King’s College London

The Cross-Border Conflict Evidence, Policy and Trends (XCEPT) research programme 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.

Our team at King’s College London (KCL) is interested in why some individuals embrace violent means while others embrace peaceful ones in different fragile and conflict-affected settings. We are exploring which factors influence the extent to which people are ready to reconcile following conflict or, conversely, support continuing violence. We are looking at a range of different factors, including individual-level factors such as cognitive dispositions, conflict and other traumatic experiences, and mental health problems; social-level factors such as social support, social capital, and social cohesion; and other factors, such as the degree of trust in institutions and other people.

Through a framework of collective memory and memorialisation, we are also examining the factors that can help conflict-affected communities navigate violent historical episodes and find a constructive path to reconciling with the groups and institutions they see as responsible for their grievances. For example, we are looking at post-conflict intra- and inter- communal tensions and how diverse actors have been caught in a competition over the right to reframe the dominant public discourse on their country’s turbulent history. We are also conducting research on how prison contributes to individuals, groups, and movements becoming more violent, more ideologically extreme – or more peaceful.

We take a mixed-methods approach to research, using survey, experimental/interventional, and qualitative methodologies. We are employing large-scale longitudinal surveys across different fragile and conflict-affected contexts, primarily the Impact of Trauma Survey that has been developed by our team at KCL. The survey is coupled with qualitative follow-ups, such as semi-structured interviews and oral histories, to further explore themes of trauma and conflict. We will also develop and pilot an intervention to test whether it is possible to increase readiness to reconcile in conflict-affected populations.

Our approach will create a rich empirical basis from which our team can propose tangible, practical outcomes for government and other stakeholders, such as proposing psychosocial interventions that can reduce violence and promote peace. Our goal is to translate first-class and rigorous academic research for consumption by audiences beyond the academy, using empirical insights to drive impactful and meaningful outcomes.

The KCL team is interdisciplinary in its composition – comprising experts in trauma, neuroscience, psychology, memory, gender, war, and terrorism – allowing us to better examine the factors which shape violent and peaceful behaviour. We focus primarily on three conflict-affected settings: Iraq, Lebanon/Syria, and South Sudan.

The KCL XCEPT workstream is operationally led by The International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) but brings together colleagues from a variety of research centres and departments, including the Centre for the Study of Divided Societies (CSDS), the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), and the Department of War Studies.

Our team will publish their findings through peer-reviewed journal articles, working papers, policy briefs, podcasts, panel discussions, video explainers and blog posts.

Below is an animation which introduces this strand of XCEPT research.