. Our colleague Dr Kate Cronin-Furman, who is Lecturer in Human Rights and Director of the MA in Human Rights here at UCL, conducts research into the experiences of victims of civil war violence.

In the episode “Voter Information”, Dr Inken von Borzyskowski discussed her research on electoral violence and the quality of information available to voters. The episode covered the impact of misinformation on voters as well as the potential negative effects of too much available information.

Many of us are very concerned about the quality of information that's available to voters during election and referendum campaigns. Misinformation and manipulation appear to be rampant, and voters can struggle to find the information that they want from sources they trust.

In the episode “The US Elections: What’s Next”, Dr Julie Norman discussed the potential impact the contested election could have on American politics as well as key areas of foreign policy that the Biden administration will have to address.

Fresh on the heels of the US presidential and congressional election results - or perhaps amidst a limbo caused by delayed counting - we assess what's coming next. What does the election tell us about the state of US democracy, and what does the future hold?

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Manuel Vogt speaks at Hertie School in Berlin

On November 26, Manuel Vogt, Associate Professor in International Security in UCL’s Department of Political Science, is giving a virtual talk on ‘State Violence, Collective Memories, and Post-war Support for the Left in Guatemala’ at Hertie School in Berlin. Manuel will present his research on the long-term political consequences of state violence during Guatemala’s 30-years civil war, conducted in collaboration with Prof. Ricardo Saenz de Tejada at the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala. Their study theorizes why indiscriminate counterinsurgent violence by state forces increases post-conflict electoral support for the insurgents and empirically analyzes the effect of wartime indiscriminate state violence on post-war electoral support for leftist parties in Guatemala. The results of the study indicate a robust and lasting positive effect of state violence on post-war support for the Left at the municipal level, suggesting that brutal counterinsurgency campaigns are likely to entail significant long-term political costs for states.