Project Details
Projekt
The Local Arena of Power Sharing. Patterns of Adaptation or Continued Disorder
Applicant
Professor Dr. Andreas Mehler
Subject Area
Political Science
Term
from 2011 to 2018
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 180156028
The overarching question behind our research is whether powersharing agreements and other related forms of post-conflict reforms have an effect on levels of peace (order ) in former hotspots. These former hotspots, or local arenas is the primary unit of analysis throughout our research, though the focus has shifted. In the first phase we considered the effects of national elite pacts on local peace/order and in the second project phase we are looking at the effects of institutional reform on local peace/order. In the last and final phase we want to shift the focus onto actors, primarily local powerbrokers, and their effects on the reconfiguration of order /ordering practices. By moving from an event (phase 1) to an institution (phase 2) to actor behaviour (phase 3) we can comprehensively map the consolidation of peace in local arenas in post-conflict settings from a variety of angles. Considering actor behaviour, we have two major areas of interest. Firstly, the impact of path-dependency on actor behaviour, including the perception of pre-war determinants, properties of power-sharing pacts and any critical junctures (or at least crucial events) in the post-agreement phase. Secondly, the impact of actors on the (creative and adaptive) reconfiguration of space in post-war contexts, and in turn, the impact of post-war reterritorialisation on power relations. In the final project phase, in light of these new empirical questions, our primary focus will be on reconsidering our already collected empirical data, though in aid of further theoretical consolidation, we plan some final fieldwork in Kenya. In addition, we will also carry out further conceptualisations and theorization of our previous work, namely on adaptation or hybridisation.
DFG Programme
Priority Programmes
