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MICROCON Director Patricia Justino's research has been referenced in The Economist
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The MICROCON programme held a two-day conference between 30 June - 1 July 2011. Participants shares the latest in research, policy and practice concerned with the micro-level analysis of conflict.
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Over the next 12 months, MICROCON researchers will be blogging on current affairs and research related to violent conflict.
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MICROCON researchers made a number of contributions to the preparation of WDR2011, on Conflict, Security and Development.
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MICROCON
MICROCON, or ‘A Micro Level Analysis of Violent Conflict’ is a five-year research programme funded by the European Commission, which takes an innovative micro level, multidisciplinary approach to the study of the conflict cycle.
Almost one third of the world's population lives in conflict-affected low-income countries. At a fundamental level, conflict originates from people’s behaviour and how they interact with society and their environment - from its ‘micro' foundations. Yet most conflict research and policy focuses on ‘macro' perspectives. MICROCON seeks to redress this balance.
Aim
The programme aims to promote understanding of individual and group interactions leading to and resulting from violent mass conflicts, with the purpose of uncovering much-needed fundamentals for better informed domestic, regional and international conflict policy, which places individuals and groups at the centre of their interventions.
It takes an innovative micro level, multidisciplinary approach to conflict, and aims to go beyond merely reactive theorisations of conflict to look at the complete dynamics (across intensities, actors, triggers and effects) of violent mass conflicts.
Outputs
The main outputs of MICROCON will come from 28 different research projects working in over 40 countries, covering eight main themes:
- Group Formation, Identities and Mobilisation;
- Contemporary Conflicts and Ethnic-Religious Tensions;
- Gender Aspects of Violent Conflicts;
- Migration, Displacement and Refugees;
- Risk, Security and Coping Mechanisms;
- Poverty, Inequality and Social Exclusion;
- Violent Conflict and Health Outcomes;
- Governance and Institutions.
These research themes will be complemented by two policy research projects entitled ‘Conflict in the European Neighbourhood’ and ‘Evaluating Conflict Interventions’. The project will be implemented by a team of 60 researchers in 22 partner institutions in 16 different countries.
MICROCON Fieldworkers in Maharashtra, India. © Jaideep Gupte.
Highlights
RWP58: Social Mobility in Times of Crisis: Militant Youth and the Politics of Impersonation
in Côte d’Ivoire (2002-2011)
This paper explores critical aspects of the agency of youngsters during
the political-military conflict in Côte d'Ivoire (2002-2011).
RWP57: Displacement in Post-War Southern Sudan: Survival and Accumulation within Urban
Perimeters
This paper explores the self-employment
strategies of South Sudanese IDPs and refugees in an institutional context characterised by weak state regulation and high reliance on self-governance institutions, especially social networks.
RWP56: Forced Migration, Female Labour Force Participation, and Intra-household Bargaining: Does Conflict Empower Women?
This study examines how labour fource particpation of displaced women in Colombia affects female bargaining power within
the household.
RWP55: Education and Conflict Recovery: The Case of
Timor Leste
This paper
analyses the impact of the conflict on the level and access to education of boys and girls in Timor
Leste.
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Funded by EC under FP6
