Critiquing and joining intersections of disaster, conflict, and peace research
This article has provided a critiquing overview of the intersections of disaster, conflict, and peace research, highlighting disaster diplomacy as one example that shows how much more work is needed. The overall findings here demonstrate parallels between some fundamentals of disaster research and those of conflict and peace research, as well as a lack of evidence that disaster-related activities create new directions for conflict and peace endeavours.
This research points to the need to develop a theoretical framework to bring together disaster, conflict, and peace research and to foster joint work between academic, intergovernmental, non-governmental, governmental, and private sector institutions in long-term collaborations. The authors ask the following questions: how could the silos of disaster, conflict, and peace research deepen each one’s engagement with (1) foundational research and the rich history of the others, and (2) the latest developments in the other fields, ranging from conflict transformation to complex systems of risk? Specific ways of answering these questions include:
- Academia providing conference, journal, and book opportunities in which researchers who focus on specific areas of disaster, conflict, and peace are brought together to collaborate.
- Generating training and education opportunities that start from the common bases of disaster, conflict, and peace research in order to generate skills and advice that cover all area
- Offering joint work and expertise to support programs and projects from intergovernmental, non-governmental, private sector, and governmental institutions in simultaneously supporting peace, reducing conflict, and tackling disaster risk.
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