The CCDP is the Graduate Institute’s focal point for research in the areas of conflict analysis, humanitarianism, peacebuilding, and the complex relationships between security and development. Its research projects focus on the factors and actors that are implicated in the production and reproduction of violence within and between societies and states, as well as on policies and practices to reduce violence and insecurity and enhance development and peacebuilding initiatives at the international, state, and local levels.
The overarching research concerns of the CCDP are reflected in four main research streams:
Peacebuilding, reconciliation and the state;
Conflict transformation, humanitarianism and armed actors;
Development and the political economy of violence;
Multi-stakeholder initiatives and the politics of monitoring and evaluation.
These streams are inherently interconnected, and specific research projects are consciously framed in such as a way as to maximise disciplinary and methodological collaboration across them.
The Working Paper argues that prior to 2007 the zakat sector in the Gaza Strip was successful in effectively serving local communities thanks to a decentralized system of governance that allowed for a certain degree of local autonomy. However, research shows that the system was compromised by the intervention of political networks, the Palestinian security apparatuses, and the Israeli occupation. As a consequence, the effectiveness of zakat-based relief activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories has been severely diminished since 2007. In 2011, the political situation continued to be detrimental to an efficient and transparent zakat sector able to enhance local communities.
Please note that a translation of the paper into Arabic will be released soon.
This report, written by Azar Eskandarpour and Achim Wennmann, explores the role of private actors in preventive diplomacy. It shows that private actors are often better placed than formal actors to engage preventively. The United Nations therefore has a tremendous resource base for preventive diplomacy that, if more widely explored, could become a significant contribution for long-term, in-country prevention programmes.
Written by the CCDP’s Deputy Director Gilles Carbonnier together with Fritz Brugger and Natascha Wagner, this Working Paper takes adjusted net savings (ANS) as an indicator of weak sustainability in order to examine the link between resource dependence and sustainable development. The results highlight a negative relationship between natural resource extraction and ANS but indicate that this is not inevitable. Effective checks on the power of the executive appears to be critical for sustainable outcomes. Moreover, effective legislative chambers, an independent judiciary and broad acceptance of established institutions all have a positive impact on ANS per capita. The results further confirm that armed conflict and armed violence as measured by homicide rate have a negative impact on ANS.
For more information about the project and the working paper, please click here.
Written byMasayo Kondo Rossier during her four-month UN Sabbatical Leave Programme, this CCDP Working Paper considers the actual and potential linkages between humanitarian action and peacebuilding. It examines synergies through a comparative review of the practices and policy approaches of both fields. On the basis of extensive survey questions with specialists in both areas, the Working Paper seeks to demonstrate practical ways in which humanitarian action can contribute to sustainable peacebuilding.
Past Events
May 22nd - News Briefing on
Civil Society and the Arab Spring: What's Next after the Revolutions?
Mémoire(s) et Politiques de réconciliation : Que peut faire le cinéma?
En collaboration avec le Festival International du Film Oriental de Genève. Intervenants :
Riccardo Bocco, professeur de sociologie politique, IHEID, Genève. Mohamed Sebbar, secrétaire général du Conseil consultatif des droits de l'homme (Maroc). Tahar Houchi, journaliste et directeur artistique du Festival International du Film Oriental de Genève.
Modérateur : Sofiane Bouchaïb, coordinateur général du Festival International du Film Oriental de Genève.
March 13th - Public Seminar on
A Review of Practices and Expert Opinions - Linking Humanitarian Action and Peacebuilding
with Masayo Kondo Rossier, who works in the Emergency Preparedness Section of the Emergency Services Branch at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and is a CCDP Research Associate.
February 27th - Book Launch
Saddam Hussein's Ba`th Party: Inside an Authoritarian Regime
with Joseph Sasoon, Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University and Senior Associate Member at St Antony's College, Oxford.
December 13th - Seminar on
The Future of Sudan
with Andrew Natsios, former USAID Administrator (2001-2006) and Special Envoy to Sudan (2006-2007).
November 29th - Public Lecture on
Trends in New Media and Reporting in Humanitarian Action
with Riccardo Bocco, Professor of Political Sociology and member of the CCDP steering committee
May 24th- Public conference on
What Ever Happened to Canadian Internationalism?
with David Black, Director of the Centre for Foreign Policy Studies and Professor of Political Science and International Development Studies (IDS) at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada and CCDP Research Fellow
For more information about past events, please click here.
