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How to engage with Syria’s new rulers

After the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria, the country’s interim government faces the task of rebuilding the country. Now, foreign countries are trying to steer Syria’s new de facto leaders toward an inclusive government free of sectarian reprisals and away from extreme forms of Islamism.

Article

28th February 2025
The EU has responded to unwanted arrivals with ever-stricter security measures, an approach that has both led to increased human rights violations and...

Research report

26th February 2025
Climate change is challenging North Africa, particularly with water scarcity. Border towns between Morocco and Algeria face existential questions abou...

Research report

26th February 2025
What types of interventions are most effective in mitigating the negative effects of conflict-related trauma amongst civilian and combatant population...

Article

25th February 2025
Of all the challenges currently facing post-war Syria, the integration of the country’s numerous and diverse armed factions into a single, disciplined...

Article

25th February 2025
This case study explores how international mediation efforts in the  Second Congo War (1998-2003) affected, and addressed, the regionalisation of the ...

Article

25th February 2025
The Houthis are strengthening their regional ties, notably with the Popular Mobilization Forces, who offer them political, economic, military, and geo...

Research report

19th February 2025
Years of conflict and natural disasters in the Sudan-South Sudan borderlands have created a displaced population reliant on low-paid, risky work, and ...

Research report

13th February 2025
A pervasive conflict economy has developed in Libya since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi. Migrant smuggling and human trafficking became a key vecto...

Blog

3rd March 2025
The ongoing war in Myanmar is never far away for the more than one million refugees in neighbouring Bangladesh, and the refugee camps are sites of oth...

Article

25th February 2025
This case study explores how international mediation efforts in the  Second Congo War (1998-2003) affected, and addressed, the regionalisation of the ...

Event

27th February 2025
Join us on 27 February 2025 to discuss the intersections of gender, global security, and cross-border conflict dynamics.

Article

23rd December 2024
Competition between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi over influence in the Yemeni governorate could lead to conflict between the two sides or their proxies, which...

Publication

11th December 2024
This case study examines the regionalized nature of the conflict in Yemen impacted on mediation efforts and strategies between 2011 and 2023.

Article

11th December 2024
The Minsk process, led by France and Germany, began in mid-2014 in response to Russian military aggression against Ukraine. In early 2015, it achieved...

Publication

11th December 2024
The Madrid Peace Conference of 1991 aimed to resolve the Arab–Israeli conflict. This paper examines the establishment of the Madrid/Washington process...

Podcast

6th December 2024
King’s College London’s War Studies podcast reflects on the 2014 genocide against the Yezidis and the situation today.

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Video

4th March 2025
How does participatory research amplify local voices?

Blog

3rd March 2025
The ongoing war in Myanmar is never far away for the more than one million refugees in neighbouring Bangladesh, and the refugee camps are sites of oth...

Blog

17th February 2025
This post examines the pressures forcing many displaced people, including children, to seek paid labour to supplement dwindling support mechanisms in ...

Podcast

12th February 2025
In this episode, Tim Eaton and Lubna Yousef discuss their research on conflict in Libya and the transnational expansion of human smuggling.

Blog

12th February 2025
In an interview, Kheder Khaddour discusses ongoing developments along the Syria-Lebanon border.

Podcast

12th February 2025
Hear from the X-Border Women Research Fellows about what motivates their research project and how they overcome the challenges of doing research in fr...

Podcast

6th December 2024
King’s College London’s War Studies podcast reflects on the 2014 genocide against the Yezidis and the situation today.

Blog

4th December 2024
This XCEPT blog post explores the motivations behind the atrocities and acts of extreme violence that were carried out during Sierra Leone’s civil war...

Blog

17th October 2024
In an interview, Kheder Khaddour and Armenak Tokmajyan discuss the country’s borders and why they have remained intact.

Event

27th February 2025
Join us on 27 February 2025 to discuss the intersections of gender, global security, and cross-border conflict dynamics.

Event

29th April 2024
Researchers from across the Local Research Network gathered in Bangkok for a workshop hosted by The Asia Foundation.

Event

27th March 2024
Join us on 27 March, 14:00 GMT to discuss changes to economic power in Afghanistan.

Event

26th March 2024
Join us and Bodhi Global Analysis on Tuesday 26 March to discuss recent findings from research on the gender, climate, and security nexus in the Horn ...

Event

22nd March 2024
Join us on Friday 22 March, 15:00-16:00 GMT, for a discussion on responses to transnational terrorist groups in West Africa.

Event

21st March 2024
Join this webinar on Thursday, 21 March 15:00-16:00 GMT, on Lebanon’s security assistance and border management, where experts will explore the impact...

Event

29th February 2024
On 29 February 2024, XCEPT partner Chatham House will hold a webinar focusing on Niger’s coup and regional security implications.

Event

27th February 2024
Online Q&A discussion, 27 February 14:30 – 15:15 GMT/ 09:30 – 10:15 ET

Event

14th December 2023
On 14 December 2023, XCEPT partner Chatham House will hold a webinar focusing on the increasingly complex web of national, military, and militant inte...

Event

13th June 2023
On 13 and 14 June 2023, XCEPT hosted a workshop in Nairobi that brought together policymakers, researchers and practitioners to consider research and ...

Event

5th May 2023
As part of PeaceCon 2023, Nika Saeedi, Dr Nafees Hamid, Dr Simbal Khan and Amadou Tall will provide insights on how development practitioners and poli...

Event

4th May 2023
As part of PeaceCon 2023, Janet Adama Mohammed, Dr. Patta Scott-Villiers and Umar Abdullahi Eggi will present findings from research on changes in cro...

Event

28th March 2023
This online XCEPT panel discussion assessed the differing impacts on the Horn of Africa and Syria of disruption of global commodities, such as grain, ...

Event

27th March 2023
At this event Dr Fiona McEwen, Dr Nafees Hamid, and Dr Rajan Basra offer up new perspectives on what can motivate someone to engage in terrorism, and ...

Event

20th February 2023
At this event, King’s College London researchers Dr Craig Larkin and Dr Inna Rudolf will explore how competing narratives of a traumatic past are shap...

News

26th October 2022
Addressing securitization in conflict zones in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia

Event

20th July 2022
As part of the Cross-Border Conflict Evidence, Policy and Trends (XCEPT) program, the X-Border Local Research Network held a report launch event to ex...

Event

26th May 2022
The Cross-Border Conflict Evidence, Policy and Trends (XCEPT) research programme held a panel event to discuss the experiences of young people growing...

Event

20th January 2022
The Cross-Border Conflict Evidence, Policy and Trends (XCEPT) research programme held a virtual panel discussion exploring how technology is advancing...

Event

7th December 2021
On 7 December, XCEPT team members Dr Alexander Ramsbotham of Conciliation Resources and Peter Beaumont of Satellite Applications Catapult took part in...

Event

22nd January 2021
To discuss the Algerian-Tunisian border relationship, the Carnegie Middle East Center hosted a virtual panel discussion on Monday, June 22nd. The eve...

Event

22nd January 2021
On Friday, January 22, the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center held a virtual panel discussion to examine the local actors and geopolitical s...

Event

19th October 2020
This is an interactive report on how individuals move and interact across borders and transnationally. The report summarises the outcomes of these di...

Event

20th August 2020
The session provides insights into the needs of refugees, their coping strategies, family ties abroad, and the adequacy and limitations of the current...

Event

20th August 2020
A focus on recent research on local populations’ everyday experience of transnational connectedness in the Horn and the implications for the aid and d...

Our research

XCEPT consists of three research components with different constellations of research partners:

X-Border Local Research Network

What are the causes and implications of conflict in border areas? How can we develop local research skills to investigate these issues?

Transnational Conflict Dynamics and Policy Responses

How do conflicts connect across borders through flows of people, weapons, and resources? How should policy responses adapt?

Violent and Peaceful Behaviour

What behavioural factors drive violence and enable peace? What are the implications for recovery and conflict prevention?  

What is XCEPT?

The Cross-Border Conflict Evidence, Policy and Trends (XCEPT) research programme brings together world-leading experts to examine conflict-affected borderlands, how conflicts connect across borders, and the drivers of violent and peaceful behaviour.

Funded by UK International Development, XCEPT offers actionable research to inform policies and programmes that support peace.

PARTNERS

Chemonics International is one of the world’s leading partners in international development. As the world’s largest government funded development practitioner, Chemonics has a unique understanding of what works on programmes across fragile and conflict affected states.

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The Asia Foundation is a non-profit international development organisation committed to improving lives across a dynamic and developing Asia.

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Chatham House is a world-leading policy institute, with a mission to help governments and societies build a sustainably secure, prosperous, and just world.

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King’s College London (KCL) is a public research university and a member institution of the federal University of London. Research is core to King’s: it is what we do, what we care about and how we educate.

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Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center is an independent research institute based in Beirut, Lebanon, that is part of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

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The Rift Valley Institute (RVI) is an independent, non-profit organisation, founded in Sudan in 2001, whose researchers currently work across eastern and central Africa.

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Conciliation Resources is an independent international organisation working with people involved in conflict to prevent violence and build peace, and providing advice, support and practical resources.

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The Satellite Applications Catapult is an independent, innovation and technology research organisation. Our mission is ‘to innovate for a better world, empowered by satellites. We help organisations make use of, and benefit from, satellite technologies.

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