Back to search

NORGLOBAL2-Norge - global partner

DISARM: How post-accord disarmament affects peace and conflict dynamics

Alternative title: DISARM: Sammenhengen mellom avvæpning og tilbakevendende konflikter

Awarded: NOK 10.0 mill.

Since the 1990s, the international community has invested heavily in disarmament programs, which involve the collection, documentation, and destruction of weapons and ammunition from combatants following the conclusion of civil wars. These programs are typically a component of broader disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) efforts and are considered crucial in post-accord countries to promote peace. However, in reality, there is a limited understanding among scholars and policymakers of the distinctions between these programs in terms of their design and impact. The DISARM project addresses this knowledge gap through three interconnected work packages. Our team consists of interdisciplinary researchers from Norway, South Africa, and the Philippines. We are collaborating to analyze the impact of various disarmament processes on conflict recurrence and to identify the conditions under which disarmament can be most effective. We place a strong focus on gender, including the study of female ex-combatants and the involvement of women in disarmament negotiations. To assess the impact of disarmament programs on peace and conflict dynamics, we have adopted a mixed-method research design. In the first work package, we developed a global dataset. Between 2021 and 2023, we collected data on DDR provisions in all intra-state peace agreements from 1975 to 2021. Our findings reveal that less than half of the approximately 300 peace agreements included at least one DDR component. We found that the disarmament component was overrepresented in these agreements. In terms of gender inclusivity, we found that only 11 agreements out of 129, which mentioned at least one DDR component, made reference to female combatants and women. We also coded 26 other variables related to the content of DDR provisions, providing scholars with a unique dataset. As of the end of 2023, this dataset is undergoing peer review. While the first work package allowed us to identify temporal and spatial trends in DDR provisions in peace agreements, the second work package delves into the implementation of these provisions. Based on the dataset's results, we selected approximately 30 cases for qualitative comparison. This comparison focuses on the negotiation and implementation phases of disarmament, as well as the gendered aspects of these processes. Finally, in 2023, we conducted three fieldwork studies in Indonesia, Namibia, and Mozambique to gather primary data on how disarmament has influenced peace and conflict dynamics in these countries. In 2024, we will continue our fieldwork, expanding our research to include the Philippines. The DISARM project is pioneering a deeper understanding of the micro-foundations of peace. Our project will provide critical insights for disarmament stakeholders by offering empirically sound and gender-sensitive policy recommendations regarding disarmament design.

Since the 1990s, the international community has invested heavily in disarmament programs which are seen as an integral part of interventions aimed at building peace in post-accord countries. In reality, however, scholars and policymakers know little about how the various disarmament programs differ from one another in their design and impact. DISARM will fill in these gaps by analyzing the conditions under which disarmament can prevent conflict recurrence in post-accord countries. We apply a strong gender focus throughout the project. We will apply a mixed-method research design which combines large, medium, and small-N research. In the large-N statistical analysis, we collect data on disarmament provisions in all intra-state peace agreements between 1975 and 2020 and examine the relationship between disarmament and conflict recurrence. Based on the results of the large-N component, we select and qualitatively compare 25 cases of disarmament focusing on the negotiation as well as implementation phases of disarmament, and the gendered dimensions of these processes. To identify causal pathways through which disarmament can impact conflict recurrence, we also conduct four in-depth qualitative case studies on disarmament in Namibia, Mozambique, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Taken together, the findings will allow DISARM to develop a novel set of propositions on disarmament that integrates a gender lens. DISARM constitutes the first systematic global study of post-accord disarmament across space and time, enabling us to identify conditions under which disarmament was and was not able to prevent conflict recurrence and thus to break new ground in studying the micro-foundations of peace. The project will provide critical input to stakeholders in disarmament by providing empirically sound and gender-sensitive policy recommendations on disarmament design.

Publications from Cristin

No publications found

Funding scheme:

NORGLOBAL2-Norge - global partner