Causes of and Solutions to Social Conflicts in Contexts of Weak Public Institutions or State Fragility

photo collage Social Conflicts

The thematic module Social Conflicts puts the emphasis on conflicts that result from particular types of deficiencies of public institutions, state fragility and the different variations of governance capabilities, as well as on ways and means for mitigating such deficiencies and reducing or avoiding conflicts.

  • Portrait

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    The research module focuses on three areas and the interactions between them: social conflicts; weak public institutions; and state fragility.

    Conflicts , in the context of the r4d programme, can be violent or non-violent. They may range from inter- and intrastate wars to lower intensity violent conflicts, civil unrest and primarily non-violent social conflicts that undermine state capacities.

    Weak public institutions involve settings in which political and/or social institutions are highly dysfunctional or have even collapsed. Such settings may range from failed states to war-torn societies in the process of rebuilding a political system to settings characterised by endemic corruption, strong inequality and a high degree of political instability.

    State fragility involves a lack of institutional, organisational and financial capacity to perform basic state functions in governing population and territory. State capacity is achieved through political processes that foster and reinforce constructive relations within society and between the state and society. Enhanced state capacity, if achieved and exercised in democratic ways, strengthens state legitimacy and contributes to state resilience.

    The three main research topics of the module are:

    • Political reconstruction and democratisation processes in fragile and conflict-prone states
    • Conflicts over scarce natural resources
    • Chronic causes and consequences of state fragility and weakness of public institutions
  • Schedule

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  • Review Panel

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    The Review Panel was active from 2013-2020 and was responsible for the evaluations and monitoring of the r4d projects in this module.

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    The 3 projects in the thematic module Social Conflicts started in 2014. They represent transnational research partnerships between 12 countries and Switzerland, involving 17 grantees.

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