Conference on Ceasefires and Civil War, 18-20 September 2019 in Oslo

Together with the external pagePeace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), the Center for Security Studies (CSS) at ETH Zurich held a conference on "Talking while fighting? The causes and consequences of civil war ceasefires". The conference took place on 18-20 September 2019 in Oslo.

Despite the important role that ceasefires often play in civil war peace processes, it is not always clear which factors lead to the adoption of different forms of security arrangement, how they influence broader dynamics in a civil conflict, or how ceasefires shape ongoing political negotiations. More and better information on the role played by ceasefires is therefore needed.

PRIO and the CSS are currently leading a research project attempting to answer these important questions. The Project seeks to develop a stronger understanding of the role that ceasefires play in the transition from war to peace. As part of this project, a three-day workshop was held in Oslo and brought together both researchers and policy makers from different fields.

The two first days of the conference were primarily academic in nature, and included a series of presentations based on the latest research in this area. This part also included the presentation of the new CSS-PRIO Civil War Ceasefires dataset, a newly compiled dataset that captures all ceasefires in civil war between 1989-2018.

Day three focused more on the practice and policy community, and discussed key practical lessons that can be drawn from recent research, as well as highlighting areas in which understanding remains deficient.

For any queries relating to the ceasefire project, or if you would like a briefing based on the project to date, please contact Dr Govinda Clayton –

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