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The author argues that mediation is not merely a tool for conflict resolution but a strategic foreign policy instrument that allows middle powers to create 'extra political power space'. By engaging in mediation, these states can build stronger Best Alternatives to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA), create issue linkages for 'logrolling' with senior allies, and establish network ties. The paper illustrates this through an analysis of Turkey's mediation efforts under the AK Party government between 2002 and 2011, suggesting that Turkey leveraged its role as a peace broker to secure alliance benefits from the US and consolidate domestic political power.

The research examines the intersection of gender norms and economic necessity in Keti Bandar, a fishing town in Sindh, Pakistan. Despite high female labor force participation (50.5%), a strong belief persists that men should be the primary providers. The authors argue that women's empowerment in this context is derived from altruism—supporting their husbands and families—rather than from a desire for individual autonomy or resistance to patriarchal norms. This sense of empowerment is facilitated by the fact that the male breadwinner norm is maintained in discourse even as it is broken in practice. The study also highlights how environmental degradation and globalization have increased economic distress, forcing women into the labor market, while their mobility remains constrained by concerns over 'honor' and safety in public spaces.

The research paper analyzes individual-level support for the 2001 Framework Agreement in Macedonia using a geo-referenced survey from 2005. The authors test whether local ethnic settlement patterns or proximity to conflict zones influence reconciliation preferences. The primary finding is that ethnic identity is the dominant factor, with ethnic Albanians strongly supporting the agreement and ethnic Macedonians predominantly opposing it, while contextual factors like local ethnic parity or distance to violence have only feeble or insignificant effects.

The document examines migrant transnationalism—the ties and practices migrants maintain across borders—across economic, sociocultural, and political dimensions. It advocates for a 'transnational lens' to move beyond 'methodological nationalism,' which assumes the nation-state is the only relevant unit of analysis. Key areas of focus include the role of remittances, the impact of digital technologies on 'co-presence,' the dynamics of transnational families, and the interaction between transnational engagement and integration into host societies. The authors argue that transnationalism is not a zero-sum game with integration and can provide significant 'mobility capital' and resources for migrants.

The report examines the intersection of the Cyprus conflict and migration, highlighting how the island's territorial division and communal citizenship regime create systemic barriers for refugees and migrants. It analyzes the securitization of the Green Line, the lack of a formal asylum system in northern Cyprus, and the discriminatory nature of the Republic of Cyprus's citizenship laws, which assign individuals to ethnic communities. The author argues that these conflict-driven structures exacerbate the vulnerability of migrants and recommends revising the citizenship regime as part of peace negotiations.

The authors examine the methodological debate surrounding the use of mosques as recruiting grounds for research on Muslims in Europe. While acknowledging critiques regarding sampling bias and the 'lived religion' perspective, they argue that terms like 'organized' or 'member' are too imprecise to invalidate mosque-based sampling. Using the FINEX project in the Nordic countries as a case study, they suggest that the 'technologization' of mosques (via social media and email) and their institutional role in European societies actually increase their utility as research entry points. They recommend a stratified approach to sampling and the separation of recruitment from the actual data collection environment to ensure ecological validity.

The paper examines how women in a conflict-affected district of Assam utilize the concept of 'motherhood' to enter the political sphere and engage in peacebuilding. It challenges security expert assumptions that these women lack independent agency, finding instead that while they are often linked to tribal identities and militant factions, they use these alliances to build political power. The author notes a tension between 'motherhood' as a tool for tribal mobilization and as a potential basis for a common female identity for peace. The study also highlights the barriers to formal political participation, such as male-dominated party structures and a lack of seat reservations in tribal areas.

The report finds that Cypriot youth feel underrepresented in politics and lack confidence in political institutions, while maintaining a general openness to inter-communal interaction despite low actual contact. Most youth are pessimistic about the current peace negotiation process and the likelihood of a solution to the Cyprus problem, though many believe they have a responsibility to contribute to a peaceful settlement.

The research examines the link between horizontal inequalities and civil unrest in the Mtwara and Lindi regions of Tanzania. While these regions have faced long-term objective economic marginalization, the authors find that this structural inequality alone did not trigger conflict. Instead, the discovery of natural gas and subsequent government decisions—specifically the decision to pipe gas to Dar es Salaam instead of developing local industry—created frustrated expectations and perceptions of unfair treatment. Using survey data from 804 respondents and 35 interviews, the study demonstrates that the perception of being treated unfairly by the government is the strongest predictor of both support for and actual participation in protests and political violence.

The research analyzes Naga militancy in Northeast India, specifically examining how ceasefires between the Indian government and groups like the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN) have influenced the conflict. The author argues that ceasefires can disrupt internal group cohesion, create operational opportunities for illegal activities, and fuel inter-group rivalry. Data from the South Asia Terrorism Portal indicates that while ceasefires reduced encounters between security forces and militants, civilian and 'terrorist' fatalities increased between 1992 and 2010. The study concludes that the current ceasefire regime empowers signatory groups and legitimizes armed actors, creating a framework for 'violent politics' rather than a path to a political settlement.

The paper examines the implementation of the United Nations' Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda in Bosnia and Herzegovina, focusing on the localization of gender equality norms. Through focus group interviews, the authors identify two primary narrative responses: 'narratives of support' and 'narratives of resistance'. Support is articulated at the macro level, framing gender equality as a legacy of the socialist past, a marker of Western modernization, or a space for religious manoeuvrability. Conversely, resistance occurs at the meso and micro levels, driven by deep-rooted patriarchal traditions and ethno-nationalist divisions. The authors argue that effective implementation of UNSCR 1325 requires moving beyond state-centric policies to address these interpersonal and intrapersonal psychological barriers.

The study examines the implementation of rights-based approaches (RBA) in Pakistan, focusing on Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) and its partners. It finds that global RBA norms are rarely applied directly via international law but are instead translated into three frameworks: humanitarian standards, citizen rights, and Islamic principles. The author identifies two modes of engaging with religion: 'instrumental engagement,' where religious leaders are used as gatekeepers to achieve project goals, and 'substantial engagement,' where the substance of religion is used to find overlapping values with human rights, particularly regarding women's rights. The paper argues that religion is an integral part of the lifeworld of aid recipients and essential for gaining legitimacy in the Pakistani humanitarian arena.

The document details the academic career of Nils Petter Gleditsch, highlighting his empirical approach to conflict research, his role as editor of the Journal of Peace Research, and his commitment to transparency and data replication. It examines his specific research on the 'democratic peace', environmental conflict, and the security aspects of climate change, while providing a quantitative analysis of his high citation rates compared to peers. The text also emphasizes his mentorship of graduate students and his institutional contributions to the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO).

The research identifies significant relational turbulence among South African peacekeepers returning from missions in the DRC, Darfur/Sudan, and Burundi. Key challenges include strained relationships with children, financial conflicts, and the struggle to renegotiate household boundaries within a patriarchal societal context. While soldiers receive institutional resilience training, their families often lack similar support, exacerbating the difficulty of reintegration.

The authors present the Non-State Actors (NSA) in Civil Wars dataset, covering internal armed conflicts from 1945 to 2011. The dataset shifts the unit of analysis from country-years to state-rebel group dyad spells, allowing researchers to examine the specific characteristics of opposition forces rather than just macro-level state variables. Key indicators include rebel strength relative to the government, territorial control, organizational structure (such as the presence of political wings), and external support from states or non-state actors. Descriptive statistics from the dataset show that while over 85% of rebel groups are weaker than their governments, nearly half are at least equal in their specific capacities to mobilize support, procure arms, and fight. The dataset is designed to be compatible with the Uppsala Conflict Data Project (UCDP) Dyadic Dataset to facilitate data aggregation across different research projects.

The document argues that treating nonstate actors as unitary entities in civil conflict analysis creates a gap between conceptual frames and empirical reality. It proposes a 'disaggregation' approach to examine how internal divisions, factionalism, and shifting coalitions influence the initiation, escalation, and termination of violence. The authors highlight that fragmentation can either increase violence through in-group competition or facilitate peace through state co-optation of specific factions. The text calls for more disaggregated data to better understand the dynamics of nonstate actors, including the role of external state intervention in precipitating or exacerbating internal splits.

The document analyzes how Norway responded to the July 22 terror attacks through a lens of 'negotiating values.' It explores the tension between a temporary 'consensus sphere' of national unity and the underlying complexities of a diverse, pluralistic society. Key analyses include the role of media in shaping narratives, the psychological mechanisms of resilience, the philosophical foundations of human dignity and free speech, and the impact of digital algorithms on crisis discourse.

The author argues that the Government of Rwanda (GoR) is an active shaper of gender equality norms rather than a passive adopter. By analyzing national policy documents, the paper identifies two primary 'problem representations': gender inequality as a result of women's exclusion from the formal economy and as a consequence of citizens having the 'wrong mindset.' The author concludes that the GoR has repurposed these norms to serve a broader nationalist agenda, framing gender equality as a tool for sustainable economic development and the creation of a modern, loyal Rwandan citizen, thereby shifting the meaning of the norms away from the transformation of gendered power relations.

The document argues that the conflict in Northeast India is not merely a series of ethnic disputes between the state and non-state actors, but a complex system of 'parapolitics' where state and non-state agents often collaborate in shadow economies. It examines how the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) has regularized a 'state of exception', creating a zone of anomie where security forces and militant groups compete for the monopoly of violence. The author highlights the role of illicit extraction, such as timber smuggling in the Bodo Territorial Autonomous District (BTAD), and the use of ceasefire agreements to legitimize insurgent 'armies' and their extortion networks.

The author argues that while Pope Francis avoids the term 'just war' due to its historical misuse and the destructive nature of modern weaponry, he does not formally abolish the underlying doctrine. The text compares the Thomistic view of peace as a fruit of charity with Francis's emphasis on universal fraternity, concluding that the Pope's reservations are primarily about the terminology and the high threshold for proportionality in the nuclear age, rather than a total rejection of the right to legitimate defense.