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Conflict Dynamics

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 in the network of activities that sustain conflict. XCEPT research on conflict dynamics sheds light on these conflict systems, the transnational networks that sustain them, and how affected communities cope with protracted crisis.

Below you can find and download XCEPT research that helps shed light on these complex conflict dynamics.

Briefing paper

29th September 2026
In Pakistan’s western borderlands, growing interest in mineral extraction is reshaping debates over land, governance and development.

Briefing paper

25th September 2026
Iraq’s disputed territories remain caught between competing authorities, patronage networks and unresolved claims to power – dynamics that continue to...

Briefing paper

24th September 2026
What appears as stability on the Sudan–South Sudan border may in fact be a fragile order sustained by coercion, extraction and elite control.

Event

1st October 2026
Join us on 1 October for a webinar exploring how communities across South Sudan’s borderlands navigate conflict, shape or are shaped by authority and ...

Briefing paper

7th September 2026
Checkpoints are more than barriers to movement in South Sudan. They have become central to how markets function, how resources circulate and how power...

Event

21st October 2026
The final XCEPT conference will bring together researchers, policymakers and practitioners to examine nine years of cross-border conflict research and...

SPOTLIGHT

XCEPT Workshop: Local, People-Focused Policymaking

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

14th June 2026
How can we better understand the shifting geographies of conflict when we move beyond static text and start to see violence spatially?  

Event

17th June 2026
What happens when thousands leave armed groups and try to rebuild their lives? A half‑day workshop on new evidence on conflict exits and reintegration...

Event

18th June 2026
A briefing on how checkpoint economies shape conflict dynamics, governance, humanitarian access, and livelihoods across fragile and conflict-affected ...

Article

13th May 2026
Are grievances with the Lebanese state, rather than sectarian loyalty, driving popular support for the group retaining its guns?  

book

7th April 2026
What role have civilian self-defence groups played in northeastern Nigeria during the Boko Haram insurgency – and why has it been so often overlooked?...

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