My research examines the consequences of institutionally adopted norms as they intersect with human agency. I pursue this empirically by researching issues of international peace and security with a geographical emphasis on Africa. Currently, I have three main areas of research: 1) The politics of peace operations and the concept of impartiality; 2) civilian self-protection (i.e., what people in situations of conflict do to avoid, resist and defy violence directed at them); and 3) the moral agency of international organizations' staff in the face of ethical dilemmas. My work has a strong theoretical focus on dynamics of norm construction, contestation, and practice across levels of governance from global to local.

BOOKS

Civilian Protective Agency in Violent Settings: A Comparative Perspective (Oxford University Press, 2023), co-edited with Jana Krause, Juan Masullo, and Jennifer Welsh

More than half the world’s population live in violent settings, such as civil wars, communal conflicts, cities plagued by gang violence, and entire areas governed by criminal organizations. Living exposed to diverse forms of violence, individuals and communities have found innovative—and sometimes counterintuitive—ways to protect themselves and others. Civilian Protective Agency in Violent Settings establishes the study of civilian agency and its protective dimension across various violent settings as a systematic and unified field of research. This book brings together researchers spanning several social science disciplines to study civilian protective agency in different violent settings, including civil war, genocide, communal violence, and organized crime, and in various geographical locations, from Syria to Mozambique, Sri Lanka to Mexico, Iraq to Colombia and Western Europe. The book also offers conceptual foundations, new theoretical insights, and detailed empirics that advance our understanding of civilian protective agency and promote future research on the topic that is comparable, tractable, and cumulative.

Taking Sides in Peacekeeping: Impartiality and the Future of the United Nations (Oxford University Press, 2016)

United Nations peacekeeping has undergone radical transformation in the new millennium. Where it once was limited in scope and based firmly on consent of all parties, contemporary operations are now charged with penalizing spoilers of peace and protecting civilians from peril. Despite its more aggressive posture, practitioners and academics continue to affirm the vital importance of impartiality whilst stating that it no longer means what it once did. Taking Sides in Peacekeeping explores this transformation and its implications, in what is the first conceptual and empirical study of impartiality in UN peacekeeping.

The book challenges dominant scholarly approaches that conceive of norms as linear and static, conceptualizing impartiality as a 'composite' norm, one that is not free-standing but an aggregate of other principles-each of which can change and is open to contestation. Drawing on a large body of primary evidence, it uses the composite norm to trace the evolution of impartiality, and to illuminate the macro-level politics surrounding its institutionalization at the UN, as well as the micro-level politics surrounding its implementation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, site of the largest and costliest peacekeeping mission in UN history.

Taking Sides in Peacekeeping reveals that, despite a veneer of consensus, impartiality is in fact highly contested. As the collection of principles it refers to has expanded to include human rights and civilian protection, deep disagreements have arisen over what keeping peace impartially actually means. Beyond the semantics, the book shows how this contestation, together with the varying expectations and incentives created by the norm, has resulted in perverse and unintended consequences that have politicized peacekeeping and, in some cases, effectively converted UN forces into one warring party among many. Taking Sides in Peacekeeping assesses the implications of this radical transformation for the future of peacekeeping and for the UN's role as guarantor of international peace and security.

PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL ARTICLES

“UN Peacekeeping at 75: Achievements, Challenges, and Prospects,” with Allard Duursma, Corinne Bara, Nina Wilén, et al., International Peacekeeping, 2023.

“Empathy in Frontline Humanitarian Negotiations: The Affective Dimension of Humanitarian Protection Work,” with Rebecca Sutton, Journal of International Humanitarian Action, 7:23, 2022.

“The (Self)Protection of Civilians in South Sudan: Popular and Community Justice Practices,” with Rebecca Sutton, African Affairs, 119:476, 2020, pp. 370–394.

“Putting Human Rights Up Front: Implications for Impartiality and the Politics of Peacekeeping,” International Peacekeeping, 26:3, 2019, pp. 281–301.

“Close Cousins in Protection: The Evolution of Two Norms,” with Jennifer Welsh, International Affairs, 95:3, 2019, pp. 597–617.

“This is How We Survived: Civilian Agency and Humanitarian Protection,” with Erin Baines, Security Dialogue, 43:3, 2012, pp. 231–247.

“Partnering for Peace: Implications and Dilemmas,” International Peacekeeping, 18:5, 2011, pp. 516–533.

BOOK CHAPTERS AND OTHER PUBLICATIONS

“UN Peacekeeping, Community Engagement and Civilian Protective Agency,” with Aditi Gorur, in Civilian Protective Agency in Violent Settings: A Comparative Perspective, edited by Jana Krause, Juan Masullo, Emilly Paddon Rhoads, and Jennifer Welsh (Oxford University Press 2023).

“Civilian Protective Agency: An Introduction,” with Jana Krause and Juan Masullo in Civilian Protective Agency in Violent Settings: A Comparative Perspective, edited by Jana Krause, Juan Masullo, Emilly Paddon Rhoads, and Jennifer Welsh (Oxford University Press 2023).

“The Importance of Practical Wisdom for 21st Century Peace Operations,” Journal of the United Service Institution of India, 631, 2023.

“Constructivism,” with Marion Laurence in UN Peacekeeping and International Relations Theory, edited by John Karlsrud and Kseniya Oksamytna (Manchester University Press 2020) pp. 111–128.

“Peace Operations, ​Principles and Doctrine,” with Marion Laurence in The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Peace and Conflict Studies, edited by Oliver Richmond and Gëzim Visoka (Palgrave Macmillan 2020).

“The United Nations in the Great Lakes,” in War and Peace in Africa’s Great Lakes Region, edited by Gilbert M. Khadiagala (Palgrave Macmillan 2017) pp. 121–136.

“Protecting Civilians in Conflict: A Role for Canada,” with Jennifer Welsh in The World Won't Wait: Why Canada Needs to Rethink its International Policies, edited by Roland Paris and Taylor Owen (University of Toronto Press 2016) pp.133–143.

“Peacekeeping in the Congo: Implementation of the Protection of Civilians Norm,” in Implementation in World Politics: How Norms Change Practice, edited by Alexander Betts and Phil Orchard (Oxford University Press 2014) pp. 160–179.

“Whither Humanitarian Space? The Costs of Integrated Peacebuilding in Afghanistan,” with Taylor Owen in Modern Warfare: Militias, Private Militaries, Humanitarian Organizations and the Law, edited by Benjamin Perrin (University of British Columbia Press 2012) pp.267–284.

“Beyond Creed, Greed, and Booty: Understanding Conflict in the DRC,” Africa: The Journal of the International African Institute, 80:2, 2010, pp. 322-331.

Photo: Lake Kivu, DRC