WarEffects
Legacies of Wars and Insecurity on Community Cohesion, Gender Dynamics, and Local Politics 

Summary

How do civil wars reshape the fabric of societies, influence local governance, and alter the roles and relationships of individuals within communities? WarEffects explores these critical questions, focusing on the interconnected impacts of conflict on community cohesion, gender dynamics across households and communities, and local political landscapes.

WarEffects is funded by the European Research Council and led by Carlo Koos at the University of Bergen. The purpose of WarEffects is to investigate these transformations through novel methodologies. Using survey experiments, GIS mapping, archival research, and qualitative fieldwork in Colombia, DR Congo, and Sri Lanka, WarEffects provides fresh insights into the challenges and opportunities faced by post-conflict societies.

Our Focus

Social cohesion: Exploring how conflict reshapes social bonds, trust, and collective resilience in communities

Gendered power relations: Investigating how civil wars redefine roles and relationships within households, communities, and the political sphere

Local politics: Understanding how governance structures, representation, and participation evolve in the aftermath of conflict

Publications

2024 (with Summer Lindsey). Legacies of Wartime Sexual Violence: Survivors, Psychological Harms, and Mobilization. American Political Science Review. Online First.

2024 (with Richard Traunmüller). The Gendered Costs of Stigma: How Conflict-Related Sexual Violence Affects Civic Engagement among Women and Men. American Journal of Political Science. Online First.

2022 (with Summer Lindsey). Wartime Sexual Violence, Social Stigmatization and Humanitarian Aid: Survey Evidence from Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Journal of Conflict Resolution 66 (6): 1037-1065.