Student Research Projects
Postgraduate research in peace and conflict is thriving, with students engaged in internationally significant and cutting-edge research.
Lorinne Du Toit (Ph.D candidate) is studying policy-action relationships in international development cooperation with focus on implementation of the good governance agenda. Australia, Sweden and Mozambique are the empirical study sites. The aim is to elucidate political and ethical implications for policy coherence and development partnerships. The title of her thesis is 'The good governance agenda: A case of policy paradox in development?'.
Ervin Enver (Ph.D candidate) is researching his thesis on "Kingdom Vs. Republic; an analytical look at an approaching Complex Political Emergency in Nepal, and the possibilities of a strategic subversion". He asks the question of how a developed Azarian conflict analysis model, combined with qualitatively new techniques/lexica, can be used to contribute to the current analysis of the conflict and to the design of appropriate track interventions and non-violent conflict resolution/transformation strategies in Nepal.
Barb King (Ph.D. candidate) is doing research on how women are included in peacebuilding and the recovery of conflict. She is particularly interested in the cases Bougainville and East Timor. The working title of her thesis is 'Women in Peacebuilding and Post-Conflict Transformation'.
Stephanie Lerche (PhD candidate) is conducting a comparative study into the influence of religious leaders during the struggle for Independence versus their current role within politics in the Republic of Vanuatu. The focus will be on women's issues as they are matters of continuing contestation within the country. The working title of her thesis is 'Religion, Gender and Power in Vanuatu'.
Jennifer Laakso (Ph.D) has recently graduated. Her thesis titled "Justice, Order and Peacebuilding in Timor-Leste" looks at what the successes and challenges of Timor-Leste's transitional justice process reveal about the role of imported and indigenous mechanisms and processes in fostering sustainable peace. A qualitative research approach is utilised in this analysis, involving interviews with grassroots actors, UN officials and people working with national or international nongovernmental organisations in Timor-Leste, in addition to secondary sources, in order to produce a new theory of transitional justice.
Jason MacLeod (PhD candidate) is researching his thesis on "Self-determination for West Papua: An analysis of nonviolent strategies and tactics". His project uses a multi-method approach to explore the viability of nonviolent strategies and tactics to enlarge the prospects for self-determination in West Papua.
Stephen Hooper (PhD candidate) is researching "Building trust across religious and cultural divides - removing the stones from the fields of inter-faith and cross-cultural relations".
