Seminar
- Harvard Faculty, Fellows, Staff, and Students
Thu., Oct. 5, 2023
| 12:15pm
- 2:00pm
One Brattle Square - Room 350
Speaker: Tobias Ide, Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, Murdoch University, Perth, Australia
The number and impact of disasters like droughts, earthquakes, floods, and storms is rising globally, among others due to climate change. As a consequence, disasters are playing a key role in academic, public, and policy debates about environmental security and the climate-conflict nexus. While extensive research has studied how disasters shape the risk of armed conflict onset, scholars and policymakers know little about the impact of disasters on armed conflict dynamics. In other words: How do conflict parties react if a disaster strikes a civil war zone? The speaker will present insights from a comprehensive study on this question, drawing on quantitative and qualitative data from 31 civil wars in 21 countries. Among others, he finds that disasters open opportunities for rebel groups, that disasters can also facilitate conflict de-escalation, and that situational (rather than structural) factors shape the responses of conflict parties.
Open to Harvard ID Holders Only: Admittance will be on a first come–first served basis. Coffee & Tea Provided.