Can you help shape our future priorities? Take a five minute survey now. Survey closes on 8 July.

Conflict and Violence

Our work provides a nuanced and realistic understanding of the relationship between violence, conflict, security and development. It aims to help policymakers, practitioners and citizens to develop policies and practices that strengthen people’s efforts to secure their own lives and livelihoods and improve the functioning of political institutions responsible for security and the management and prevention of conflict, and for the development of peace.

We examine the multiple layers and contexts in which violence manifests – from household to state and global level – and pinpoint the links and overlaps between these layers. This includes exploring the nature of, and responses to conflict and violence in rapidly expanding urban areas.  We have a done pioneering work on the dynamics of micro-level conflict, violence and development as well as on citizen action in violent contexts. Our research on gender, men and masculinities and gender-based violence has provided new insights on how to change attitudes, norms and behaviours for equality, peace and justice.

Another focal area is the dynamics of policy processes around conflict, violence and security examining the key framing and narratives. We explore non-traditional forms of security, especially linked to water, energy, food and health as well as post conflict and state building issues affecting service delivery and livelihoods, and are also developing new participatory approaches to peacebuilding. 

People

Patricia Justino

Professorial Fellow

Rebecca Mitchell

Postgraduate Researcher and Programme Manager

Gauthier Marchais

Research Fellow

Jeremy Allouche

Professorial Fellow

Jeremy Lind

Professorial Fellow

Juan Carlos Muñoz-Mora

Post Doctoral Researcher

Marinella Leone

Research Fellow

Robin Luckham

Emeritus Fellow

Programmes and centres

Recent work

Filter results by

Showing 469–480 of 15404 results

Brief

Key Considerations: Balancing Epidemic Preparedness and Response with Humanitarian Protection in Ugandan Refugee Settlements

SSHAP Briefing

Humanitarian actors in Ugandan refugee settlements face the dual challenge of preparing for and responding to epidemics, while providing essential humanitarian assistance. They must balance their international mandate to protect refugees and uphold human rights with a variety of public health...

27 September 2024

Brief

From Data to Action: How Findings From an Interagency Rapid Qualitative Assessment are Stimulating Action to Support Drought-Affected Communities in Zambia

SSHAP Briefing

The Republic of Zambia is one of several countries in the Eastern and Southern Africa (ESAR) region that has been grappling with multiple concurrent emergencies that have affected the health and safety of the population. In February 2024, a national state of emergency was declared in Zambia due...

27 September 2024

Brief

LGBTQIA+-Inclusive Humanitarian Action in the Philippines

SSHAP Briefing

Humanitarian crises affect diverse populations in complex ways, often exacerbating pre-existing vulnerabilities and inequalities. Among those disproportionately impacted are LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual and other SOGIESC – sexual orientations, gender...

27 September 2024

Publication

Family Conflict and Violence, Family Separation and Negligence Towards Children

Bangladesh Action Research Group 13

The Child Labour: Action-Research-Innovation in South and South-Eastern Asia (CLARISSA) programme uses Action Research (AR) to understand the dynamics which drive the worst forms of child labour (WFCL), and to generate participatory innovations which help to shift these underlying dynamics and...

26 September 2024

Publication

Social Norms and Perceptions of Idleness Which Push Children into Work

Bangladesh Action Research Group 11

The Child Labour: Action-Research-Innovation in South and South-Eastern Asia (CLARISSA) programme uses Action Research (AR) to understand the dynamics which drive the worst forms of child labour (WFCL), and to generate participatory innovations which help to shift these underlying dynamics and...

26 September 2024

News

Renowned IDS academic commemorated with street name

Sir Hans Singer, who is famed for his work on development economics and a former professor at the Institute of Development Studies, has been commemorated by his hometown in Germany. Commemorative sign The city of Wuppertal in Germany honoured the renowned economist at a ceremony last...

23 September 2024

Publication

Grievance Redress Mechanisms in the Health Sector

Report

In recent years, many governments in the Global South have integrated Grievance Redress Mechanisms (GRMs) into their governance structures to monitor and improve the provision of services. However, the implementation on the ground of these GRMs has yet to be fully explored. This study sought to...

Kátia Taela & 5 others

20 September 2024

News

Widespread and harmful child labour uncovered in Bangladesh leather sector

A five-year study with child workers in Bangladesh’s growing leather industry has uncovered children working in dangerous and harmful conditions at every stage of leather processing and production, driven by the need to support their families financially. Children as young as eight,...

20 September 2024

Student Opinion

A master’s student’s reflections of diversity at IDS

MA Development Studies student Deep Mehta shares his honest reflections about his year with us – including the challenges and frictions caused when your values, beliefs and opinions and not always aligned with those who you are studying with. Much of what I say here overlaps with what...

Deep Mehta, IDS student, MA Development Studies

19 September 2024

Report

Worst Forms of Child Labour in the Bangladesh Leather Industry: A Synthesis of Five Years of Research by Children, Small Business Owners, NGOs, and Academics

CLARISSA Research and Evidence Paper 11

The CLARISSA programme has produced multiple research reports, and the Hard Labour website, which reproduces some of the stories about children’s lives, their days, the businesses they work in, and the neighbourhoods they live in. This paper synthesises this detailed evidence landscape to draw...

Jody Aked
Jody Aked & 2 others

19 September 2024

Why learn with us.

In an extraordinary time of challenge and change, we use more than 50 years of expertise to transform development approaches that create more equitable and sustainable futures. The work you do with us will help make progressive change towards universal development; to build and connect solidarities for collective action, locally and globally. The University of Sussex has been ranked 1st in the world for Development Studies for the past five years (QS World University Rankings by Subject).

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.