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Illiberal Peacebuilding and Authoritarian Regime Survival: Evidence from Postwar Syria

Project description

How regimes rebuild after war

Many countries around the world are adopting authoritarian models of conflict resolution, marked by violence, coercion, and rigid hierarchies. Increasingly, regimes are adopting illiberal peacebuilding strategies to maintain post-war control – an emerging yet under-researched phenomenon. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the ILIBRLSYRIA project sheds light on how Syria’s regime governs recaptured territories through tactics such as remobilising former rebels, diverting international aid, and encouraging refugee return. Through fieldwork and interdisciplinary research, the project examines the impact of these practices on communities and post-war stability. ILIBRLSYRIA advances academic knowledge and offers critical insights for policymakers confronting the global spread of illiberal peacebuilding.

Objective

The past two decades have seen a decline in the liberal world order; states increasingly move away from peaceful negotiation, justice, and human rights. Instead, they rely on an emerging model of authoritarian conflict management, which depends on excessive violence, coercive negotiations, and hierarchical structures of power to suppress internal conflicts. However, recognising that state coercion is crucial, yet not sufficient, to construct and sustain a long-term order, scholars have recently begun to examine the illiberal peacebuilding practices employed by authoritarian regimes to construct and consolidate postwar order. This is an emerging area of inquiry in which many authoritarian practices and their impacts on local communities remain understudied in the academic literature. Focusing on Syria, ILIBRLSYRIA combines cutting-edge empirical strategy with interdisciplinary approaches to investigate the processes and impacts of novel illiberal peacebuilding practices deployed by the regime to control space and society in areas recaptured from defeated rebel forces. ILIBRLSYRIA is structured around three in-depth and interrelated studies, each focusing on one illiberal practice identified through extensive field observation. These include the remobilisation of former rebels, the diversion of international aid, and the stimulation of refugee migration. The theoretical and empirical findings will provide original insights into the realities and complexities of authoritarian postwar governance in contexts often viewed through the simplistic lens of military victory by incumbent regimes. ILIBRLSYRIA is highly relevant for policy circles. It will offer evidence-based knowledge and contribute to ongoing debates focused on developing strategies to counteract and mitigate the impacts of illiberal peacebuilding, particularly at a time when such practices are on the rise worldwide.

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Topic(s)

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HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01

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Coordinator

CEU GMBH
Net EU contribution

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€ 230 184,72
Address
QUELLENSTRASSE 51
1100 WIEN
Austria

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Region
Ostösterreich Wien Wien
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

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