Mimmi Söderberg Kovacs, peace and conflict studies, Uppsala Universitu

2008-2014

How can strong peace be attained after war? How can peoples and countries emerging from civil war achieve a peace that delivers other positive values such as justice, security, democracy and a greater quality of life beyond the end of armed violence? The key purpose of this project was to address this research question.

Specifically, we set out to accomplish two research tasks: 1) to develop the conceptualisation of peace, and identify indicators for high quality peace, and 2) to analyse to what extent the interplay between governance and resources can account for the duration and quality of peace in weak states emerging from civil war. Geographically, the project focused on Sub-Saharan Africa post-1989, using both qualitative and quantitative research techniques.

In April 2012, project leader Thomas Ohlson passed away, after a longer period of illness. Subsequently, on 15 October 2012, a partly revised project plan was submitted, and Söderberg Kovacs assumed the role as project leader for the reminder of the extended project period (31 December 2013). In the revised plan, both the purpose and the scope of the project were moderately altered. In particular, governance, rather than resources has been a key focus. The study of leadership was also downsized, and a decision was also made to examine selected aspects of the quality of peace.

The three most important results

This project has generated several important results across a wide range of sub-projects, summarized as three key clusters of results.

First, findings from the project conceptually challenge standard understandings of peace. In 'Beyond the Absence of War' (2010), Höglund & Söderberg Kovacs develop a classification of peace captured in a Peace Triangle, where post-settlement societies are categorised on the basis of three dimensions: issues, behaviour, and attitudes. This conceptual tool is helpful in portraying a more fine-grained picture of the reality of peace in post-war societies. Moreover, 'Legitimate Peace in Post-civil War States' (forthcoming 2014), by Ohlson and Themnér introduce the concept of 'legitimate peace', which they argue can function as a mid-term benchmark for peacemakers that can help them assess whether a peace process is on the right track about 10 or 15 years after a civil war has been terminated. The mid-term goal of conflict resolution should be to strengthen the loyalty to the idea(s) of the state (vertical legitimacy) and improve the attitudes and practices of individuals and groups within the state toward each other (horizontal legitimacy).

Second, the project has generated important empirical findings pertaining to the conditions for establishing strong peace in war-torn societies. In the book 'From Intra-State War to Durable Peace' (2012), edited by Ohlson, a number of important findings regarding the transition from war to democratic peace are highlighted. For example, it is concluded that the factors that make wars end are not the same that make peace last. Negative pressure and realpolitik considerations must be replaced with a positive problem-solving approach that contributes to alleviate the underlying grievances that caused the war in the first place. In the book 'Peace Agreements and Durable Peace in Africa', Melander & Maina challenge established views on how to obtain strong peace. Among other things, they find that there is no clear indication that political or military power-sharing benefits peace. A step-by-step approach making peace with one rebel group at a time appears to be at least as likely to succeed as an inclusive approach and blanket amnesties can be as efficient as transitional justice mechanisms in enticing warring parties to join peace processes.
Nilsson and Söderberg Kovacs have carried out several studies of Sierra Leone and Liberia, which have generated important findings regarding spoiler management approaches (2009) and various approaches to Security Sector Reforms (Nilsson 2009; Nilsson and Söderberg Kovacs 2013; Söderberg Kovacs forthcoming 2014). Höglund and Jarstad have studied the causes and dynamics of electoral violence in KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa with significant implications for post-war governance (2010, 2011).

Third, several findings speak to the relationship between governance structures and the prospects for strong and lasting peace. One study by Nilsson (2012, forthcoming 2014) demonstrates that the inclusion of civil society in peace agreements significantly increases the chances that peace will last.

New research questions generated by the project

Melander's research within the project influenced the design of the research programme 'The East Asian Peace Since 1979: How Deep? How Can It Be Explained?' led by Stein Tønnesson and with Melander as participant, funded by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond.

Höglund's research within the project inspired two new studies. One project studies the conflictual aspects of peacebuilding and has resulted in collaboration between Uppsala University, Göteborg University and Lund University, with research funding from Sida. The other project studies the interplay between formal and informal institutions in producing election-related violence, funded by the Swedish Research Council.

Söderberg Kovacs's participation in this project generated ideas for two new research projects. The first focuses on the persistence of 'Big Man Politics' and the dynamics of electoral violence in West Africa and is being pursued with colleagues at the Nordic Africa Institute (funded by the Swedish Research Council). The second project looks at the role of warlords in post-war electoral politics, and is funded by Sida. Project leader is Anders Themnér.

International research collaboration

This research project was undertaken in cooperation with the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD), a leading African NGO based in South Africa and active all over the African continent. An official partnership, funded by Sida was established between DPCR and ACCORD for the time period 2009 to 2012. Apart from research cooperation, this partnership included joint organisation of international training programmes, staff exchanges, and joint conference panels.

Söderberg Kovacs spent three months as a guest researcher at ACCORD, and three months at the Centre for African Studies at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. During the project period, Melander has been affiliated researcher at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame.

On 18-20 April 2013, the project arranged the Thomas Ohlson Memorial Conference: From Civil War to Strong Peace in Africa, in Uppsala. This was an international conference in remembrance of Professor Thomas Ohlson, which included research panels with invited international researchers, round-tables with focus on the relationship between research and policymaking, and a memorial dinner with invited guests. Several papers from this project were presented and discussed at the conference.

All project members have also participated in a large number of international conferences, as organisers, chairs, discussants and paper presenters.

Research information outside the scientific community

Selected events where one or several members participated and presented ongoing research and papers with relevance for this project:

Expert Group Meeting on International IDEA's Election and Conflict Tool, International Idea, Stockholm, 24-25 May 2010
Seminar titled Civil-Military Relations in Peace Support Operations, Swedish Defence College, January 2011
Seminar titled Building Lasting Peace, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), Stockholm, 30 March 2011
Seminar titled Peace and Security in the Post-2015 Agenda at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Stockholm, 12 December 2012
Seminar at the UN Mediation Support Unit of the UN Department of Political Affairs, New York, 19 November 2009
Public lecture on the peace concept at a seminar arranged by Artister för Fred, Stockholm, April 2010

The two most important publications

The first publication is the book 'From Intra-State War to Durable Peace: Conflict and Its Resolution in Africa after the Cold War' (2013), edited by Ohlson and with contributing chapter from three of the other project participants (Höglund, Nilsson & Söderberg Kovacs). Based on a novel analytical framework, previously unpublished data on conflict and conflict resolution in Africa, and a survey of external and internal structural constraints facing the continent, this volume is a comprehensive examination of intra-state armed conflicts in Africa after the Cold War; attempts to terminate them and challenges to successful war termination. The chapters centre on key explanatory factors influencing peace in the volatile periods just before and after a war is terminated. Some of the chapters are case studies or comparative studies while other chapters base their findings on an examination of global data across a large number of armed conflicts.

The second publication is the article 'Beyond the Absence of War: The Diversity of Peace in Post-Settlement Societies' (2010) by Höglund & Söderberg Kovacs which introduces a novel way of conceptualising variations of peace in post-war societies. The authors develop a classification of peace captured in a Peace Triangle, where post-settlement societies are categorised on the basis of three key dimensions: issues, behaviour, and attitudes. This heuristic device is helpful in portraying a more fine-grained and nuanced picture of the empirical reality of peace in post-war societies that have just come out of civil wars. The categorisations emerging from the Peace Triangle are illustrated by empirical examples from a range of different societies where a peace agreement has been signed and where large-scale violence has ended, such as Guatemala, Sierra Leone, Cambodia and Northern Ireland.

Publications

List of publications

Books
 
Mania, Grace & Erik Melander (eds.). ‘Peace Agreements and Durable Peace in Africa’. (The manuscript is currently under review with University of KwaZulu-Natal Press)

Ohlson, Thomas (ed.) 2013. ‘From Intra-State War to Durable Peace: Conflict and Its Resolution in Africa after the Cold War’. Dordrecht: Republic of Letters Publishers (contributing authors include Höglund, Nilsson and Söderberg Kovacs).

Articles in international peer-review journals

Höglund, Kristine & Anna K. Jarstad, 2011. ’Towards Electoral Security: Experiences from KwaZulu-Natal’. Africa Spectrum 46 (1): 33–59.

Höglund, Kristine & Mimmi Söderberg Kovacs, 2010. ‘Beyond the Absence of War: The Diversity of Peace in Post-Settlement Societies’. Review of International Studies 36(2): 367–90.

Nilsson, Desirée, 2012. ‘Anchoring the Peace: Civil Society Actors in Peace Accords and Durable Peace’. International Interactions 38(2): 243–266.

Nilsson, Desirée, 2010. ‘Turning Weakness into Strength: Military Capabilities, Multiple Rebel Groups and Negotiated Settlements’. Conflict Management and Peace Science 27(3): 253–271.

Nilsson, Desirée & Mimmi Söderberg Kovacs, 2013. ’Different Paths of Reconstruction: Military Reform in Post-war Sierra Leone and Liberia’. International Peacekeeping 20(1): 2–16.

Nilsson, Desirée & Mimmi Söderberg Kovacs, 2011. ‘Revisiting an Elusive Concept: A Review of the Debate on Spoilers in Peace Processes’. International Studies Review, 13(4): 606–626.

Book chapters

Ohlson, Thomas & Mimmi Söderberg Kovacs, 2009. ‘Peace through Democracy? The challenges of post-war democratization in weak and war-torn states’. In Ashok Swain, Ramses Amer and Joakim Öjendal (eds.), The Democratization Project: Opportunities and Challenges, London: Anthem Press, pp. 165–182 (18 pages)

Söderberg Kovacs, Mimmi, forthcoming with Georgetown University Press in April 2014. ‘Bringing in the Good, the Bad and the Ugly into the Peace Fold: The Transformation of the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces after the Lomé Peace Agreement’ in Roy Licklider (ed.), New Armies from Old: Merging Competing Military Forces after Civil Wars.

Wallensteen, Peter, Erik Melander, & Stina Högbladh. 2012. ‘Peace Agreements, Justice and Durable Peace’. In Rethinking Peacebuilding: The quest for just peace in the Middle East and the Western Balkans, Karin Aggestam and Annika Björkdahl (eds.). London: Routledge (125–139).

Policy briefs, handbooks and other publications

Höglund, Kristine & Daniel Druckman, 2013. ‘Making Peace through Negotiation’. In M. Olekalns and W. L. Adair (eds.), Handbook of Research on Negotiation. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.

Höglund, Kristine, & Anna K. Jarstad, 2010. ’Strategies to Prevent and Manage Electoral Violence: Considerations for Policy’. Policy and Practice Brief, ACCORD, No 1.

Lindgren, Mathilda. 2010. ‘Understanding and Measuring Governance’. Uppsala: DPCR Report.

Nilsson, Desirée. Forthcoming 2014. ‘Civil Society in Peace Accords and the Durability of Peace’. In Accord 25: Legitimacy and Peace Processes, London: Conciliation Resources.

Nilsson, Desirée. 2010. ‘Peace Agreements and their Sustainability’. In the International Encyclopedia of Peace, Nigel Young (ed.). New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press (30–32).

Nilsson, Desirée. 2009. ‘Crafting a Secure Peace: Evaluating the Liberia Comprehensive Peace Accord’. Uppsala & New York: Uppsala University and the Mediation Support Unit, Department of Political Affairs, the United Nations.

Conference contributions, unpublished manuscripts and work in progress

Kristine Höglund & Anna Jarstad. ‘Mobilisation, Status Quo, and Pacification: The Relationship between Violence and Politics in KwaZulu-Natal’, South Africa. Submitted to Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology.

Kristine Höglund. ‘Leaders, Violence and Political Power: Exploring Linkages between Political Leadership and Electoral Violence’. Paper presented at the International Studies Association Annual Convention, New Orleans, February 2010.
 
Jarstad, Anna & Desirée Nilsson. ’Making and Keeping Promises: Regime Type and the Implementation of Power Sharing Pacts’.

Nilsson, Desirée & Mimmi Söderberg Kovacs. ’Nip in the Bud or Innocent until Proven Guilty? Spoiler Behaviour and Third Party Responses in Civil War Peace Processes’. 2013. Paper presented at the 54th Annual Convention of the International Studies Association in San Francisco, 3–6 April, the workshop Keeping the Peace on Track: Security Challenges and Third Party Management in Civil War Peace Processes, 2–3 May, and at the Thomas Ohlson Memorial Conference From Civil War to Strong Peace in Africa, 18–20 April.

Melander, Erik. ‘Does Amnesty Benefit Peace? The Role of Amnesties in Ending Civil Wars’. Paper presented at the meeting of the European Network of Conflict Research, 24-26 April 2013, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Melander, Erik. ‘Amnesty for Peace? Amnesty Provisions, Democracy and the Success of Peace Agreements after Civil War, 1989–2006’. Paper presented at the Workshop of the EU 7th Framework Project Just and Durable Peace by Piece, March 26–27, at University of East London, London, UK.

Erik Melander. ‘Mapping Quality Peace: Socioeconomic Development, Human Rights, and Democracy in the Aftermath of Civil War, 1989–2009’. Paper prepared for the workshop Quality Peace: The Role of Third Parties and the Search for Indicators, 7–9 November 2010, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame.

Data Collections

Melander, Erik and Desirée Nilsson. Coding and Analysing Patterns of Governance in Post-Conflict Societies. Coding completed, a first analysis will be presented at the Annual Meeting of the International Studies Association in Toronto in March 2014.

Link to personal websites

http:// pcr.uu.se/about/staff/melander_e/
http:// pcr.uu.se/about/staff/hoglund_k/
http://pcr.uu.se/about/staff/nilsson_d/
http://pcr.uu.se/about/staff/soderbergkovacs_e/