In the second Conflict, Violence and Development seminar this term, Dr Mareike Schomerus will discuss the struggle with the notion of ‘evidence’ and ‘evidence-based policy’ in politically contested environments. This seminar highlights the particular challenges that arise when a donor-defined notion of evidence and a request to have evidence for ‘what works’ encounter a situation in which political contestation has been violent.
Drawing on recent comparative research in Nepal and Myanmar, it further outlines the tensions that arise- particularly for implementing NGOs and donors- between a commitment to evidence-based policy and the more recent trend to focus on work politically.
About the Speaker:
Dr Mareike Schomerus, a research fellow at the London School of Economics (LSE), works on the resolution of violent conflict, small arms, civilian-military relations, the violence of democratisation processes, and the impact of living in militarised situations on personal lives. As a former journalist, she further has a particular interest in how knowledge is created, shared and shaped.
Among her most recent publications are the edited volume “The Borderlands of South Sudan: Authority and Identity in Contemporary and Historical Perspective” (Palgrave Macmillan), “They forget what they came for: Uganda’s army in Sudan” (Journal of East African Studies) and “Improvising Border Security: ‘A Situation of Security Pluralism’ along South Sudan’s Borders with the Democratic Republic of Congo” (Security Dialogue).
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