Micro-level Politics of Peace

Peace settlements are elite pacts that ignore the views of the population, those most affected by the conflict, which leads to a lack of buy-in for sustainable peace.

The project “Micro-level Politics of Peace” (MICROPOLPAX) puts individuals at the centre of the focus and asks what peace means to individuals.

The framework has universal relevance but will be tested in the timely case of Ukraine, a country currently undergoing conflict in the European Union’s near abroad and of geopolitical significance to the EU.

The project is interdisciplinary and methodologically plural, using mixed methods of qualitative interviews and the rigorous methods of survey experiments.

The action allows for the two-way transfer of knowledge, combining the experienced researcher’s learning on norm diffusion and political psychology with the supervisor’s expertise on micro-level dynamics of conflict.

The training-through-research gained will enable the applicant to open up this new research area and become an independent and skilled researcher.The action will generate academic dissemination through conferences, articles, open-access data and a specialist seminar. The action will also provide policy exploitation for the EU, peace negotiators and for democracy activists in Ukraine.

Throughout the action, the project will take advantage of many types of public engagement, such as blogs, web-based games, World Peace day and International Women’s Day.