Urban-rural dynamics of community-based conflict management

Project description

In the developing world, rapid urbanisation is reshaping the landscape of violence and conflict management. Sub-Saharan Africa, in particular, will see dramatic rates of in-migration to cities from rural areas. In a region heavily affected by political turmoil, analysts and policymakers have increasingly sought to understand how these factors relate to the challenges of addressing and preventing localized violent conflicts.

While scholarship on violence prevention emphasizes community-oriented strategies to address conflict, it has not been studied how the different conditions in urban and rural areas affect the form, effectiveness and unintended outcomes of such strategies. This project focuses on community policing and has the following research question at its core: How does the rural versus urban context impact on community policing as a strategy for conflict management and violence prevention?

Using both qualitative and quantitative methods the project will compare rural and urban sites of conflict in Kenya to investigate if, why and how the dynamics may differ. The project will advance theory, generate new empirical knowledge and provide research-based policy recommendations of relevance for shaping sustainable conflict management strategies.