On March 31 and April 1, 2021, the DVPW Working Group "Violence Orders" will organize the workshop "Fractures and Continuities of Changing Rule in (Post-)Conflict Settings" together with PRIF in Frankfurt/Main and online. Submissions for this workshop are kindly encouraged.
Workshop Topics
In recent years, conflict research has started to question the conceptual separation of state and non-state actors (NSAs). In this context, concepts such as "twilight institutions" and "negotiation of statehood" have emerged which allow for a rapprochement between research on non-state armed groups and state actors. So far, the main focus here has been on the synchronous investigation of hybrid rule in one area.
However, empirical research is still largely organized along the dividing line of rebel groups and state actors. Moreover, there is no diachronic analysis of hybrid rule. In the workshop, we will analyze institutions, their practices and discourses under the control of rebel groups vs. state actors from a comparative perspective. We are particularly interested in ruptures and continuities under the conditions of changing rule in (post-)conflict contexts. One focus is on the structure and functions of these institutions, another on the experiences of the local population.
What institutions do rebel groups take over after they have taken control of an area and which ones do they build from scratch? Which institutions are merely 'reformed', but remain in their structural set-up? How, on the other hand, is the dealing with these institutions linked to strategies towards the local population, and what are the consequences for the legitimacy of actors and institutions? What role does the respective ideology of actors play? And what are the similarities and differences between different regional conflict contexts?
On the other hand, we ask how state actors (or NSAs that have become state-like actors) deal with institutions that were previously under the control of rebel groups. While a radical break with these institutions seems plausible, a partial takeover, similar to that of non-state actors, is also conceivable. How do rulers attempt to (re)establish the local population’s ties to the state or to exclude them through these institutions?
A third area is the experience of the local population that undergoes different systems of rule or mixed forms. How do people in these areas perceive parallels and differences between state and non-state rulers? To what institutions do they still ascribe political authority and how are experiences with different systems of rule processed biographically and in everyday life?
How to submit papers
We invite all interested researchers to send short abstracts (approx. 300 words) related to these questions to Regine Schwab (schwab@hsfk.de) by 4.12.2020. English and German contributions on recent phenomena as well as historical studies are welcome. Before the workshop in March/April 2021, the conference contributions should be circulated as written sketches (approx. 5000 words). We are planning to publish the contributions in a special issue of a journal.
// Organizers: Regine Schwab (schwab@hsfk.de) and Hanna Pfeifer (pfeifer@hsfk.de), Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF), Member of the Leibniz Association