New project explores how ‘political settlement’ processes work in countries affected by conflict

Conciliations Resources, as part of a Consortium led by the University of Edinburgh’s Global Justice Academy, has been awarded a research bid from the Department for International Development (DFID) to explore political settlements in fragile and conflict affected states.

This exciting four-year project will look at how political settlements work in different countries, and the ways in which they can be more inclusive. Political settlements can be broadly defined as the underlying power dynamics in a society that determine how political and socio-economic privileges are assigned.

A key objective of the project is to inform more effective national and international development policies in and on fragile and conflict-affected states. Ultimately to support people to build more stable and effective institutions, reduce poverty, and prevent violence.

The term 'political settlements' has grabbed recent policy interest. Yet there is still a degree of uncertainty as to what it means in practice. This is a great opportunity to contribute to and shape current and future discussions on the topic, and bring perspectives based on real practice to a discussion which has been largely academic to date. 

Zahbia Yousuf, Peacebuilding Editor and Analyst, Conciliation Resources

Broad ranging expertise

Conciliation Resources will be working as part of the global consortium, led by Professor Christine Bell at Edinburgh University, which also includes the Rift Valley Institute in Kenya, the Transitional Justice Institute at Ulster University, and the Institute for Security Studies in South Africa.

The consortium’s expertise provides an opportunity to look at how peace processes and peace agreements intersect with political settlements, and so promote more integrated conflict resolution, peacebuilding and development strategies.

This is an exciting opportunity for Conciliation Resources to work with a group of leading academic and practitioner organisations, and contribute to innovative research that could influence policies affecting the lives of the world’s most vulnerable.