Past Conferences

Policy Dialogue Day 2018 Past

5/30/2018 10:00:00 AM - 5/30/2018 5:00:00 PM

Gothenburg, Sweden

We are pleased to announce an invitation to attend the Policy Dialogue Day 2018 “New Research = Better Policies: Insights on Democracy, Governance, and Armed Conflict” in Gothenburg, Sweden, May 30, 2018. This year’s Policy Dialogue Day is organized by the V-Dem (Varieties of Democracy) Institute, the QoG (Quality of Government) Institute, GLD-Gothenburg (Program for Governance and Local Development), UCPD (Uppsala Conflict Data Program) and ViEWS (a Political Violence Early Warning System). The annual Policy Dialogue conference bridges the gap between analysis and practice and aims to shed light on questions relating to democracy support and governance. The conference serves as a meeting platform for practitioners, policy makers, and academics.

SAFEResearch Handbook Workshop Past

4/27/2018 10:52:02 AM - 4/27/2018 10:52:43 AM

Gothenburg, Sweden

Conducting field research has become an increasingly risky endeavour in recent years, particularly in regions characterized by violent conflict, repressive political regimes, or state failure. Working under such conditions is challenging. Researchers need to think of ways to assure the physical safety of their respondents, they need to protect themselves, and they must consider whether and how the confidentiality of information can be maintained. Despite these conditions, and despite the fact that journalists, NGO workers, and scholars across a range of disciplines face similar challenges, guidance on how to prepare and conduct safe field research is not readily available. SAFEResearch aims at addressing these shortcomings. We want to sensitize the academic community to the risks faced by many researchers and to draw on the experience of practitioners. Safe fieldwork comprises several interrelated dimensions. In addition to the physical safety of research participants and researchers, research in politically sensitive settings may require additional measures to ensure the confidentiality of data. Contact details, field notes, interview transcripts and other forms of research-related information needs to be stored, transmitted, and handled in a responsible way, balancing concerns about safety and confidentiality with transparency norms in the discipline.

The SAFEResearch Handbook: Gothenburg Workshop is supported by the Program on Governance and Local Development (GLD) and the School of Global Studies (SGS). This event is aimed at presenting key findings from the Handbook, spreading awareness of the project, and targeting research practitioners from academia, as well as key administrative professionals from academic institutions and bodies funding academic research.

SAFEResearch Handbook Workshop Past

4/27/2018 10:52:02 AM - 4/27/2018 10:52:43 AM

Gothenburg, Sweden

Conducting field research has become an increasingly risky endeavour in recent years, particularly in regions characterized by violent conflict, repressive political regimes, or state failure. Working under such conditions is challenging. Researchers need to think of ways to assure the physical safety of their respondents, they need to protect themselves, and they must consider whether and how the confidentiality of information can be maintained. Despite these conditions, and despite the fact that journalists, NGO workers, and scholars across a range of disciplines face similar challenges, guidance on how to prepare and conduct safe field research is not readily available. SAFEResearch aims at addressing these shortcomings. We want to sensitize the academic community to the risks faced by many researchers and to draw on the experience of practitioners. Safe fieldwork comprises several interrelated dimensions. In addition to the physical safety of research participants and researchers, research in politically sensitive settings may require additional measures to ensure the confidentiality of data. Contact details, field notes, interview transcripts and other forms of research-related information needs to be stored, transmitted, and handled in a responsible way, balancing concerns about safety and confidentiality with transparency norms in the discipline.

The SAFEResearch Handbook: Gothenburg Workshop is supported by the Program on Governance and Local Development (GLD) and the School of Global Studies (SGS). This event is aimed at presenting key findings from the Handbook, spreading awareness of the project, and targeting research practitioners from academia, as well as key administrative professionals from academic institutions and bodies funding academic research.

SAFEResearch Handbook Athens Workshop Past

1/24/2018 10:52:02 AM - 1/28/2018 10:52:43 AM

Athens, Greece

Conducting field research has become an increasingly risky endeavour in recent years, particularly in regions characterized by violent conflict, repressive political regimes, or state failure. Working under such conditions is challenging. Researchers need to think of ways to assure the physical safety of their respondents, they need to protect themselves, and they must consider whether and how the confidentiality of information can be maintained. Despite these conditions, and despite the fact that journalists, NGO workers, and scholars across a range of disciplines face similar challenges, guidance on how to prepare and conduct safe field research is not readily available. SAFEResearch aims at addressing these shortcomings. We want to sensitize the academic community to the risks faced by many researchers and to draw on the experience of practitioners. Safe fieldwork comprises several interrelated dimensions. In addition to the physical safety of research participants and researchers, research in politically sensitive settings may require additional measures to ensure the confidentiality of data. Contact details, field notes, interview transcripts and other forms of research-related information needs to be stored, transmitted, and handled in a responsible way, balancing concerns about safety and confidentiality with transparency norms in the discipline.

The SAFEResearch Handbook: Athens Writers’ Workshop aims to produce the draft handbook on research safety. The workshop will bring together 24 participants drawn from diverse professions (e.g., academia, human rights, journalism) and with broad regional expertise. The workshop will be held at the Swedish Research Institute (SRI) in Athens, from January 24-28, 2018.

Workshop on Islamists and Local Politics Past

6/13/2017 3:00:00 PM - 5/15/2017 2:00:00 PM

Brastad, Sweden

Political science, media, and policy analysis of Islamist movements and the Middle East more broadly, often concentrate on national politics and major urban areas. A growing body of political science research is now drawing attention to the significance of political organization, mobilization and contestation taking place outside major cities. Though this research is broad, the following questions have been of particular interest: How do local/community conditions relate to the emergence and strengthening of Islamist movements, and what is the nature of these movements? Do we see the strengthening of Islamist movements in conditions with unresponsive local-level state actors, poor service delivery, and/or little political participation? Or do such movements actually help to mobilize support, participation and engagement in local level politics?  Do the political and ideological orientations of Islamist movements in the provinces differ systematically from those in the urban core?  How do different strands of Islamism, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Salafist movements or Sufi orders, perform at the local level? In “mixed” communities (e.g., Muslim/Christian as found in much of SubSaharan Africa), when do we find cooperative community relations and where do we find segregated practices?  When do local Islamist movements tend to inflame or to suppress radicalization towards violent extremism?

In an effort to explore these questions related to Islamist politics at the local level, POMEPS and the Program on Governance and Local Development (GLD) at the University of Gothenburg are hosting a two-day workshop featuring practitioners, policy-makers and academics from around the world.