Elite peace talks are precarious moments for civilians on the front lines of civil wars. In South Sudan, I observed first-hand how the process of peace negotiations made some people feel less safe and others more secure. These observations have driven my decade-long commitment to understanding what mediators can do to protect civilians during elite talks. This interest has seeds in my work with Conflict Dynamics International, a think tank specialized in mediation support and humanitarian negotiations, where I led the research unit. The civilian protection agenda then became the center of my dissertation research, with support from the USIP, Yale’s Macmillan Center for International and Area Studies, and the Lindsay Foundation for Research in Africa. I am grateful to the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, for hosting me as a Visiting Scholar from September 2023 - April 2024 while I developed my book manuscript Making Peace Safe for Civilians - a monograph with practical advice for policy makers supporting peace processes.

I am the methodological lead for 'Perceptions of Peace in South Sudan', a public opinion polling initiative which has recorded the views of more than 13,000 South Sudanese since 2021. Along with my colleagues, David Deng, Jan Pospisil and Christopher Oringa, we have asked people in cities, rural areas and displacement camps about their experiences of safety, based on indicators of ‘everyday peace’ developed through focus groups. We also record people’s evolving views about a range of political issues, such as upcoming elections, whom they trust to keep them safe, and the consequences of communal violence on daily life. The team frequently briefs US government agencies, international humanitarian organizations and other policy makers, so that our data can inform decisions about international assistance to South Sudan. You can explore the data through this dashboard, analysis and comment piece. ‘Perceptions of Peace in South Sudan’ is an initiative of Detcro Research & Consulting, the Austrian Study Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution, and PeaceRep: The Peace and Conflict Resolution Evidence Platform. It has received funding from the USIP and UK FCDO.  

I am an Associate Fellow with the Cross-Border Conflict Evidence, Policy and Trends Program (XCEPT) at King’s College London, funded by the UK FCDO. I am working with a team of neuroscientists and social scientists to understand the link between post-traumatic stress disorder and how people engage in or resist a range of violent behaviors. The program produces data and analysis to support evidence-based design of interventions to enhance civilian wellbeing in violent conflicts.