Bård Drange

• Binningsbø, Helga Malmin; Drange, Bård & Loyle, Cyanne (2023). Justice Now and Later: How Measures Taken to Address Wrongdoings during Armed Conflict Affect Postconflict Justice . International Journal of Transitional Justice. ISSN 1752-7716. doi: 10.1093/ijtj/ijad015.
• Drange, Bård (2022). A Tug of War: Pursuing Justice Amid Armed Conflict. Nordic Journal of Human Rights. ISSN 1891-8131. doi: 10.1080/18918131.2022.2097787.
• Bøås, Morten; Drange, Bård; Ala’Aldeen, Dlawer; Cisse, Abdoul Wahab & Suroush, Qayoom (2021). The paradoxes of EU crisis response in Afghanistan, Iraq and Mali. In Mac Ginty, Roger; Pogodda, Sandra & Richmond, Oliver P. (Ed.), The EU and crisis response. Manchester University Press. ISSN 9781526148353. p. 139–165. doi: 10.7765/9781526148346.00013. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This is a start-of-the-art consideration of the European Union’s crisis response mechanisms. It brings together scholars from a range of disciplinary backgrounds to examine how and why the EU responds to crises on its borders and further afield. The work is based on extensive fieldwork in among another places, Afghanistan, Libya, Mali and Iraq. The book considers the construction of crises and how some issues are deemed crises and others not. A major finding from this comparative study is that EU crisis response interventions have been placing increasing emphasis on security and stabilisation and less emphasis on human rights and democratisation. This changes – quite fundamentally – the EU’s stance as an international actor and leads to questions about the nature of the EU and how it perceives itself and is perceived by others. The volume is able to bring together scholars from EU Studies and Peace and Conflict Studies. The result showcases concept and theory-building alongside case study research.

• Drange, Bård (2018). The potential and limits of peace agreements: Colombia and Mali. Conflict Trends. ISSN 1561-9818. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Political solutions to armed conflicts are often professed by a plethora of local, regional and international actors. For various reasons, however, peace agreements often remain words on paper, not actions in the field. When can peace agreements make a difference, and help bring a country suffering from war towards a more stable and peaceful existence? This article examines the 2015 peace agreement in Mali and the case of the 2016 peace agreement in Colombia. The 2015 agreement in Mali – despite hopes to end armed violence and provide a framework for peace – has had little impact on the ground and serves to illustrate some of the limitations of peace agreements. Despite significant obstacles and setbacks, the case of Colombia, on the other hand, illustrates some of the potential of peace agreements. These cases, and potential lessons learnt from Colombia to Mali, are discussed in the context of what, with whom and when to negotiate.

• Drange, Bård (2018). Why negotiate peace? An analysis of peace negotiation onset in the armed conflict in Colombia. Internasjonal Politikk. ISSN 0020-577X. 76(3), p. 193–216. doi: 10.23865/intpol.v76.1196. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The conflict in Colombia has seemed insolvable for decades. Despite several peace attempts, it has always flared up again. In this article, I explain the onset of peace negotiations in 2012 between the Government of Colombia and the FARC, the largest guerrilla group in the country. I claim the fundamental explanation for why they initiated negotiations was the military weakening of the FARC in the 2000s, which led the guerrilla group to appreciate the necessity of ending the conflict through negotiation in order to reach at least some of their goals. The second most important factor was the change in leadership in Colombia, where in 2010 the newly-elected president, Juan Manuel Santos, considered a political solution possible and more attractive than his predecessor did, and took pragmatic measures to create a sustainable process. In addition, third parties contributed to safe and secret proceedings and to trust in the peace process. Negotiations begun in 2012 are – through a structured, focused comparison – compared with the peace dialogue in Caguán (1999-2002) between the same actors, where negotiation did not start. Case studies like this one can help us understand dynamics behind the choices of armed actors to pursue political solutions to armed conflicts. The onset of negotiation, which I analyze, must not be equated with a peace agreement or the end of the conflict. It can, however, provide important answers about where armed actors’ motivation to end conflicts come from, and under what conditions this motivation can bring the parties to the negotiating table.

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• Bøås, Morten & Drange, Bård (2019). Mali: Vestens nye Afghanistan? Dagsavisen. ISSN 1503-2892. Show summary

  Drap på sivile og angrep på FNs fredsbevarande styrker prega Mali i januar.

• Bøås, Morten; Cisse, Abdoul Wahab; Drange, Bård; Kvamme, Frida & Stambøl, Eva Magdalena (2018). Working paper on implementation of EU crisis response in Mali . Freie Universitat Berlin. Full text in Research Archive
• Drange, Bård & Opdahl, Maja Lie (2018). Colombia between peace and war : The 2018 presidential elections and the way forward. NUPI. 2018(8). Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The presidential elections of 2018 are expected to have significant implications for the matter of peace, justice and conflict resolution in Colombia. Since conflict intensity rose considerably in the 1980s, presidential elections have been greatly influenced by the candidates’ approaches to the conflict and how to deal with illegal armed groups, particularly the FARC. What visions of peace do the 2018 presidential candidates have, and what could the implications be for the current peace agreement with the FARC? The candidates, rightwing and frontrunner Iván Duque and left-wing candidate Gustavo Petro, promote dissimilar visions of peace for Colombia. These reflect a deeper political polarization within the country, a key issue the next president will have to deal with.

• De Coning, Cedric & Drange, Bård (2017). Researching the Effectiveness of Peace Operations, Seminar Report, 31 May – 1 June, Oslo. Norsk Utenrikspolitisk Institutt. ISSN 1894-650X. 2017(5). Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The African Union (AU), European Union (EU), and United Nations (UN) are under increasing pressure to justify the effectiveness of the peace operations they deploy. Justifying this effectiveness requires precise assessments based on systematized and evidence-based data. Per now, however, this data is lacking, a gap the global research community could help address. On 31 May and 1 June 2017, the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) hosted a seminar that brought together thirty participants from the AU, UN, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as research institutes and think tanks from across the globe. The aim of the seminar was to share insights on how best to research the effectiveness of peace operations and to explore the establishment of a network that could seek to address this gap. The seminar discussed how to research and measure the effectiveness of peace operations. It looked at current definitions and conceptualizations of effectiveness, and it discussed the varying perceptions stakeholders have of the effectiveness of peace operations. The group also explored the options for establishing a network dedicated to research on the effectiveness of peace operations. The seminar agreed on the value of establishing such a network, with an aim to produce knowledge that is both academically valuable and relevant for policymakers. Hence, it considered different organizational modalities for a potential research network, with regards to governing principles, funding, and how researchers could undertake joint research projects. This report summarizes the key conclusions and recommendations from the seminar, and lists what the next steps may be for the establishment of a research network on the effectiveness of peace operations.

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