Micael Runnström

The nexus between the environment, natural resources and (armed) violence has been researched since the end of the nineties, however major theoretical and empirical gaps still exists in research on the precise role of nature or the natural environment during post-conflict and/or peacebuilding, particularly in relation to those countries that have undergone internal armed conflict.This paper presents a state of the art in research conducted at the intersection of nature, peace and post-conflict. It is based on a systematic research review of more than a hundred articles published in English on conceptual and theoretical questions and case studies from all over the world.The aim here is to contribute to enhance the knowledge we have about the relevance of nature or natural environment in peace and post-conflict studies. We seek to do so by trying to answer the following questions:a. What are the main theoretical and empirical gaps in current research in the intersection of peace, post-conflict and nature?b. Is it necessary to develop alternative notions of nature and / or peace in order to expand the academic research field and the political possibilities of peace?
The study presented here is the result of the interdisciplinary research project “The Nature of Peace: exploring links between the natural environment and peace in post-conflict societies”, supported by the Pufendorf Institute for Advanced Studies at Lund University, Sweden, between September 2017 and April 2018.