Post-conflict political parties: Party formation, organization and institutionalization in the context of peacebuilding and democratization

Political parties are central to the functioning of democracy. While research on political parties has a strong tradition within political science, very little research has focused political parties in the context of peacebuilding. This project asks: What characterizes political parties that are formed in the aftermath of civil war and to what extent are they able to aggregate, channel and express political grievances and contribute to peacebuilding and democratization? Based on a cross-regional comparisons of relevant parties in Asia and the Balkans. At the same time, the project leader collaborates closely with experts on parties in Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. The project aims to develop an overarching conceptual framework that is capable of explaining variation in how political parties function in post-conflict societies. Data collection and analysis focus on three themes: (1) the effects of war on political parties, (2) how political parties adapt to democracy; and (3) intra-party governance dynamics. These themes are cross-cutting with issues of gender and identity politics. To date, three research articles have been published. Two journal articles and five book chapters are under review. In addition, the project has led to two collaborative outcomes: One journal special issue and online collection (Government and Opposition) and an edited book that is under review. The project has led to the establishment of international research collaboration. The project leader has organised two academic workshops held at the University of Cambridge in January and September 2017, one international conference was held in April 2018 at Jesus College in April 2018, and one practitioner-oriented workshop in collaboration with Folke Bernadotte Academy in April 2019. These well-attended events brought together scholars with a range of methodological and geographical expertise. The conference also marked the founding of the Politics After War Research Network, which serves as a hub for researchers studying political dynamics after civil war. PAW-Scholars webpage and interactive blog was launched in April 2018. The project leader has also presented results and ongoing research at several international conferences as well as at research seminars at universities in the UK, Europe and the US.

Prosjektet har satt søkelys på et tema som påvirker fredsforhandlinger, fredsbygging og demokratisering i borgerkrigsrammede land, nemlig rollen som politiske partier spiller i å påvirke og forme disse prosessene. Prosjektet har spesielt styrket kunnskap om hvordan opprørsbevegelser som er blitt politiske partier påvirker fredsprosesser. Forskermobilitet, karriereutvikling og internasjonalisering har bidratt til kompetanseheving innen feltet og for forskere involvert i prosjektet. Prosjektets resultat og nettverkssamarbeid har bidratt direkte til politikkutforming gjennom samarbeid med ikke-statlige aktører og policy aktører. Prosjektet har ført til etableringen av et internasjonalt forskningsnettverk (Politics After War Research Network). Prosjektet har bidratt til økt internasjonalt forskningssamarbeid på tvers av disiplinene komparativ politikk, freds og konflikt forskning og sosialantropologi. Det har også identifisert nye forskningsspørsmål og forankret et nytt forskningsfelt.

This project asks: What characterizes political parties that are formed in the aftermath of war and to what extent are they able to aggregate, channel and express political grievances and contribute to conflict management and democratization? Through cross-regional comparison of relevant parties across selected post-conflict contexts, the project aims to develop an overarching conceptual framework that is explains variation in party formation and functioning and to craft a new research agenda that is capable of yielding substantial and precise insights about the specific challenges linked to political parties in the aftermath of war. Analytically, data collection is organized around three dimensions: (1) The transformative effects of war on parties, including the effects of war on gender; (2) Institutional framework aimed to regulate party behaviour, such as party laws, the use of quotas to enhance women's representation and institutional frameworks aimed to break down wartime polarisation; and (3) intra-party governance dynamics that also impact on parties' ability to formulate policy and governance more generally. The project bridges two schools that rarely interact: the literatures on political parties and on conflict -and peacebuilding. It relies on multiple data sources including qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews and focus-group interviews as well as quantitative data from national surveys. The project will be conducted at the University of Cambridge and the University of Bergen and allows for academic advancement through a range of researcher training courses as well as training in grant and project management, impact generation and engagement with policy makers. The findings will be of relevance to policy makers and practitioners working in the fields of peacebuilding, international democracy promotion, development and more specifically those working on gender and conflict.