Peace and violence

To ensure peace, it is vital to understand the many facets of violence in society. The unit analyses peace and conflict from a perspective where violence is not only an integral part of war and armed conflict, but also a fundamental element of our society and everyday life, and the way order is created and maintained.

Through this perspective on violence and conflict, it is examined how different practices, technologies and psychological consequences of violence affect people, states and the physical environment.

The unit investigates the long-term effects of war, nuclear weapons tests and gender-based violence, and how trade, infrastructure, popular culture and daily security affect the dynamics of peace and conflict.

In studies of who are the perpetrators of violence, focus is not only on the state but also on transnational networks and non-state actors such as militias, rebel groups, extremist groups, traditional leaders and local security patrols. These non-state actors are particularly important in areas where the central government only has limited control, and where the political order is challenged.

Central themes

• Peace and conflict economies in areas with contested statehood studies the impact of trade, logistics and infrastructure on the way political orders are created.
• Everyday security and order-making examines how security and order are created and challenged through both violent and non-violent actions. We particularly focus on gender-based violence, and the role of popular culture, identity and religion in political conflicts, armed as well as unarmed.
• The afterlife of violence and the future of war examines the relationship between the use of nuclear weapons and the long-term human and climate challenges in the Anthropocene, and how technology changes the character and psychology of war in the 21st century.