International Mediation in Civil Wars

My first strand of research focuses on mediation in civil wars.

My academic journey began with an internship at Accord in South Africa during my MA studies at Uppsala University, where the notion of ‘African solutions to African challenges’ inspired my interest in the legitimacy of African third parties in mediating civil wars in Africa. For my PhD at the University of Oxford, I employed a mixed-methods research design, collecting extensive data on mediation efforts in African civil wars, as well as conducting interviews with conflict party representatives, mediators, and stakeholders. The quantitative analysis at the heart of this research was published in International Organization in 2020. I have also published an article in which I find that cooperation between African and non-African third parties improves the prospects for mediation success, as well as an article that reflects on how pressure from non-African states can undermine African mediation efforts. I have also conducted research on the role of pressure in mediating solutions to territorial conflicts in Africa. I am currently finishing a book project on the role of the legitimacy of third parties in peace processes, applying it to the African context. This book draws on field work in Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, and Angola. As part of my research on mediation in civil wars, I have also conducted research on the role of pressure in mediating ceasefires and how pressure should never be applied as a substitute for resolving conflict issues. Finally, I published an article in which I demonstrate that ICC indictments in civil wars in Africa typically diminish the prospects for reaching durable peace agreements.