Research Projects
Peacekeeping as Worldmaking
The aim of this research is to show that contemporary stabilisation operations demonstrate the continued debate around the nature and role of the state, in particular between state-centric and human-centric understandings of sovereignty. Stabilisation actors rarely have a clearly articulated vision of state they are pursuing. At one end of the spectrum are neo-imperialist to traditional realist approaches focused on the power-based role of the state. At the opposite end of the spectrum are liberal internationalist approaches focused on state legitimacy earned through state services. The multiple actors in peace operations often pursue different conceptions of the state based on their interests and history rather than an unified UN conception of the state. The result in that multiple visions of the ‘state’ are simultaneously being pursued. Which of these visions ultimately triumphs will determine the nature of the state being built.
This Research project stems from my PhD work and includes my forthcoming book on extending state authority by peacekeepers, and articles on peacekeeping as state-building, the role of coalitions of the willing in peacekeeping, and peace operations and countering violent extremism.
Misogyny as Violent Extremism
Extreme misogyny has found a home on the ‘Manosphere’ and begun to thrive. The result has been the emergence of a violent political misogyny that follows the same pattern of dehumanization and incitement to violence as other violent extremist groups. The only difference is that the targets of this violence are determined by their gender and gender roles. Despite this, violence stemming from misogynistic ideology continues to be understood as a domestic or individual issue.
This project consists of a series of papers designed to interrogate different aspects of misogyny as a motivating factor for violent extremism. This includes articles on the political ideology of ‘Involuntary celibates’, violent political misogyny as a violent extremism, and violent political misogyny as a national security threat.
Photo Credit: Toronto Star via Getty Images
Is The Future of Peacekeeping Peaceful?
The United Nations is an embodiment of a continually evolving international order and UN peace operations are the physical manifestation of that order. Though there is no international consensus as to what peace and security mean, the prevailing understanding of these ideas is modeled by what peace operations do and how they do it. So what do current peace operations tell us about how the world understands peace and security? Has the recent global focus on terrorism changed what we think peace and security really means?