GL02 Peace and Conflict Studies

This track invites proposals on new issues around peace and conflict and their impact on democratic and non-democratic outcomes. We aim to integrate approaches to domestic politics with peace and conflict literature. Peacekeeping literature establishes that interventions promote political stability and reduce battle deaths. However, the transition from peacekeeping to a stable, democratic system is unclear. Conflicts and peace agreements can lead to autocratic politics. Territorial conflicts, violent extremism, and resource competition fuel military operations, often leading governments to pursue autocratic paths or undermine democratic processes. Negotiated peace agreements frequently fail to promote democratic gains, as former armed groups struggle to become political parties. Democracies typically do not fight each other, but the past decade has seen a democratic reversal, exemplified by the Ukraine war between an autocracy and a democracy. Geopolitical dynamics support power transition theories linking rising powers with conflict. Increased military spending due to geopolitics competes with humanitarian crisis response needs. External wars create unity in directly involved countries, but internal wars polarize societies and can support autocratic projects. The impact of neighboring wars on public opinion in non-involved countries remains underexplored. This track aims to understand the relationship between domestic politics, polarized societies, conflict, and peace. We welcome proposals on themes including conflict dynamics, power transitions, humanitarian crises, military operations, migration, media framing, civil-military relations, women in security, peacebuilding, peace negotiations, and transitional justice.