Innovation in Conflict Research

We are confronted today with a broad and diffuse spectrum of conflicts. The traditional interstate conflict has not disappeared. However, it is increasingly superseded by complex intra-state conflicts, some of which are inter-communal while others internationalize. Many conflicts appear intractable, alternating between periods of intense violence and delusive calm. Moreover, our traditional understanding of security has widened to include such challenges as pandemics, migration and displacement, climate change, cyber-attacks and transnational terrorism. New concepts of conflict resolution, such as peacebuilding, human security or transitional justice, have moved onto the agenda of world politics, while traditional approaches such as counter-terrorism have gained new attention. States, as well as international governmental and non-governmental organizations, are increasingly networking to tackle these challenges jointly.

This book series offers a platform to approaches that shed light on international conflicts and their resolution. It focuses on concepts and topics that have hitherto been neglected. It aims at theoretical and methodological innovation as well as rich fieldwork. This includes interdisciplinary approaches drawn from international law, sociology, psychology, and other related fields. Our series analyses conflicts in all world regions, violent and non-violent ones. As far as conflict analysis is concerned, it investigates rarely addressed conflict types (such as irredentism), actors (such as de-facto states or networks), processes (such as escalation and de-escalation), and issues (such as the psychological, religious, or ethical dimensions of conflict, or gender). In the field of conflict resolution, this may include, inter alia, strategies, measures and instruments of conflict transformation, their effectiveness and legitimacy, but also the dilemmas that arise from competing norms and interests. Furthermore, we strive to deepen our knowledge of the role of international governmental and non-governmental organizations and the internal preference building of states, including our own country, Germany. We hope our readers will find our book series a source of inspiration for their own thinking about peace and conflict in our time.