Violence, Institutions and Peace (VIP)

Research group

Violence, Institutions and Peace (VIP)

About the research group

The Department of Sociology and Political Science has internationally recognised expertise in civil war and political instability. Key topics for the group are political institutions, climate and environmental change, rebel groups, non-violent resistance and social movements, terrorism, and political opinion in societies that have experienced conflict. This research is directly relevant to the UN Sustainable Development Goals on promoting just, peaceful and inclusive societies.

The research group meet for seminars approximately every two weeks. In the seminars employees, master students and external guests present and discuss their ongoing research. Recruitment is important for the research group, which has in recent years appointed and graduated several PhD candidates in conflict research. The master's course POL3502 Causes of War is also an important channel for recruitment and academic dissemination.

For many years, the group has worked closely with the Peace Research Institute in Oslo (PRIO), dating back to PRIO's Centre of Excellence, the Centre for the Study of Civil War (2003-13). As part of the collaboration, Halvard Buhaug, Research Professor at PRIO, has been appointed as Professor II at ISS. The collaboration with PRIO has also included a National Research School in Peace and Conflict Studies.

Researchers in the group lead and are part of several larger externally funded projects.

Violence, Instability and Peace Research Seminar Series

Click here to see overview of VIP seminars in Spring 2025

Tema: Political Instability and Armed Conflicts

Projects
Publications

Projects

Ongoing projects include:

Legacies: Understanding how historical states affect conflict and democracy today led by Charles Butcher (ERC starting grant; 2022-27)
Enabling Politically Sensitive Climate Change Impact Assessments for the 21st Century (POLIMPACT) led by Halvard Buhaug from PRIO, Professor II NTNU, (ERC Advanced grant; 2022-27)
Micro-Foundations of Peace: Bureaucrats, Civilians, and Peacebuilding in Colombia (MicroPeace)
From Curse to Demographic Dividends: Sub-Saharan Africa's Youth Bulges (DIVIDENDS)

Previous projects members of the research group have led or been a part of include:

TRUST: Attitudinal Impacts of Refugees on Host Communities in the Global South (NFR; 2020-24)
Anatomy of Resistance Campaigns Project (ARC) led by Charles Butcher (NFR; 2020-24)
Attitudes for Peace: Post-Conflict Public Opinion (NFR; 2015-18)
Climate Variability and Security Threats (CLIMSEC) (ERC consolidator grant; 2015-21)
Climate Anomalies and Violent Environments (CAVE) (NFR; 2015-18)

Publications

Agneman, Gustav, Cappelen, Christoffer, Brandt, Kasper and Sjöberg, David. (2025) The uneven reach of the state: A novel approach to mapping local state presence. Journal of Development Economics, vol. 174.
Butcher, Charles and Ryan Griffiths. (2025) Before Colonization: Non-western States and Systems in the Nineteenth Century. In Press. Columbia University Press Series on International Order and Politics
Westendorf, Jasmine and Jennings, Kathleen M. (2025) Elusive accountability: Governing sexual exploitation and abuse under the grip of sexual violence in war. International Affairs, vol. 101, no. 2.
de Soysa, Indra. (2024) Green with envy? The effects of inequality and equity within and across social groups on greenhouse gas emissions, 1990–2020. World Development, vol. 188.
de Soysa, Indra and Vadlamannati, Krishna C. (2024) A friend indeed to friends in need? China's trade regime and Covid-19 vaccine diplomacy. China Economic Quarterly International.
de Soysa, Indra. (2024) Democracy, Egalitarianism and the Homicide Rate: An Empirical Test of a Variety of Democracies, 1990–2019. British Journal of Criminology.
Godefroidt, Amélie and Dyrstad, Karin. (2024) Hurting or healing? How conflict exposure and trauma (do not) shape support for truth commissions. Conflict Management and Peace Science.
Braithwaite, Jessica and Butcher, Charles. (2023) Muddying the waters: The Anatomy of Resistance Campaigns and the failure of ceasefires in civil wars. Journal of Conflict Resolution, vol. 67, no. 7-8.
Petrova, Kristina and Rosvold, Elisabeth L. (2023) Mitigating the legacy of violence: Can flood relief improve people's trust in government in conflict-affected areas? Evidence from Pakistan. World Development, vol. 173.
Rosvold, Elisabeth L. (2023) Disaster resilience in conflict-affected areas: a review of how armed conflicts impact disaster resilience. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, vol. 65.
Jennings, K.M. (2023) Peacekeeping Economies. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of International Studies.
Dyrstad, Karin, Binningsbø, Helga Malmin and Bakke, Kristin. (2022) Wartime Experiences and Popular Support for Peace Agreements: Comparative Evidence from Three Cases. Journal of Conflict Resolution, vol. 66, no. 9.
Godefroidt, Amélie, Dyrstad, Karin and Bakke, Kristin. (2022) The past, Brexit, and the future in Northern Ireland: a quasi-experiment. Journal of Elections, Public Opinions and Parties, vol. 33, no.1.
Wishman, Marius and Charles Butcher. (2022) Beyond Ethnicity: Historical States and Modern Conflict. European Journal of International Relations, vol. 28, no. 4.
Dellmuth, Lisa, Bender, Frida A.-M., Jönsson, Aiden, Rosvold, Elisabeth Lio and von Uexkull, Nina. (2021) Humanitarian Need Drives Multilateral Disaster Aid. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), vol. 118, no. 4.
Jennings, Kathleen M. (2019) Conditional Protection? Sex, gender and discourse in UN peacekeeping. International Studies Quarterly, vol. 63, no. 1.

Språkvelger