PRIO Network

Governance


Coordinator: Håvard Hegre

How political institutions contribute to peace and conflict

The research group looks at the interplay between aspects of governance and peace at the domestic and the international level. Governance is defined very broadly to include the formal institutions that regulate recruitment to and execution of political power as well as less formal structures and processes, including how decisions are implemented, human rights protection or violation, and informal power structures.


Research questions addressed by the group include:
  • What kind of political institutions are particularly likely to engender political violence, human rights violations and violations of countries' own constitutional regulations?
  • How do various political institutions influence the durability of peace after civil war?
  • Do different political institutions foster different types of collective violence?
  • How is the prevalence of violence affected by the effectiveness of law enforcement and societal means of controlling violence, and how does violence in turn change the practices and effectiveness of law enforcement?
  • When are conflict-related justice processes, such as trials, truth commissions, reparations, amnesties, purges, and exiles implemented, and what are their effects?
  • Is there a difference between justice processes implemented during and after armed conflict?
  • Why do governments choose different justice processes at different points during conflict trajectories and after war?
  • When are conflict-related justice processes, such as trials, truth commissions, and amnesties, implemented and what are their effects?
  • What is the relative importance of institutions of constraint, institutions of election/selection, and other aspects of governance to ensure non-violent politics?
  • What are the long-term effects on political violence of changes to political institutions?
  • How are the effects of political institutions on political violence mediated through stimulation of economic growth, reduction of intergroup inequality, property rights protection, and struggles over the setup of political institutions themselves?
  • How do global institutions of governance (e.g., the UN) affect political violence within and betwen countries?
  • What are the likely future trajectories of governance and political violence?

 

The research group will also be engaged in collecting data on governance- and human rights-related issues, such as indicators capturing aspects of political institutions and data on electoral violence and electoral fraud.

 

 

Peer-reviewed-Journal-Article

Binningsbø, Helga Malmin; & Rustad, Siri Aas (2012) Sharing the wealth: A pathway to peace or a trail to nowhere? , Conflict Management and Peace Science 29(5): 547–566.
Binningsbø, Helga Malmin;Loyle, Cyanne;Gates, Scott; & Elster, Jon (2012) Armed conflict and Post-conflict Justice, 1946–2006: A Dataset , Journal of Peace Research 49(5): 731–740.
Hegre, Håvard;Nygård, Håvard Mokleiv;Strand, Håvard;Urdal, Henrik; & Karlsen, Joakim (2013) Predicting Armed Conflict, 2010-2050 , International Studies Quarterly 55(2): 1–21. [Forthcoming]
Dahl, Marianne; & Høyland, Bjørn (2012) Peace on Quicksand? Challenging the Conventional Wisdom About Economic Growth and Post-Conflict Risks , Journal of Peace Research 49(3): 423–429.
Gates, Scott;Hegre, Håvard;Nygård, Håvard Mokleiv; & Strand, Håvard (2012) Development Consequences of Armed Conflict , World Development 40(9): 1713–1722.
Hegre, Håvard;Nygård, Håvard Mokleiv; & Hultman, Lisa (2011) Simulating the Effect of Peacekeeping Operations, 2010-2035 , Lecture Notes In Computer Science 6589325–332.
Hegre, Håvard;Oneal, John R.; & Russett, Bruce M. (2010) Trade Does Promote Peace: New Simultaneous Estimates of the Reciprocal Effects of Trade and Conflict , Journal of Peace Research 47(6): 763–774.
Binningsbø, Helga Malmin; & Dupuy, Kendra (2009) Using Power-Sharing to Win a War: The Implementation of the Lomé Agreement in Sierra Leone , Africa Spectrum 44(3): 87–107.
Hegre, Håvard;Østby, Gudrun;Raleigh, Clionadh;Østby, Gudrun;Raleigh, Clionadh; & Hegre, Håvard (2009) Poverty and Civil War Events: A Disaggregated Study of Liberia , Journal of Conflict Resolution 53(4): 298–623.
Hegre, Håvard (2009) Trade Dependence or Size Dependence?: The Gravity Model of Trade and the Liberal Peace , Conflict Management and Peace Science 26(1): 26–45.
Hegre, Håvard (2008) Gravitating toward War. Preponderance May Pacify, but Power Kills , Journal of Conflict Resolution 52(4): 566–589.
Marsh, Nicholas (2007) Taming the Tools of Violence , Journal of Public Health Policy 28401–409.
Sambanis, Nicholas; & Hegre, Håvard (2006) Sensitivity Analysis of the Empirical Literature on Civil War Onset , Journal of Conflict Resolution 50(4): 508–535.

Book Chapter

Hegre, Håvard; & Holtermann, Helge(2013) Poverty and Conflict Elgar Handbook of Civil War and Fragile States. : Edward Elgar Publishing(39–58).
de Soysa, Indra(2012) The Capitalist Civil Peace: Some Theory and Empirical Evidence High-Value Natural Resources and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding. : Earthscan(437–459).
Kreutz, Joakim ;Torre , Manuela ; & Marsh, Nicholas(2011) Regaining State Control: Arms and Violence in Post-conflict Countries Small Arms, Crime and Conflict Global Governance and the Threat of Armed Violence. : Routledge(64–76).
Marsh, Nicholas; & Greene , Owen (2011) Governance and Small Arms and Light Weapons Small Arms, Crime and Conflict Global Governance and the Threat of Armed Violence. : Routledge(163–182).
Gleditsch, Nils Petter;Hegre, Håvard; & Strand, Håvard(2009) Democracy and Civil War Handbook of War Studies III. : University of Michigan Press(155–192).
Hegre, Håvard; & Fjelde, Hanne(2009) Post-Conflict Democracy and Conflict Recurrence Peace and Conflict 2010. : Paradigm Publishers(79–90).
Marsh, Nicholas(2006) The Nordic Countries and Conventional Arms Control: The Case of Small Arms and Light Weapons 'The Nordic Countries and the European Security and Defence Policy. : .

Conference Paper

Hegre, Håvard;Knutsen, Carl Henrik; & Rød , Espen Geelmuyden 2012 The Determinants of Democracy: A Sensitivity Analysis, presented at American Political Science Association Annual Convention, , .
Hegre, Håvard;Nygård, Håvard Mokleiv;Strand, Håvard; & Gates, Scott 2012 The Conflict Trap, presented at American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, , .
Hegre, Håvard; & Nygård, Håvard Mokleiv 2012 Governance and Conflict Relapse, presented at International Studies Association Annual Convention, San Diego 1-4 April 2012, , .
Hegre, Håvard 2012 Why Waves? Global Patterns of Democratization, 1816-2008, presented at 3rd International Conference on Democracy as Idea and Practice, Oslo, 12-13 January 2012, , .
Binningsbø, Helga Malmin; & Loyle, Cyanne 2011 Offers of Justice and Peace: Bargaining and Justice Processes during Conflict, presented at The Potential Role of Transitional Justice in Ongoing Conflicts, , 14 November.
Hegre, Håvard;Hultman, Lisa ; & Nygård, Håvard Mokleiv 2010 Evaluating the Conflict Reducing Effects of UN Peace-Keeping Operations, presented at American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, , 1–5 September.

Report External Series

Strand, Håvard;Hegre, Håvard;Gates, Scott; & Dahl, Marianne (2012) Why Waves? Global Patterns of Democratization, Working paper, : .
Hegre, Håvard; & Nygård, Håvard Mokleiv (2011) The Governance Deficit and Conflict Relapse in the ESCWA Region: An Overview, UN Doc E/ESCWA/ECRI/2011/1, 25 August, : UN ESCWA.
Hegre, Håvard; & Nygård, Håvard Mokleiv (2011) The Governance-Conflict Trap in the ESCWA Region, Background paper for UN study The Governance Deficit and Conflict Relapse in the ESCWA Region, : .
Gates, Scott;Hegre, Håvard;Nygård, Håvard Mokleiv; & Strand, Håvard (2010) Consequences of Civil War, Background paper for World Development Report 2011, : .
Hegre, Håvard (2008) The Nature and Causes of Violent Conflicts in Africa, Background paper for African Development Report 2008, : .
Gleditsch, Nils Petter;Christiansen, Lene Siljeholm; & Hegre, Håvard (2007) Democratic Jihad? Military Intervention and Democracy, World Bank Policy Research Working Paper, 4242. : .