An expert in civil conflict and peace processes will give a free public lecture at the School of Politics and International Relations’ Conflict Analysis Research Centre (CARC) on 8 February (3-4pm).
Dr Govinda Clayton, a mediation support manager at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD) where he leads a team providing technical guidance to peace processes around the world, will give CARC’s flagship annual John Burton Lecture. Dr Clayton currently supports peace processes in contexts including, Yemen, Ethiopia and Myanmar.
Dr Clayton will discuss the process of stopping violence in civil conflict, specifically the role that ceasefires play in peace processes. Drawing on a new dataset on ceasefires, and case examples including Colombia, to the Philippines and Northern Ireland, Dr Clayton will offer a unique insight into how peace processes work and why finding agreements is becoming increasingly difficult.
A Q&A and discussion around ongoing conflicts and peace processes will follow the talk, which will be held in Kent’s Templeman Library Lecture Theatre.
Dr Clayton is also a Kent alumni. As a researcher, he has previously published widely on topics including mediation process design, ceasefires and security arrangements, negotiation, and conflict dynamics. He is the leader of the Ceasefire Project a collaboration with researchers and practitioners seeking to improve mediation practice relating to the integration of security arrangements within mediation processes.
The 2024 John Burton Lecture titled ‘Ceasefire Politics: Stopping Violence and Negotiating Peace’ will take place on 8 February (3-4pm) in the Templeman Library Lecture Theatre.
The John Burton Lecture Series is the flagship event of the Conflict Analysis Research Centre (CARC) at the University of Kent. The annual lecture commemorates the late John Burton, a former member of CARC who played a pivotal role in the development of peace and conflict studies in the UK.
The lecture series aims to engage a wide audience with a major theme in conflict analysis through inviting leading global figures in the field of conflict analysis including academics, practitioners, and journalists to speak about their work.
Conflict Analysis Research Centre (CARC)
The Conflict Analysis Research Centre (CARC) is a transdisciplinary centre based in the School of Politics and International Relations, focusing on the study of political conflict, developing original theory and analysis of conflicts.
Currently, CARC projects range from work in the humanities on forced migration and post-colonialism to collaborative work with mathematics and statistics for instance on estimating the sizes of diasporic groups in post-conflict societies. CARC has also a long history and presence in applying conflict research to real-world situations as well as setting new standards in professional mediation for instance currently serving the Mediation and Negotiation Program of the Organization of American States (OAS). CARC’s policy engagements are underpinned by research in the areas of constitutional design, the nature and evolution of mediation, critical approaches to the study of terrorism and political violence, as well as gender and human rights. Recent and past engagements of CARC in advising peace mediations include Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Bosnia, Sudan, Colombia and North Macedonia. Following the Russian invansion of Ukraine, CARC academics have published analyses and peace proposals e.g. in International Affairs, the Toda Institute and the Conversation.