EWS Virtual Zones of Peace & Conflict; three international workshops exploring new areas of Nordic Peace & Conflict Research

"Virtual Zones of Peace & Conflict" explores the global digitalization of peace & conflict. On one hand, increased IT connectivity and virtual cyberspace provides a new space for the deposit of experiences of war, at the same time warfare is becoming deta ched from physical contact at traditional frontlines with the emergence of remote warfare and cyber armies whilst on the other hand cyberspace also provides a new space for peacebuilding and non-violent resistance. The digitalization of peace & conflict is a frontier zone of social research in Nordic Peace & Conflict. For the first time top researchers from three different Nordic countries will come together to exchange ideas, develop cooperation and enhance the field. The innovative exploratory set of workshops aim to lead to new insights in conflict theory, new methods of research and alternative analyses on the origins of violence, war and peace.

The project comprises of three exploratory workshops to be organized in respectively Copenhagen, Denmark, Oslo, Norway and Lund, Sweden. The workshops are collaborations between Nordic peace & conflict researchers in order to enhance the discourse with re gard to new conflict theory, new methods of research and alternative analyses on the origins of violence, war and peace. The workshops are platforms aimed to develop new research agendas that serve as a solid basis for the submission of a joint research a pplication to an Advanced Grant from the European Research Council/Horizon 2020 . The overall theme of the workshops is the digitalization of peace & conflict. On one hand, increased IT connectivity and virtual cyberspace provides a new space for the dep osit of experiences of war, at the same time warfare is becoming detached from physical contact at traditional frontlines with the emergence of remote warfare and cyber armies whilst on the other hand cyberspace also provides a new space for peacebuilding and non-violent resistance. The first workshop investigates what implications these new developments have for traditional analyses and theories in peace & conflict studies. It will explore for example the role of emotion, fear, empathy and recognition in this new context. The second workshop looks at non-physical and physical zones of peace, digital space and safety, cyber warfare and the use of social media for social change and its effects on physical conflict zones. The third workshop deals with the digitization and construction of memory. With the availability to digitally deposit and record experiences of war, we explore how these methods can be employed to memorialize conflict and establish digital war memorials. The digitization of war memory al so has potential legal implications. This workshop explores methods how audiovisual material uploaded on-line can be verified and serve as legal evidence in war crimes tribunals.