Conflict, humanitarian action and peacebuilding

About us

The research group on conflict, humanitarian action and peacebuilding is at the interface between humanitarian action, peace and development. This includes:

the links between conflict sensitivity and conflict transformation
the introduction of transformative resilience within humanitarian programming
the mainstreaming of cross-cutting issues (such as culture, gender, displacement, environment) into the nexus, particularly in protracted conflicts and post-conflict settings.

Following the Agenda for Humanity and particularly the fourth pillar on ‘working differently to end needs’, the group investigates the localisation of aid and the ‘local turn’ in peacebuilding, in order to rethink the role of local actors (NGOs, communities, youth and women groups, authorities) in crisis-response.

With an action oriented approach, the group works closely with local organisations and academics in different conflict contexts.

Wall of the Victim Memorial in Trujillo, Colombia

Part of

Related courses

Humanitarian Action and Peacebuilding (MA / PGCert)
Development and Emergency Practice (MA / PGDip / PGCert)

Research impact

Engaging with Syrian refugees in Lebanon

The group works on broadening localisation of knowledge and capacity building with local and national organisations, community and youth groups, using research as an empowerment strategy.

Together with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), the group created an online Masters Degree in Humanitarian Action and Peacebuilding exploring the challenges and common grounds between humanitarian action and peacebuilding. This online Masters is work and practice based and fosters mutual learning within a community of practice on the web, merging the wealth of experiences and knowledge of learners, practitioners and academics globally.

Leadership

Dr Brigitte Piquard

bpiquard@brookes.ac.uk

Reader in Humanitarianism and Conflict

View profile

Membership

Staff

Name	Role	Email
Professor Cathrine Brun	Director of CENDEP	cbrun@brookes.ac.uk
Dr Elisa Ferrato	Associate Lecturer	eferrato@brookes.ac.uk
Dr Simon Fisher	Associate Lecturer	sfisher@brookes.ac.uk
Dr Zoe Jordan	Senior Lecturer	zjordan@brookes.ac.uk
Mr Paul Knox Clarke	Associate Lecturer	pknox-clarke@brookes.ac.uk
Sarah Pickwick	Associate Lecturer	spickwick@brookes.ac.uk

Students

Name	Thesis Title	Supervisors	Completed
Sherin Al shaikhahmed	Leadership of youth with disabilities in the context of Humanitarian-Development Nexus	Professor Cathrine Brun, Dr Supriya Akerkar	Active
Fatima Hashmi	Understanding forms and processes of stigmatisation and populations’ responses: A multi-site case study of ethnic minority groups in Pakistan and Colombia.	Dr Brigitte Piquard, Professor Cathrine Brun	Active
Grace Khawams	Assessing job readiness among Lebanese and Palestinian refugee youth with intellectual disabilities in Lebanon: An Action Research Framework	Professor Cathrine Brun, Dr Supriya Akerkar	Active
Kate McAuliff	Deaf Refugees in Jordan and Lebanon: a conceptual framework of agency and double displacement	Professor Cathrine Brun, Dr Supriya Akerkar	Active
Aleyda Valdes	Displacement due to gang violence in Latin America	Dr Brigitte Piquard, Professor Cathrine Brun	Active

Projects

Active projects

Active projects

Project title and description	Investigator(s)	Funder(s)	Dates
Upskilling for future generations (GEN-UP) A collaborative youth-led project investigating the links between vocational training, gender and decent work in Cameroon and Sierra Leone. It runs in partnership with the Don Bosco network, UCAC University in Cameroon and Njala University in Sierra Leone.	Dr Brigitte Piquard, Dr Ross Wignall	British Academy	From: March 2020 Until: February 2022
Education to Employment “From Education to Employment. Young people’s trajectories in the context of protracted displacement in Jordan and Lebanon”, a research programme in close collaboration with the Centre for Lebanese Studies, funded by the UK Research Council (ESRC/Global Challenges Research Fund) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).	Professor Cathrine Brun, Dr Maha Shuayb	ESRC, GCRF, CLS	From: December 2018 Until: October 2021
Building Sumud An action-research initiative focusing on the occupation of space and on acts of resilience adopted by Old City Hebronites in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT).	Dr Brigitte Piquard		From: September 2011
Observatory of Symbolic Violence Created to support organisations working mainly with displaced and marginalised populations in the West Bank and in the coffee production regions of the Valle del Cauca and Afro-descendants of the Pacific and Caribbean coastal areas of Colombia. Through a participatory process of action research and learning, the project aims to interact with the impacts of stigma and the peoples’ modes of resilience. It runs in partnership with CERAR France.	Dr Brigitte Piquard		From: September 2014

Latest Book Release

Working with Conflict 2, Skills and Strategies for Action

This book focuses on:

understanding and transforming conflict
building practical strategies for constructive change
analysing power
addressing violence
healing wounds
building movements for change.

It is relevant to all who are working in and on intractable situations, from grassroots to policy level, including the fields of peacebuilding, development, climate change, human rights, gender equality and trauma healing.