The ResilienceBuilding project focuses on the causes and consequences of civilian agency for self-protection and violence prevention in contexts characterized by civil war, communal conflict, local peacebuilding, and international peacekeeping actors. We investigate how armed groups, civilian actions, and peacebuilding approaches interact on multiple levels of conflict and study the consequences for the vulnerability and resilience of local populations. One research stream analyses the gender dimensions of social resilience and peacebuilding. A second one engages with the climate change, conflict, and peacebuilding nexus to better understand vulnerability and building resilience. A third stream examines linkages between local and national peace processes and implications for variation in violence against civilians and peacebuilding success.

The research team conducts field research in Nigeria, Kenya, South Sudan, and the CAR. The team brings together researchers who together implement multi-method approaches, combining in-depth interviewing and ethnographic observation with event data analysis, survey research, and archival work.