The Nature of Peace

The overarching aim of this dissertation is to explore how the environment relates to processes of both conflict and peace. The field of environmental peacebuilding provides interesting theoretical propositions on the environment serving as a catalyst for peace, however, there is still little understanding in how this process unfolds. I aim to contribute to this discussion in four ways: first, I aim to contribute theoretically by unpacking the relationship between the environment and peace, and by more thoroughly exploring the processes that connect them. Second, I contribute conceptually to this discussion, by reconceptualising the way that the environment is understood in the field of peace and conflict studies and of environmental peacebuilding. This, I argue, is crucial for understanding the foundations and the implications of existing theories that connect the environment to both conflict and peace. I propose an alternative view that completely challenges the way that this relationship has been theorised so far. Third, I contribute methodologically by refining methodological choices and designs of previous studies, in order to better capture the relationship under analysis. I also contribute by applying a broad set of methodological approaches across the different papers in this dissertation. Fourth, I contribute empirically by collecting new data and empirical material on the different topics covered in this dissertation.

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Paper 1: Negotiating natural resources conflicts: provisions in peace agreements and the duration of post-conflict peace (under review)

Paper 2: From peace agreements to sustainable peace? The process of conflict transformation through land reform

Paper 3: Building peace through resource extraction: an analysis of post-conflict economic growth, natural resource management, and challenges for sustainable peace (co-authored with Jakob Molinder)

Paper 4: How sustainable is sustainable peace? Rethinking the relationship between development, the environment, and peace in the Global South

Paper 5: Room to grow and the right to say no: building peace through the liberation of the Global South (forthcoming in the Journal Geopolitics)