In much of the world, security and justice are mostly provided not by formal bodies, such as state police services or judiciaries, but by informal, non-state actors. Meanwhile, international donors invest millions of dollars in funding to reform and strengthen security and justice provision in conflict-affected and fragile contexts. To be relevant and effective, such support must be informed by an understanding of which actors and institutions are actually fulfilling security and justice functions. Critically…
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CSRF Research Repository
The CSRF Research Repository aims to support greater contextual knowledge for policy makers, programme managers, and implementers by providing a searchable repository of research, analysis, and resources, and providing periodic updates on new research and analysis.
Despite high rates of violence against women and girls in conflict and humanitarian contexts, many survivors do not tell anyone about their experience or seek help from support services (e.g. health, legal, psychosocial support, police). This paper examines disclosure and help seeking behaviours of survivors of non-partner sexual violence (NPSV) and intimate partner violence (IPV) among women and girls aged 15–64 from three sites in South Sudan. It seeks to understand how exposure to armed…
Doing research in conflict contexts is crucial. But how do you best conduct research – in all disciplines – in conflict-affected contexts? These guidelines are designed for all levels of researchers – from research student to professor – who conduct research in settings that are conflict-affected. These guidelines take you through 9 steps of a research cycle and point your attention to critical and sensitive aspects of research in and on conflict. Download
This study applies the motivation – opportunity – ability (MOA) theoretical framework to study the intention – behaviour gap for asylum seekers and refugees who are currently transiting through Egypt and are intending to leave the country in the short term. Primary data were collected through the narratives of fifteen asylum seekers or refugees, coming from South Sudan, Libya or Syria. Results are threefold: firstly, findings confirm the need to rely on behavioural factors while…
People living in contexts prone to or affected by conflict suffer from many forms of deprivation. The international community plays a crucial role in strengthening the wellbeing of affected populations, including their food security. Unfortunately, quite often people exposed to conflict are not reached by national or international assistance because of targeting, accessibility, and marginalization. This can ultimately translate into a further deterioration of their food security status. This paper combines a geo-referenced household dataset…
As a powerful tool in shaping public opinion, the mainstream press has been a leading agent in influencing general attitudes towards refugees. Besides garnering sympathy for asylum seekers, news coverage also has the power, through misrepresentation and propaganda, to stimulate hostility towards refugees. In light of this, refugees’ ability to establish a new identity and integrate in a host society partly hinges on their portrayal in the media. The latest wave of refugees has generated …
South Sudanese women have played critical roles in efforts to achieve peace in South Sudan, yet their contributions have been under-recognized and under-documented. This paper contributes to remedying this by sharing women’s stories of their roles in peace making through the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (2005), the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (2015) and the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (2018). It utilizes the ‘Broadening…
Spiritual and divine authorities play a prominent role in mobilizing armed violence. This article provides a micro-history of a contemporary Nuer prophetess (guan kuoth) in South Sudan who mobilized hundreds of armed men including in support of current anti-government rebellions. The article grapples with apparent paradoxes in her approach to kume (a broadly defined notion of government) and customary law. This prophetess rejects logics of authority associated with the kume. At the same time, she champions the continuity…
Introduction – why the economy matters South Sudan faces three major and interlinked crises: a political crisis which is manifest in part in violent conflict and insecurity; a humanitarian crisis which feeds off the political crisis and; an economic crisis, which is fundamentally about how the resources available to South Sudan are allocated and used. While it is possible to ruin an economy very quickly, sustainably growing and developing an economy in a way that…
This paper maps five cases of recent local level peace deals in South Sudan between 2014 and 2018 to identify key criteria that strengthen the prospects of successful implementation and sustainability of local peace agreements. Critically, there are no generic formulas to achieve effective sustainable local peace deals. What works is highly contingent on the specific local context. Nonetheless, the set of criteria identified in this paper offers a useful guide for external actors who…
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