20 YEARS CONFLICT RESEARCH GROUPConference 23 and 24 May 2022
On the occasion of its 20th anniversary, the Conflict Research Group at Ghent University (Belgium) organizes an international conference that will take stock of where we are with the study of violent conflict. The conference is scheduled on 23-24 May, 2022, and will be held in Ghent.
During our conference, we want to go into dialogue with leading international researchers, policymakers and practitioners, and provide a platform for debate and exchange with the ambition to suggest new research agendas, strengthen research-policy dialogue and create more space for voices from the Global South.
Please note that registrations are closed for the conference. If you would like to attend our conference, please email us at: Carla.Kuehleis@UGent.be
Programme
9h00
Introduction
By Prof. Koen Vlassenroot, Director of the Conflict Research Group
Film hall, entrance 4, Paddenhoek 1, Campus Aula
9h30
Keynote
by Prof. Paul Richards
Film hall, entrance 4, Paddenhoek 1, Campus Aula
10h30
Coffee and Tea Break
11h00
Two parallel panel sessions
Mineral extraction and the politics of data
Chair: Godefroid Muzalia
With Kasper Hoffmann, Jeroen Cuvelier, Steven Van Bockstael, Thomas Muller, Lotte Hoex and Astrid Jamar
Film hall, entrance 4, Paddenhoek 1, Campus Aula
and
The cultural politics of conflict
Chair: Dr. Maarten Hendriks
With Benjamin Chemouni, Sam Kniknie, Kristof Titeca, Eva Willems, Arthur Owor and Florence Anek
Leslokaal 5.2, entrance 5, Paddenhoek 1, Campus Aula
12h30
Lunch Break
Screening of ‘Street Life’,
a film of Alain Nepapa, produced by TD Jack Muhindo and CRG’s Maarten Hendriks
Film hall, entrance 4, Paddenhoek 1, Campus Aula
13h30
Parallel panel sessions
Understanding Jihadi (counter)organisation
Chair: Dr. Christoph Vogel
With Sky Mkuti, Tanguy Quidelleur, Hans de Marie Heungoup and Marte Beldé
Film hall, entrance 4, Paddenhoek 1, Campus Aula
and
Landscapes and the nature of conflict
Chair: Dr. Mary Ann Manahan
With Johanna Malm, Esther Marijnen, David Mwambari and Godefroid Muzalia
Leslokaal 5.2, entrance 5, Paddenhoek 1, Campus Aula
15h00
Coffee and Tea Break
15h30
Roundtable on the State of the Art
Chair: Prof. Bert Suykens
With Prof. Christian Lund, Prof. Jolanda Demmers, Prof. Nandini Sundar
Film hall, entrance 4, Paddenhoek 1, Campus Aula
9h00
Roundtable on Epistemologies and Methodologies
Chair: Prof. Maria Martin de Almagro Iniesta
With Prof. Adam Branch, Prof. Atreyee Sen and Prof. Aymar Nyenyezi Bisoka
Film hall, entrance 4, Paddenhoek 1, Campus Aula
10h30
Coffee and Tea Break
11h00
Two parallel panel sessions
Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding
Chair: Dr. Tomas van Acker
With Josaphat Musamba Bussy, Caitlin Ryan, Wol Athuai, Krishna Kumar Saha, Jonathan Eli Libut and Naomi Pendle.
Film hall, entrance 4, Paddenhoek 1, Campus Aula
and
Networks and spaces of violence
Chair: Dr. Stéphanie Perazzone
With Sheikh Shams Morsalin, Siyum Adugna Mamo, Ali Aljasem, Christoph Vogel and Peer Schouten
Leslokaal 5.2, entrance 5, Paddenhoek 1, Campus Aula
12h30
Lunch Break
Screening of ‘Street Life’,
a film of Alain Nepapa, produced by TD Jack Muhindo and CRG’s Maarten Hendriks
Film hall, entrance 4, Paddenhoek 1, Campus Aula
13h30
Roundtable on The Conflict – Peace Continuum and Policy Responses
Chair: Prof. Karen Büscher
With Dr. Devon Curtis, Dr. Nina Wilén, Ananeza Aban and Ornella Moderan
Film hall, entrance 4, Paddenhoek 1, Campus Aula
15h00
Coffee and Tea Break
15h30
Roundtable on the Future of Conflict Studies
Chair: Prof. Bruno De Cordier
With Dr. Yvan Guichaoua, Dr. Jason Stearns, Prof. Marie-Eve Desrosiers, Dr. Cyril Obi
Film hall, entrance 4, Paddenhoek 1, Campus Aula
Keynote speakers
To read
To see
CRG Book Launches: The Women’s Cause after the War: International Organizations, Mobilizations, and Social Change in Burundi
Mathilde Tarif (Sciences Po-CERI) in conversation with Marie Saiget (University of Lille - CERAPS)
Date: November 18, 2026 ( Wednesday)
Time: 11:00- 12:30
Venue: 3rd Floor, Room John Vincke, Technicum 1, UFO Campus, Ghent University, Belgium
New Publication: The institutional lives of peace. A historical-institutionalist perspective on the (unintended) political legacies of peacebuilding
These cases anchor the article’s central contribution: demonstrating the analytical merits of historical institutionalism across diverse peacebuilding settings.
Special Issue Launch: Opposition Learning in the Middle East and North Africa
Date. Nov. 9, 2026 ( Monday)
Time: 1400 - 15:30
Venue: 3rd Floor, Room John Vincke, Technicum 1, UFO Campus, Ghent University, Belgium
Public Lecture: Planetary movements: sovereignty, climate, and belonging
October 27, 2026 ( Tue)
1500-1700
3rd Floor, Room John Vincke, Technicum 1, UFO Campus, Ghent University, Belgium
New Documentary: EuroKryvbas directed by Marina Tkachuk and Anna Palenchuk
Bruno de Cordier as film consultant, where he conducted historical consulting and archive research.
CRG Book Launches 24: Contesting Transitional Justice in Peru: Open Secrets, Hidden Heroes by Eva Willems
Gretel Mejía Bonifazi (Human Rights Center) in conversation with Eva Willems (CRG / Department of History)
Tuesday, October 13, 2026
11:00- 12:30
3rd Floor, Room John Vincke, Technicum 1, UFO Campus, Ghent University, Belgium
New Publication: Tough Lessons: Opposition Learning in Response to Authoritarian Resilience in the Middle East and North Africa.
How do opposition actors learn to navigate the reorganization of authoritarian regimes in the MENA?
New Publication: Spatializing Ethnic Contestations in Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa Cityscapes, Ethiopia
This article examines how urban space functions as a micro-political arena
New Conference Proceedings: Empowering Southeast Asian Peoples on Addressing Food Security, Environmental Sustainability, Climate Justice through Alternative Regionalism
These are the proceedings of the Fifth Southeast Asian Regional Conference on Alternatives. The conference took place on 21 to
24 October 2024 at Pangandaran, West Java, Indonesia.
New Opinion Piece: Beyond Extractivism? Intertwined Conflict in Eastern Congo
The article explores the various complexities of the war in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.