Intrastate Conflict

Research depart­ment IV examines peace and conflict at the intra­state level. Its particular concern is with the relation­ship between the orga­nization and trans­formation of political rule, on the one hand, and the violent escalation or peace­ful re­so­lution of intra­state conflicts, on the other. This includes the socio­economic embedded­ness of political rule and intra­state peace as well as external influences on intra­state conflicts and trans­formation processes. The over­all aim is to identify the conditions and options for peace­fully resolving intra­state conflict. Central research topics are civil wars and peace­building, dynamics and causes of political violence, political orders and their trans­for­mation, and inter­national demo­cracy promotion and humanitarian military inter­ventions. The depart­ment’s empirical focus is on countries of the Global South, including the post-Soviet space.