The view from the bottom

Abstract

Networks of international nongovernmental organizations with missions concerning conflict resolution (CROs) conduct a number of innovative international programs designed to promote peace. Is this network of CROs effective? In this article, we argue that the CRO network can transmit information and promote norms of peace that help in reducing international conflict. Our theoretical argument builds on earlier work concerning international governmental organizations (IGOs) and peace and we examine whether and how the connections among states through CRO ties can lead to reductions in international conflict. We test the key empirical implication of our argument – concerning how the CRO network can foster peace – using new social network measures that focus on the actual network of citizens and elites connected internationally by CROs, rather than focusing on the size or presence of civil society within a state. We find considerable support for our central hypothesis that the network of international CROs is associated with peace. When a state is more embedded within the CRO network, international bellicosity from that state is diminished. This result holds at both the monadic and dyadic (non-directed and directed) levels of analysis. At the dyadic level, the CRO network works even when we account for the IGO network with a similar conflict resolution focus. At the dyadic level, we find that the greater the number of possible CRO informational channels between the states in the dyad, the less bellicosity within the dyad.

Conflict resolution in activist networks: Reflections on prework, power, and engaging with change in Appalachia

“…To date, there are still too few resources available that illuminate how CR practitioners engage with activists in local and regional networks, especially in Appalachia. Similarly, while there has been growing research on CR and networks more broadly (Dorff, Gallop, & Minhas, 2020;Nakamura, Tita, & Krackhardt, 2020;Nan, 2008;Wilson, Davis, & Murdie, 2016), this research rarely looks at conflict interventions with nonviolent activists. Yet, activist networks present an important and complex area for future engagement as they play a critical role in influencing both mass mobilizations as well as sustained long-term work that influences structural change.…”

Architectures of Earth System Governance

“…However, some of these datasets are not open access, and more importantly, relational data are not always collected or complete. ECOLEX, for example, has information on references to others that are law-related, and the Yearbook of International Organizations offers self-reported longitudinal data on inter-organizational relationships, but these data can be expensive for individual researchers (Murdie 2013;Wilson, Davis and Murdie 2016).…”