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Centre of Governance & Human Rights (CGHR)

 

Core areas of research

 

Watch CGHR Associate Dr Devon Curtis introduce the research theme Violence, Conflict and Peacebuilding.

Violence, Conflict and Peacebuilding is one of the core areas of research interest at CGHR. The Centre serves as a meeting place for a multi-disciplinary group of researchers at Cambridge working on topics connected to this theme. For example, CGHR has hosted a variety of related seminars and events, including presentations on peace media in Uganda and Burundi, understanding the recent violence in South Sudan and assessing elections in Kenya. A strong area of core research deals with the politics of peace processes and negotiations.

This research asks: What kinds of ideas help inform the structure and process of peace negotiations and peacebuilding activities? Where do these ideas come from and how are they articulated and understood by participants in peace negotiations? CGHR is also committed to a close engagement with practitioners working in the fields of conflict and peacebuilding: we have started a dialogue with practitioners at DFID and the FCO on decision-making in times of crisis, and several practitioners have come to Cambridge discuss their work and their ideas with researchers and students.

 

OpEd by Dr Sharath Srinivasan on Sudan

CGHR Co-Director Dr Sharath Srinivasan published an OpEd in Foreign Policy: Support Sudan’s Revolution, Not an Elite Peace Deal. His article calls for a radical reset in peacemaking, stating that past failures encouraged this war. And that this time, the popular revolution and civil resistance needs to be put front and centre.

Read more here: https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/06/29/sudan-revolution-burhan-hemeti-peac... 

Select Publications

When Peace Kills Politics: International intervention and unending wars in the Sudans (2021)

 

Sharath Srinivasan's book explains the tragic role of international peacemaking in reproducing violence and political authoritarianism in Sudan and South Sudan. Available here.

Making and Breaking Peace in Sudan and South Sudan: The Comprehensive Peace Agreement and Beyond (2020)

 

Edited by CGHR's Sarah M.H. Nouwen, Laura M. James and Sharath Srinivasan, this Proceedings of the British Academy volume brings together economic, legal, anthropological and political science perspectives on over a decade of peacemaking attempts in the Sudans. Available from Oxford University Press here.

Peacebuilding, Power, and Politics in Africa (2012) 

Cover Peacebuilding, Power, and Politics

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Devon Curtis and Gwinyayi A. Dzinesa, Peacebuilding, Power, and Politics in Africa is a critical reflection on peacebuilding efforts in Africa, including chapters by CGHR associated researchers, Devon Curtis, Sarah Nouwen and Sharath Srinivasan. The volume is available to buy online here.