About XCEPT

XCEPT seeks to better understand conflict-affected borderlands, how conflicts connect across borders, and the factors that shape violent and peaceful behaviour, to inform effective policy and programme responses.

Conflicts in the Middle East, Africa and Asia intersect through flows of people, weapons and resources, creating intricate cross-border conflict systems. These knit the formal and informal, licit and illicit in ways that empower armed actors, enmesh conflict with crime and violent extremism, and ensnare local communities. They make protracted conflicts even more difficult to resolve. International conflict response needs to innovate to meet the challenges of cross-border conflict. This includes transcending state-centric approaches to tackle the transnational networks that drive and sustain conflict and support communities coping with protracted crisis.

XCEPT melds mixed-methods research and field data collection with satellite data and open-source investigations  to deepen insight on hard-to-access areas. The programme includes the XCEPT Research Fund to enable responsive research on emerging conflicts and to build evidence on what works to stabilise, resolve and prevent conflict.