Strengthening Peace Research in the Post-Soviet Space Norwegian-German Research Collaboratio

Given the increasing difficulties in cooperation with Russian partners since the crisis in Ukraine the trend towards authoritarianism, geopolitics and violence grows throughout the post-Soviet space (PSS). The Institute for Peace Research and Security Pol icy at the University of Hamburg (IFSH) and the Centre for Peace Studies (CPS) at the University of Tromsø share an interest in strengthening peace research and peace studies on an integrative Euro-Asian basis and, thus, contribute to conflict prevention. This pre-project proposal aims at the buildup of a one-year research collaboration to work out a proposal for an expert workshop on "Peacebuilding by Local Non-State Institutions in the PSS, a Contribution to the 'Local Turn' in Peacebuilding" as a basis for a joint application in an EU Horizon 2020 Societal Challenges call (2016). It includes exchange visits between the two institutions to establish the cooperation, discuss experiences in post-Soviet and Central Asia Studies (Peace Research Network, Kyr gyzstan) and on cross-border co-operation with Russia in the Euro-Arctic Region (Barents Peace Education Network); establish exchange opportunities for young researchers; and exchange knowledge, experiences and organization related to educational programs within the field of peace studies. Research on new integrative approaches to peace research is timely and necessary. The field activities of external actors (EU, OSCE, INGOs) in promoting peace building in conflicts in the PSS face serious limits and imp ediments. This is due to the lack of political will of authoritarian leaderships; tendencies of a growing state-crime-nexus in weak states and the lasting importance of informal structures on the local level, closely related to traditional political cultu res. In order to increase its impact and efficiency, Western peace research needs to investigate the different prerequisites in the PSS and explore possibilities for adjusting "knowledge transfer" strategies.