Past Events

When & Where 13 February (17.30-19.00) at the Hague Humanity Hub (Fluwelen Burgwal 58, 2511 CJ Den Haag). Please register here.   Background Join us on 13 February for the next edition in the Fireside Peace Chats series with fellows from the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP). This edition is titled “Intersectional Insights: NGOs Advancing Youth, Feminist, and Human Rights-Based Perspectives.” The fellows will share experiences from local peacebuilding efforts addressing crucial issues such as gender equality, youth empowerment and support for marginalised communities within decision-making on peace and security.  This edition will uniquely feature a group of four speakers:   Speakers Shushanna Hasasyan, Psychologist, Project and Training Coordinator and Counselor, Pink Armenia As a project and training coordinator and counselor at Pink, Shushanna’s mission is clear: to offer psychotherapy and counseling services, with a special emphasis on creating a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community. In this capacity, she conducts training sessions addressing critical issues such as sexuality, abuse, cyberbullying, well-being, and burnout. Coordinating programs and activities tailored to ensure inclusivity for LGBTQ+ individuals has become a significant aspect of her work.  Maryam Majidova, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Gender Hub Azerbaijan Maryam Majidova is an international youth policy and gender expert with extensive experience of work with international and European Institutions. She is co-founder and executive director of Gender Hub Azerbaijan - Youth NGO, focusing on promoting gender equality in Azerbaijan. Specialized in non-governmental organisation management, youth work, domestic violence, gender equality, human rights education, project management and policy advocacy, Maryam is passionate about right-based approach in learning, feminism and public policy making. Vladimer Mkervalishvili, Executive Director, Human Rights NGO “Rights Georgia” Since 2019, Mr. Mkervalishvili has been an Executive Director of the Human Rights NGO “Rights Georgia”.  Vladimer has more than 15 years of experience at international organizations as an expert, executive director, and project director/coordinator in the field of human rights, with a special focus on access to justice, judicial reform, freedom of expression and media, gender equality and violence against women.  Ana Negru, Program Manager, Platform for Security and Defence Initiatives With nearly a decade experience working in non-governmental organisations to promote security and defence issues, Ana’s expertise and work was mainly focused on the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, disinformation, and its impact on national security. Her journey encompasses over 25 projects, engaging diverse stakeholders from public institutions, local public administrations, academia, and youth. These initiatives were implemented to create platforms for discussion and work on the most pressing issues tangential to security and defence, emphasizing both the pivotal role of civil society and cooperation between state institutions, civil society, academia, media and citizens About the series Fireside Peace Chats series are informal, intimate chats with peacebuilders who have either lived in for an extended period of time or are from conflict-affected environments. Fireside Peace Chats are a joint initiative of Leiden University College The Hague (LUC), Knowledge Platform for Security and Rule of the Law (KPSRL), and The Hague Humanity Hub (THHH), with an aim to open a space where practice, research and policy in peacebuilding come together in an informal way, through experience of people on the ground. This initiative aims to contribute to a locally informed paradigm shift in liberal peacebuilding.

Are you passionate about advancing programmatic learning? Join us at KPSRL and Propel in our innovative research project "Tools for Programmatic Learning" on 5 February from 15:30-17:00 (CET). Objective of the research: The Programmatic Learning Instrument (PLI) is a funding instrument of the Knowledge Platform Security & Rule of Law (KPSRL) to support programmatic learning across security and rule of law programming. As part of the PLI, the KPSRL is currently running pilots and commissioning a study to enhance their understanding of how approaches to programmatic learning can and should be structured to effectively contribute to quality and impact of programmes. Our joint research endeavour seeks to deepen the understanding of using tools - such as Propel - within the realm of the Security and Rule of Law (SRoL) sector and their role for programmatic learning. Project Focus: With this research collaboration, we aim to uncover the role of tools in programmatic and organisational learning. We aim to address key questions, such as: "What role do tools play in the SRoL sector's programmatic and organisational learning?" and "How can the integration of digital tools, including Propel, within the PLI framework be optimised for enhanced learning, collaboration, and impactful outcomes?" Why participate? By participating in this project, you will have the chance to:  1)     Exchange Insights: Collaborate with peers on the topic of programmatic learning and innovative approach to learning, specifically in the SRoL sector to exchange ideas and insights. 2)     Deepen Understanding: Gain a profound understanding of both organisational and programmatic learning. During this first session, you can contribute your own learning questions that you have wanted to uncover for us to investigate throughout this project. 3)     Explore Tools: Discover how complementary tools like Propel and approaches used in the Programmatic Learning Instrument can support learning processes. We will invite you to follow along with our progress and explore the findings with us. How to join? We invite you to join the kick-off of this research project. We invite partners and organisations in the network of KPSRL to join us in validating our learning questions as well as contribute their feedback and insights. On 5 February, 2024, we will hold a 90 minutes online collaborative exploration session and invite you to join us. Please click here to download the concept note.

In the follow-up of the Knowledge Platform Annual Conference in Nairobi (KPAC23), KPSRL is organising an event in The Hague on 7 December (12.00 – 17.30) in ‘Het Nutshuis’. Just like in Nairobi, the theme will be ‘Margins | Centers’. The day’s goals are: Uptake of recommendations and conclusions from KPAC23 in Nairobi, by translating these to the policy and INGO realities in The Hague. Identifying possible points of divergence between discussions in Nairobi and The Hague and what needs to happen to bring these closer to each other. This should be fed back to Nairobi participants too. Making voices heard in The Hague from those that normally can’t access KPAC – so the Nairobi region. Connect partners in The Hague. Providing accountability towards the Nairobi event. This to ensure it wasn’t an extractive exercise, but actually leads towards uptake. The audience will consist of appx. 70 SRoL professionals, varying from researchers to practitioners and policy makers. A few partners from FCAS that contributed to the Nairobi event will be represented. The full agenda can be found below, but a taste of the topics that will be discussed: inclusive SRoL support in backsliding democratic times, discussing the findings of the Unboxing Localisation trajectory, improving people-centered approaches to security provision and working in contexts of authoritarianism. This year, we learned that bringing artwork to our events has been deeply appreciated by the KPSRL network. Integrating art into our work helps to bring human emotions and creative expression back into the policies and programmes that we're working on in the SRoL and peacebuilding sectors. Therefore, we very excited to spotlight three artists at our event, whose work will be exhibited at the venue.  ✨ Minal Naomi ✨ Yves Kulondwa ✨Nastassja Nefjodov Nastassja Nefjodov is a visual German-Russian artist based in Amsterdam. Her work delves into the traumatic effects of war within her family, revealing the intricate connections between the past and her own life. Through sharing these narratives, she aims to break the stigma surrounding discussions about the lasting impact of war on families and personal relationships. Minal & Yves are part of the Artists’ Safe Haven residency (Justice & Peace Netherlands): The Artists’ Safe Haven residency is intended for worldwide artists or art practitioners who, as part of their artwork, address or promote human rights in non-violent ways, and are threatened or otherwise under pressure due to their work or activism. The residency offers a three month stay in The Hague. A safe and inspiring space where artists can rest, restrategise, build capacities and networks and find new platforms for their work and message. You can register below. Please mind that there is a maximum of two participants per organisation. Please click here for the final agenda and here for the concept note.

This is a closed event for invited participants only. If you want to stay informed about the progress and outcomes of this project, please email info@kpsrl.org.    Background The role of victims and of victim-witnesses in national and international accountability mechanisms for atrocity crimes has progressively gained ground over the past two decades. This development increased the need for a better understanding of the potential psychological impact of the work of these mechanisms on survivors/victims and witnesses. It also triggered a heightened interest in how mental health and psychosocial (MHPSS)  approaches can improve witness evidence and victim well-being and, ultimately, improve justice outcomes. However, notwithstanding the increased focus on victim-centred justice, the use of MHPSS approaches and trauma-informed methodologies is still underdeveloped and only scarcely integrated in the work of most justice mechanisms. In addition, good practices that have been developed are often scattered and not readily available mental health and justice practitioners, especially to those working in national justice mechanisms or conflict-affected settings. Generally, there is a limited exchange of know-how between mechanisms at international and at national levels. True multidisciplinary approaches are largely lacking. However, experience with implementing good practices, mainly at the International Criminal Court (ICC), and other mechanisms, as well as emerging research clearly show that the integration of a mental health focus and the promotion of multidisciplinary approaches directly contribute to enhanced quality and impact of evidence gathering. Integrating knowledge about trauma and its impact into the engagement with victims, including during formal procedures, has been shown to be beneficial to victims and to the justice process itself. The project, supported by the Knowledge Management Fund and the Knowledge Platform Security & Rule of Law,  aims to fill this gap by making good practices and know-how widely available to practitioners in the justice field through guidelines and by strengthening a community of practice. The objective is that this project becomes a catalyst for further integration of mental health and psychosocial approaches in accountability mechanisms to make them truly victim and witness-centered. This expert meeting intends to bring together legal practitioners, psychosocial experts and organizations working on accountability for atrocity crimes and/or transitional justice who were consulted for this project. The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss, in an informal manner, what would be needed to fully integrate good practices in the work of the different mechanisms and organizations and what a community of practice supporting a multidisciplinary approach could look like.   An Michels is the lead researcher for this project. She is a clinical psychologist and team leader of the Psychosocial Support Team of the Victims and Witnesses Section in the International Criminal Court. She is specialised in the development of psychosocial support strategies for war-affected populations and supported, with her teams, hundreds of victims and witnesses at the Special Court for Sierra Leone and at the ICC.  Eveline de Bruijn is a contributor to this project. She has over sixteen years of experience on justice issues, having worked in various conflict-affected settings as well as Headquarters with the UN, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Oxfam. She is currently active as an advisor for various organisations working on justice and mental health. She is in the process of becoming a licensed psychologist. A closed expert meeting will be held to discuss further what would be needed to fully integrate MHPSS good practices in the work of the different mechanisms and organizations and how a community of practice supporting a multidisciplinary approach could look like. The meeting will be opened and moderated by Pablo de Greiff, former UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence. He is currently a Commissioner on the UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, Senior Fellow and Director of the Transitional Justice Program, Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at the NYU School of Law and a world-leading expert on transitional justice. If you are interested and want to be kept informed about the progress and outcome of this project, please email info@kpsrl.org to let us know.

Innovative Funding for Local Peacebuilding Action: Walking the Talk For this 6th Unboxing Localisation session, we dive deeper into the financial side of localization. Co-hosted by GPPAC, we’ll explore innovative financing tools and approaches (beyond just grantmaking) that foster local leadership and local ownership of peacebuilding initiatives. Background As part of the ongoing efforts to advance the ‘localisation’ agenda that recognises the importance of meaningful engagement of local stakeholders to achieve sustainable and impactful peace, international donors, including the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, are making efforts to promote fair, equitable, inclusive and non-extractive partnerships in the current aid system. Since 2021, GPPAC has been contributing to these efforts by creating learning and exchange spaces for local peacebuilders, the donor community, and international finance experts to explore opportunities and challenges towards ensuring accessible and impactful funding for local peacebuilding action. In 2022, with the support of the Dutch Knowledge Platform Security & Rule of Law, GPPAC published a paper that presents concrete options to change the way donors and intermediaries distribute their financial support to peacebuilding with the aim of shifting power to local peacebuilders. During session III of ‘Unboxing Localisation’ which focused on the concept of the ‘Chains Of Influence’, it was mentioned that innovative funding tools and approaches can help local ownership, especially when local actors are involved in the design of a program or policy, but also when funding structures and financial processes are developed. Please register through the button below. For more information about the event, please contact Christian Kuitert (c.kuitert@kpsrl.org).  

Implications for SRoL’s contributions to social cohesion and just social contracts Marginalised identities and perspectives are often not heard nor valued by those who sit at the centres. By contrast, those in the margins must understand the perspectives and language of those at the centres to be heard, or even survive. This insight is key to move the discussion ahead on SRoL’s contribution to social cohesion and just social contracts.  Dynamics between centres and margins of power and privilege influence SRoL policy and programming across a multitude of binaries. These include capitals v. border regions, majority vs minority clans, mainstream v. marginalised political views, armed actors v. unarmed communities, elites v. ‘the people’, consortium leads v. consortium members, refugee camps v. host communities, cis-men v. marginalised gender identities, dominant racial and ethnic identities v. marginalised ones, well-served neighbourhoods v. degraded ones, and geopolitically dominant actors v. weaker ones. Do we need to flip things around and shift where the centres are, moving from centres of power to centres of needs? Would this unlock the contribution that SRoL institutions and mechanisms can add to just social contracts and social cohesion? KPAC23 will be a moment to take stock of the network’s knowledge on this question, discuss new insights and test current practices. Click here to read the full Concept Note.   Where 8th and 10th of November: Heron Hotel (Jakaya Kikwete Rd, Nairobi, Kenya); 9 November: Kenyatta International Convention Centre (City Square, along, Harambee Ave, Nairobi, Kenya); 7 December: Het Nutshuis (Riviervismarkt 5, 2513 AM Den Haag, Netherlands)   Contribute to the programme Call for contributions is now closed. Please click here to view the final version of the timetable for KPAC23.   Registration Click here to register.

As recent events in Sudan, Myanmar and Ukraine have shown, artists can play a central role in periods of war and oppression, both as commentators of events and as inspirators for resistance. Creative practice – whether through visual or performing arts – can activate imagination and a broader understanding of injustice, its consequences and the range of alternative possibilities. In times where there is very little space for alternative societal narratives, as is the case in authoritarian states, it may offer one of the few spaces where resistance can be practiced. Engaging with art can simultaneously connect to memories, embodied experiences, and visions of an alternative future. Art can also document the human consequences of war, bringing them into focus for international audiences in ways that allow the audience to continue watching and engaging. We invite you to a debate, moderated by Sever Dzigurski and including panelists Ambassador Bård Ivar Svendsen, Bina Saib, Cindy Horst, Daria Pugachova, Diala Brisly & Kirsten van den Hul on the many roles art plays in times of war, oppression, and exile, asking the question of whether there are ways to make better use of its potential for creative resistance. After the debate, there is an opportunity to see art by Khalid Shatta, Diala Brisly, and Daria Pugachova. This event is made possible due to support PRIO, INSPIRE, Museum Boijmans, Verhalenhuis Belvedere, Goethe Institute and the KPSRL & the Norwegian Embassy in the Netherlands. Bios Ambassador Bård Ivar Svendsen is Norway’s Ambassador to the Netherlands and Luxembourg, Permanent Representative to the OPCW and the ICC. Ambassador Svendsen previously served as the Ambassador for Arctic and Antarctic Affairs, as the Ambassador to Azerbaijan and Georgia, as well as the Deputy Head of Mission for the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Moscow. Bina Saib is a Policy Coordinator at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Unit for International Cultural Cooperation. She explores topics such as heritage cooperation, restitution, culture & development in her work and has 20 years of experience in diplomacy and international cooperation. Cindy Horst is a Research Professor at the Peace Research Institute Oslo and co-director of the Centre on Culture and Violent Conflict. Her current research focuses on how individuals, including artists and academics, can challenge the status quo and effect societal change in (post-)conflict settings.  Daria Pugachova is a Ukrainian artist, performer, and art activist. In her creative practice, Daria uses participatory practices that raise social issues and bridge and private and public divide. She is known for her public space performances and video art. Diala Brisly is a Syrian artist whose artistic practice spans a variety of media, including animation,  painting, conceptual art, illustration, comic books, and murals. Recurring themes in her work are social justice, freedom, and a desire to give a voice to children. Halleh Ghorashi is Full Professor of Diversity and Integration in the Department of Sociology at the VU (Vrije Universiteit) Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She has done research on the struggles of refugees in their path of inclusion for the past 25 years. In 2020, she was appointed as a member of KNAW (The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences). Khalid Shatta is a Norwegian-Sudanese Visual Artist who uses painting as his primary form of creative expression. Originally from Nuba mountains in Sudan, Khalid is known for his large canvases, colorful motifs, and modernist art. Kirsten van den Hul is a Dutch columnist and politician. She was elected to the House of Representatives for the Labour Party during the 2017 general election. Since October, 2022 she serves as Director of DutchCulture, a Dutch organisation for international cultural cooperation.   Diala, Cindy, Daria & Khalid are part of the Rotterdam Residency programme, supported by PRIO, INSPIRE, Museum Boijmans, Verhalenhuis Belvedere, Goethe Institute and the KPSRL. Artwork on this page is by Khalid Shatta.

Pour le français voir ci-dessous The Knowledge Platform Security & Rule of Law (KPSRL) and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ independent Policy and Operations Evaluation Department (IOB) jointly organize an online discussion on Thursday 5 October (13:00 – 15:00 CEST). In this session, we unpack IOB’s recently launched report ‘Inconvenient Realities: An Evaluation of Dutch Contributions to Stability, Security, and Rule of Law in Fragile and Conflict-affected contexts' with an international audience.   The goals of the session are:  Understanding the key arguments and recommendations from the IOB report;  Providing space for international partners to relate to these findings;  Identify paths to realistically reframe development cooperation in FCAS, with specific attention to stabilization and security, and rule of law.  You can register here. For more information about this event, please contact Christian Kuitert (c.kuitert@kpsrl.org).   Agenda  13:00 – 13:05  Welcome  Christian Kuitert - KPSRL   13:05 – 13:30  Key findings & recommendations  Rens Willems - IOB  13:30 – 13:35  First response   Kadiatou Yacouba Keita – International Alert Mali  13:35 – 13:40  First response   David Deng – International Growth Center   13:40 – 13:45  First response   Masood Karokhail 13:50 – 14:40  Open discussion  Audience, IOB, panelists  14:40 – 14:50  Reflection & take-aways  Nathalie Olijslager – NL MFA  14:50 – 15:00  Closing  Christian Kuitert - KPSRL    Background  On 28 August, IOB launched an evaluation report that covers Dutch development efforts between 2015 and 2022 in Fragile and Conflict Affected Settings (FCAS), with a focus on Mali, South Sudan, and Afghanistan. These efforts vary from defense-, development- and trade-oriented interventions.     The report describes results on local and technical levels. However, there is little proof that within the timeframe of these programs, such results ‘trickle up’ or result in horizontal (between groups) or vertical (state and society) cohesion. Meanwhile, the ambitions of such efforts have been at the level of e.g., institutional change – a high bar for a small contributor like The Netherlands, especially in FCAS where it is even more difficult to ‘control’ constantly changing situations and trends of democratic backsliding is ongoing.  On a more technical level, development cooperation in FCAS often finds itself exactly in that place between humanitarian aid and development, but the nexus with these sectors is thin. What adds to that complexity is the prominent role of defence and security goals in many contexts, that can be at odds with sustainable long-term investments in the social contract. Combine all this with a recurrent lack of conflict sensitivity and one can imagine the challenges for sustainable, systemic results.  In this session, we, therefore, discuss what we can consider realistic and desirable results in FCAS, as well as how to make our ambitions of policy coherence and adaptive support a reality in Dutch development cooperation in FCAS.  French simultaneous translation will be provided during the event. Une traduction simultanée en français sera assurée lors de l’évènement. Lisez la version française de la note conceptuelle ici.

Polarisation in the Eastern European Neighbourhood – Moldova Case This event has been postponed until: 7 September, 13:00-15:00 (CEST) 13 July, 12:00 – 14:00 CEST   On Thursday, 7 Sept., 2023, the second event within the ‘Polarisation in the Eastern European Neighbourhood’ trajectory will kick off. After the country case on Georgia last month (see report here), this (online) country case session is on Moldova.   Register below if you’re interested in: Unpacking polarisation in Moldova through the lens of the social contract. Perspectives on this topic of two current and former Moldavian politicians. Participating in a discussion with them and each other on ways forward to reduce polarisation in Moldova. The role the EU and partners can play in supporting rule of law and democracy in Moldova   Background In established democracies, extreme ideological differences in a left to right scale between political actors is considered the definition of polarisation. However, in the Eastern European region left to right differences are generally not that pronounced and strong societal divides are based on geo-political orientation (Russia or the West) embedded in the value dimensions of social conservatism and social liberalism.   The war in Ukraine has put further pressure on these divides and increased the levels of polarisation in the region. These strong emotions and more extreme political discourse can lead to increasing isolation of various political actors from one another, making interactions more and more destructive and less conducive to democracy. This therefore enhances the possibility of political crisis and destabilisation in countries in the region and makes overcoming these divides more and more difficult. Thereby threatening both security (foreign interference, violence) and rule of law (politicisation, securitisation).   This session & broader trajectory Amy Eaglestone (researcher at the University of Birmingham) and KPSRL have initiated this event series under the KPSRL Thematic Headline’s subtheme ‘Resilience to Polarisation’, interrogating the specific mechanisms behind polarisation in this region and discussing possible responses from the perspective of the social contract. Moldova is the second of two country cases (the first one being Georgia), after which a roundtable will follow to inform EU-level policy and programming related to support for rule of law and democracy in the Eastern European region.   Register below to join us online on Thursday, 7 September, 2023 from 13:00-15:00 (CEST) via Zoom.   Click here to see the full Concept Note of this session and the broader trajectory.   Agenda Time Session Speaker 13:00 – 13:05 Welcome & summary trajectory Amy Eaglestone 13:05 – 13:10 Introduction speakers   13:10 – 13:20 Applying the ‘social contract frame’ to polarization Christian Kuitert (KPSRL) 13:20 – 13:35 Setting the scene I: polarization in Moldova Dorin Chirtoacă (Leader Liberal Party, Former Mayor Chișinău) 13:35 – 13:50 Setting the scene II: polarization in Moldova Inna Șupac (AIA-NRW, Former-MP Party of Communists) 13:50 – 14:00 Clarifying questions   14:00 – 14:05 Reflections from the ‘social contract’ perspective Christian Kuitert (KPSRL) 14:05 – 14:50 Main discussion   14:50 – 14:55 Extracted recommendations Amy Eaglestone 14:55 – 15:00 Closing Christian Kuitert (KPSRL)  

  Location: Online (Zoom) On 6 September, the fifth ‘Unboxing Localisation’ event takes place. This time, Women’s International Peace Center will take us through their approach to making programming genuinely inclusive to those affected. The objectives of the session are to: ·     Share experiences, lessons learned, best practices, and challenges related to the effective inclusion of the most-affected communities in locally-led programming. -      WIPC will provide specific cases of effective inclusion of the most-affected communities in Burundi, DRC and South Sudan; ·     Identify practical suggestions on how to effectively put most-affected groups in the lead for programming in terms of budgeting, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation etc.; ·     Look at how donors can integrate such methods into their program design, with the help of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A more detailed agenda will follow soon. French translation will be available in the chat. About the ‘Unboxing Localisation’ trajectory At the Knowledge Platform Annual Conference 2021, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the Civil Society Platform for Peacebuilding and Statebuilding (CSPPS) organized a kick-off meeting for a trajectory to unpack the multi-facetted challenge of localization (recording). After dissecting the challenges ahead, the group agreed to commit to a trajectory that resulted in: A second session to define which subthemes were to be unpacked. Participants preferred focusing on sharing practical tools and practices of operationalizing localisation. A third one on ‘chains of influence’, so how to create space with those ‘up’ the chain for those  ‘down’ the chain from wherever you are within the SRoL sector. A fourth one on concrete ways to measure progress on localization with the help of a measurement framework. This is an invitation-only event. If you would like to participate, please email c.kuitert@kpsrl.org.

The potential for social contract reforms of civic and social movements in authoritarian and hybrid regimes  Organized by: KPSRL, in collaboration with the Group for Research and Information on Peace and Security (GRIP) and the Transnational Institute.  This webinar is an opportunity to explore the relationship between civic and social movements, hybrid and authoritarian regimes, and changes in the social contracts of these countries. Among the questions that will be explored are:   Which movements are most likely to grow and evolve in hybrid and authoritarian regimes?  What results, especially connected to changes in the social contracts, can be expected from social and political movements in such repressive environments or in the presence of pro-authoritarian movements?  How do social and political movements and the people inside them evolve over time?  What are the implications for external support?   Natalia Forrat will set the frame of the conversation by presenting a comparative research on what results social and civic movements are likely to obtain, and which are most likely to grow and be successful in repressive environments. She will introduce two case studies on experiences with social and civil movements in hybrid and authoritarian regimes.   Michel Luntumbue from GRIP will engage in conversation with Floribert Anzuluni of Congolese movement FILIMBI on the experience of civil and social movements that recently responded to West African authoritarian attempts. In the first phase of their emergence, citizens movements in West and Central Africa asserted themselves as protest movements against politicians’ bids for unconstitutional third terms in power. Now, it is interesting to see how these citizens' movements have adapted to continue playing the role of watch dogs of democracy and democratic spaces once their initial battle was over.  Walden Bello, former member of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, professor at Binghamton University, professor of sociology and public administration at the University of the Philippines Diliman, and founder founder and chairperson of the left-wing alliance Laban ng Masa. (lit. Fight of the Masses) will share insights in the experience of social and political movements responding to authoritarian reforms prompted by the presence of far right populist movements.  Participants will be invited to engage directly with the presenters in further exploring their perspectives and distilling implications for policy and practice.   Register below to join us online on Monday, 17th July from 14:30-16.00 (CEST) / 13:30-15:00 (BST) online via Zoom.  Click here to check out the Concept Note.

Background Despite their inherent domestic nature, social contracts are, in one way or another, subject to the pressure of external forces, of which interventions aimed at strengthening the said social contracts are a special category. It is undeniable that development cooperation has become a key site of SRL interventions working towards reducing inequalities. In recent years there has been however, a growing concern over the historically embedded power dynamics that underlie international development cooperation. KPAC22 has also highlighted that many programming interventions are rooted in and framed using Western values, lenses, and knowledge systems which hampers ownership and legitimacy of power in non-Western contexts and undervalue local expertise and agency, and ignores history of colonization and other oppressive interactions among states. The latter resulting  in frail and aid dependent social contracts. Within this context, there is need to explore what an Feminist Foreign Policy means in practice for SRoL programming, what effects it might have on  interventions aiming to strengthen social contracts and  what backlash supporting from the exterior a feminist perspective in a given country might cause vis a vis of both national governments and communities. On June 26th 2023, The Knowledge Platform Security & Rule of Law  will host a conversation on implications of FFP on development cooperation, with a specific emphasis on SRoL programming.  The event will discuss what distinguishes Feminist Foreign Policy from previous (similar) policies and what this policy might look like in practice for SRoL programming. It will highlight the voices of practitioners in SRoL programming and offer policy recommendations on specific adjustments needed to fully operationalize the policy.   Key questions How do we ensure that  FFP enhances women’s rights while also tackling other power relations more holistically, using a rights-based and intersectional understanding(and approach) of feminism? How can an FPP help address pre-existing power dynamics undermining meaningful SRoL programming and policy (and the development cooperation ecosystem as a whole)? How can we operationalize an FFP in the SRoL sector? What ingredients are necessary and what challenges should we be cognizant of? How can we more meaningfully involve civil society organizations (including community-based organizations, women’s groups, youth…) in developing a feminist approach to SRoL? Key discussants 1.     Dr. Jutta Joachim, Senior Lecturer at Radboud University 2.     Fridah Githuku, Executive Director of Groots Kenya 3.     Alejandra Vicente, Head of Law at Redress and member of the GQUAL Secretariat   Register below to join us online on Monday, 26 June from 16:30-18:00 (BST) / 17:30-19.00 (CEST) at The Hague Humanity Hub (Fluwelen Burgwal 58, 2511 CJ Den Haag) or online via Zoom.  Click here to check out the Concept Note.

When & Where International workshop Tuesday 20 June, 16:00-17:30hrs CEST (Amsterdam), 15:00-16:30hrs CET (Tunis). Background Tunisia’s transition process in 2011-2021 saw efforts to expand protections for civil liberties, hold free and fair elections, and elaborate a progressive constitution. Multiple public administration reform initiatives sought to address the significant deficit in public trust in state institutions and reshape the social contract. Initial optimistic expectations and demands for a rapid, radical break with the past came up against institutional resilience and resistance, echoing experiences in other post-authoritarian contexts. A multitude of initiatives, initiated by government and by civil society, centred around notions of accountability, transparency and rule of law, sought to shift relations between citizens and public administration away from hierarchical dyadic exchanges favouring patronage, nepotism and discretion towards institutional rules based on universalistic, clearly defined, legally established rights and procedures that delimit the exercise of public authority. Although almost all Tunisia’s democratic gains have been dismantled in the last two years, its experience of public administration reform merit examination. This online workshop will bring together academics, researchers, and policy makers to discuss the findings of a research project on renegoting the social contract through citizen-facing local public administration reforms in 2011-21. The project is funded by the Knowledge Management Fund of the Dutch Knowledge Platform Security & Rule of Law and carried out by the Jasmine Foundation in collaboration with The Hague University of Applied Sciences. The workshop will discuss the research findings based on survey data, interviews and focus group discussions. It will explore two specific initiatives that aimed to reshape citizen-state relations at local level through internal and external-facing reforms that sought to introduce greater transparency, accountability and participation in local state institutions. This workshop will discuss these experiences and the merits of adopting an empirically grounded approach to public administration reform that engages with local conflicts, perceptions and dynamics that differ between different localities and regions. The workshop aims is to generate, together with expert panellists and research participants, insights that are relevant to and beyond the Tunisian case. Programme Welcome and introductions Presentation of main research findings and policy recommendations – Dr. Intissar Kherigi, Dr. Sylvia I. Bergh and Dr. Hatem Kahloun Comments by panellists: Prof. Yasmin Khodary, British University in Egypt; Dr. Markus Loewe, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS); and Prof. Ellen Lust, Gothenburg University Open discussion Conclusion   The workshop will be held mainly in English with English-Arabic/Arabic-English interpretation available.  Please click here for the Concept Note.

On Monday, 19 June 2023, the ‘Polarization in the Eastern European Neighbourhood’ trajectory will kick off with its first (online) country case session on Georgia.  In established democracies, extreme ideological differences in a left to right scale between political actors is considered the definition of polarization. However, in the Eastern European region while left to right differences are generally not that pronounced, strong societal divides exist that are based on geo-political orientation (Russia or the West) embedded in the value dimensions of social conservatism and social liberalism.  The war in Ukraine has put further pressure on these divides and increased the levels of polarization in the region. These strong emotions and more extreme political discourse can lead to increasing isolation of various political actors from one another, making interactions more and more destructive and less conducive to democracy. This therefore enhances the possibility of political crisis and destabilization in countries in the region and makes overcoming these divides more and more difficult. Thereby threatening both security (foreign interference, violence) and rule of law (politicization, securitization).  Amy Eaglestone (researcher at the University of Birmingham) and KPSRL have initiated an event series under the Thematic Headline’s subtheme ‘Resilience to Polarization’, interrogating the specific mechanisms behind polarization in this region and discussing possible responses from the perspective of the social contract. Georgia will be the first of two country cases (the second one being Moldova), after which a roundtable will follow to inform EU-level policy and programming related to support for rule of law and democracy in the Eastern European region.  Register below to join us online on Tuesday, 19th June from 12:00-14.00 (CEST) online via Zoom. Click here to check out the Concept Note.    

This webinar is an opportunity to bring together and discuss the practical implications of three strands of research on the balance of consent and repression that sustain social contracts in Authoritarian regimes, being conducted at Clingendael, the Freedom House, and the Institute for Integrated Transitions. Natalia Forrat (Freedom House and University of Michigan) will share two social roots of authoritarianism: union and division. It will use a case study of four Russian regions to discuss the tools that autocrats use to build their regimes from grassroots. Erwin Van Veen (Clingendael) will present 'shades of authoritarianism’ in the Middle East with a focus on the use of ideology, clientelism, and the security apparatus to maintain control in the face of mounting development needs, popular dissatisfaction, and protest. Alejandro Urrutia (Institute for Integrated Transitions) will present his ongoing research on ‘The Scope for Dialogue Between Civic and State Security Actors in Hybrid Regime Contexts' and discuss 1) the typical sources of resilience of hybrid regimes; 2) the mechanisms used by ruling parties to gain control or secure the loyalty of security forces; and 3) how civic and democratic forces can overcome common dilemmas when attempting to engage and dialogue with state security actors in such contexts. Participants to the webinar will be invited to engage directly with researchers to identify the most relevant implications for policy and practice. Register below to join us online on Tuesday, 13th June from 13:30-15:00 (BST) / 14:30-16.00 (CEST) online via Zoom. Click here to check out the Concept Note.

This webinar is an opportunity for student researchers from Myanmar to share their findings from their research projects about the social contract of citizenship after the 2021 coup in Myanmar. It will also launch the webpage that showcases their work. Supported by the Knowledge Management Fund, the project was designed to shift traditional power dynamics and recognize the researchers as the experts with local knowledge best placed to influence the trajectory of developments in their communities. International participants will also be able to engage directly with researchers working in fragile and conflict affected settings in Myanmar and refugee areas. For the wider security and rule of law community, the webinar will provide space to learn, via a concrete example, how conflict affected youth can articulate their changing relationship with the state. Register below to join us online on Wednesday, 10 May from 13:00-14:30 (BST) / 14:00-15.30 (CEST) / 18.30 - 20:00 (MMT) online via Zoom. Click here to check out the Concept Note. Click here to view the graphic recording of the event, by Claudia Meier.

When & Where The event will be held on 2 May from 17:30 - 19:00 at the Cafe Utopie Den Haag. This event does require registration, so that we may have an accurate estimate of the number of attendees. Please register here.   Background Join us for our latest Fireside Peace Chats event, co-hosted by Leiden University College, on 2 May. These events are informal, intimate discussions with global expert peacebuilders. We are delighted to invite you to a special event, “European Strategic Autonomy and a Rising China: Can Europe serve as a peace preserver between the US and China?” This event will be an informal, intimate exchange where attendees are encouraged to actively engage in discussion with each other and our guest speaker, Michael Swaine from the Quincy Institute of Responsible Statecraft. Joining us as a discussant, we also welcome Xiaoxue Martin, Research Fellow at the Clingendael China Centre. Throughout the discussion, Swaine will be discussing practical and relevant issues in Chinese international relations including; The concept of strategic autonomy in Europe as it relates to China and the US The ‘Taiwan issue’ and addressing speculated parallels with Russia’s war on Ukraine Supply chain pressures; production semi-conductors   Guest speaker Michael Swaine is one of the most prominent American scholars of Chinese security studies and has extensive experience working with US and Chinese government and military officials and scholars. Swaine was previously at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the RAND Corporation. He advises the US government on Asian security issues, has authored and edited more than a dozen books and monographs, and directed for nearly two decades, along with Iain Johnston of Harvard University, a multi-year crisis prevention project with Chinese partners.

Description We invite you to join our discussion on Thursday, 13 April from 13:00-14:30 (CEST) to unpack the Analytical Paper written from last year's findings regarding the KPSRL Thematic Headline 'Reimagining Social Contracts'. The goal of this conversation is to kick off the thematic focus of 2023: Toward Just Social Contracts, whereby we aim to transition from conceptual thinking to operationalization. Joined by researchers, Brenton Peterson & Manar Zaki from Consilient Research and the Sababi Institute in Somaliland, we will hear about a project funded by the Knowledge Management Fund that showcases an example of how to operationalize the concept of a social contract. This case study looks at customary justice systems led by clan elders in Somaliland, and questions the feasibility of its long-term value and legitimacy in the (inter-)national arena.   Goals Unpack the analytical paper on last year’s findings regarding the Thematic Headline ‘Reimagine Social Contracts’ Presentation of the ’23 subthemes, operationalizing last year’s theme of social contracts (1) Participatory and inclusive social contracts, (2) Authoritarian social contracts and the security sector and (3) Resilience to polarization Announce already planned KPSRL events Show an example of what ‘operationalizing’ our thematic headline of strengthening social contracts looks like Map interest of the KPSRL network to contribute to this Thematic Headline throughout 2023 Background In 2022, the network of the Knowledge Platform Security & Rule of Law (KPSRL) unpacked its Thematic Headline ‘Reimagine Social Contracts’. This theme a.o. guided a kick-off webinar, a window of the Knowledge Management Fund (KMF) and the Annual Conference (KPAC22). The findings throughout the year have been bundled in an analytical paper. Through an online survey, the KPSRL network expressed an eagerness to unpack this complex theme further, moving from concepts to operationalization. To do so, during this event we jointly unpack the analytical paper and the more specific subthemes to dive into in 2023. Speakers Giorgio Ferrari, Learning Officer for KPSRL Consilient Research, Manar Zaki & Brenton Peterson Agenda We will first set the scene by discussing the analytical paper about 2022 and the subsequent sub-themes for 2023: (1) Participatory and inclusive social contracts, (2) Authoritarian social contracts and the security sector and (3) Resilience to polarization. Afterwards, Consilient Research shares their case, showing an example of how to operationalize the concept of a social contract. After a Q@A on these presentations, the participants are split into break-out groups per sub-theme. There, they (1) share examples of important research, conferences, projects, policy trends etc. on that subtheme and (2) indicate how KPSRL and its network can contribute in the coming year.   Time Topic Contributor 13:00 – 13:05 Welcome & background Christian Kuitert 13:05 – 13:20 The analytical paper & sub-themes Giorgio Ferrari 13:20 – 13:35 Operationalizing the social contract Consilient Research 13:30 – 13:45 Plenary questions - 13:45 – 14:10 Group discussions per subtheme - 14:10 – 14:25 Feedback plenary - 14:25 – 14:30 Next steps Sever Dzigurski      

Join us for our latest Fireside Peace Chats event, co-hosted by Leiden University College, on 21 March. These events are informal, intimate discussions with global expert peacebuilders. Join us in hearing Fr Dionysius Mintoff from Malta on how to work for peace at the global level. Fr Mintoff will share his thoughts on how to address the key challenge faced by the world. He will announce the International Laboratory for Peace in The Hague that will focus on dialogue, education and practical solutions for peace. Walk-in registrations are welcome! Simply arrive at the location, Leiden University College Floor 1. In 2010 Fr Mintoff was awarded the inaugural FI Human Rights Award in Geneva, Switzerland and is a co-founder of Franciscans International. His Peace Lab was founded in Malta in 1971 with a mission for peace education. Today it also acts as a sanctuary for refugees and is a place of learning, inclusion, and acceptance regardless of personal beliefs. Programme:  17:30-19:00 Dialogue  Welcome Remarks by Robert Micallef, Lecturer Leiden University Key Note Intervention: Fr Dionysius Mintoff, Founder of Peace Lab Reflections and Q&A: Dr. Maja Vodopovic, Assistant Professor, Leiden University Fr. Dionysius Mintoff established the Pope John XIII Peace Laboratory in 1971, following an appeal made by Pope John XXIII, who called for the world to reflect on peace. “As a Franciscan, and a Maltese who has personally seen the outcomes of war, I decided to open a space that advocates for peace education in Malta” he explained some years ago in an interview. And it is no secret that Fr. Mintoff had been hoping to personally welcome the Pope and show him around, during the Apostolic Visit to Malta that had been scheduled for 31 May 2020 and was postponed due to the pandemic. The Peace Lab runs an extensive adult education programme. It has its headquarters at Hal Far, a site that was originally part of the HalFar airfield which saw intensive air combats during World War II.

How do we capture progress on our ambitions to work more localized and do we indeed see that such ways of working lead to better results? NEAR will share its Localisation Performance Measurement Framework, after which an in-country partner (NAHAB), an INGO (consultant Patrick Crump) and a donor (NL MFA) reflect on its applicability. Of course, there will also be plenty of room for you to share your views and initiatives on this theme with the other participants. Click here to download the agenda in English and click here to download the agenda in French. This is an invitation-only event. If you would like to participate, please email c.kuitert@kpsrl.org.  

Join us for our latest Fireside Peace Chats event, co-hosted by Leiden University College, on February 22nd. These events are informal, intimate discussions with global expert peacebuilders. The event focuses on the geopolitics of peace & conflict and decolonizing the debate on religion and peace & conflict. The speaker will focus on Sri Lanka as a case study with possibilities for comparative conflict analysis with Northern Ireland and Korea as well. No registration is required! Simple arrive at the location, Leiden University College Floor 1, for a welcoming, educational, and informal atmosphere to learn about and discuss peacebuilding and decolonization. Jude Lal Fernando is Associate Professor at the School of Religion, Theology, and Peace Studies at Trinity College, University of Dublin. He is the director of Trinity Centre for Post-Conflict Justice. His latest publications are Resistance to Empire and Militarization: Reclaiming the Sacred ( 2021) and Faith in the Face of Militarization: Indigenous, Feminist and Interreligious Voices ( 2022). He has been a visiting professor in Tampere University in Finland, Uppsala University in Sweden and Ritsukeikan and Sophia Universities in Japan. He is the Coordinator of the People's Tribunal on Sri Lanka ( Dublin, Bremen and Berlin Tribunals) and lives in exile in Ireland due to his opposition to war against the Tamils in Sri Lanka.

Background For the past decade, addressing the root causes of conflict and irregular migration through ’’bottom up’’ civil society engagement and fragile states has been a priority for Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). The Addressing Root Causes fund(ARC fund-2016-2021) has been the latest centrally managed tender program that the MFA’s department for Stabilization and Humanitarian Aid (DSH) has launched and managed to this effect. Beyond implementation, the ARC program had the ambition to build a community of practice in which members take collective responsibility for learning, reflect on common challenges, encourage innovation and develop a repertoire of collective resources (experiences, stories, tools etc.). Building from lessons learned as part of ARC implementation and learning related endeavors, regional learning symposiums have been organized by ARC partners in May 2022, in order to capitalize on experience from peace, security and justice programs through collaborative learning and knowledge sharing, to establish shared understanding on lessons learned and best practice, as well as analyze challenges and opportunities on dealing with addressing root causes of conflict and insecurity in the Great Lakes Region, Horn of Africa and Sahel Region. Building from the said regional events, a global closing event will be organized in The Hague on December 7th and 8th, 2022 by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (BZ), the Knowledge Platform Security and Rule of Law (KPSRL) and ARC partners. The global event will offer space to discuss common lessons which can be learned across programs and how they could be fed into portfolio reflection for future programming and policy. Click here to download the full Concept Note. When The event will take place over two days, on December 7th and 8th, 2022.  Where On December 7th, sessions will be held online from 9:00AM to 1:15PM Hague Time. On December 8th,  sessions will be held in-person in The Hague at Beeld en Geluid from 9:00AM to 5:00PM; with the possibility to participate remotely.

Fireside Peace Chats series are informal, intimate chats with peacebuilders who have either lived in for an extended period of time or are from conflict-affected environments. This is the first event kicking off the series. Dr. Randall Puljek-Shank has more than 20 years of experience in peacebuilding in the Western Balkans in programme design, implementation, training, evaluation, and research. Randall holds a PhD in Political Science from the Radboud University Nijmegen. His doctoral research deepened his interest in the intersection of civil society and politics of ethnically divided societies.

News We're going hybrid again! On 20 October, 2022, we are thrilled to be able to welcome our participants in-person at a beautiful venue, the Louwman Museum, in The Hague, as well as online through our virtual venue.  Click here to view this year's program. Click here to view this year's Program Timetable. Click here to check out the virtual venue that we built last year. Click here to view this year's Concept Note. About the Conference The Knowledge Platform Annual Conference #KPAC22 is the Platform's signature event that brings together our vibrant community for thought-provoking discussions. This year will be our 10th Annual Conference, and as in previous years, we invite representatives from national and international governments and policy organs, think-thanks, journalists, INGO practitioners, activists, diplomats, and field researchers from around the globe to join us. These diverse actors assemble each year with a singular aim: to present their latest projects and freshest ideas, and engage their peers to learn and improve security and justice policy and programs. This year's theme is Reimagining Social Contracts. What is the glue that holds societies together? In the Western tradition of political thought, the answer is often the ‘social contract’: citizens giving up part of their freedom in exchange for a stake in society and collective services. That contract is a fiction; there is no such document, and every societal arrangement has its own history and form. Humans were never free and unbound in the state of nature. However, it is a useful fiction. It provides us with a common language for the ‘bigger picture’ of what is fair and just; who gets what and who provides it. Using this fiction, we see how many countries struggle in coming to inclusive, legitimate and sustainable societal arrangements. Simultaneously, we see that international interveners struggle to achieve their aims because of factors linked to broader societal arrangements or due to the application of Western ideas in societies with different a ideological background, culture or history. Reflecting on this, the Knowledge Platform Security & Rule of Law (KPSRL) community indicated the need to Reimagine Social Contracts. This means supporting indigenous solutions and community responses to Security & Rule of Law (SRoL) arrangements and reflecting on the role Western actors play in doing so. Our use of the verb ‘reimagining’ includes a series of interconnected moments and actions, although in practice never chronological nor separate. Three key points of reimagining are envisioned to constitute the ‘flow of the day’ for KPAC22 and are thus central in our call for contributions: Reinvent, Rearrange & Renegotiate. Please read the full Concept Note to learn more. Attention all artists, artivists, creatives, dreamers: we are calling on you to share creative expressions of - or contributions towards - reimagining social contracts. In the lead up to the big day, we are unpacking what social contracts actually are and what reimagining can look like. One of the ways we are doing this is through a this call for contributions to artistically interpret what Reimagining Social Contracts can mean. There are two ways to respond to this call: 1) sharing an art piece that you created yourself; 2) sharing an art piece made by someone else that you appreciate and resonate with, that inspired you or others to reimagine social arrangements and relations. For example, think of a song that became an anthem of a protest, a street art that connected conflicted communities, a poem about security or performance for reconciliation. To submit a piece, you should simply share your post on LinkedIn or Twitter (Instagram coming soon), tagging us along with the hashtag: #InspiREimagine. If the piece you’re sharing is your original, please add the 2nd hashtag: #MyLens. Artwork submitted by 30 September will be displayed and shared at our Annual Conference, and the original art piece that generates the most likes on social media during the voting period 1-10 October will win a small prize. We encourage you to explore all different kinds of mediums: audio, visual, movement, and more. Our Secretariat team will also be sharing some of our own ideas and interpretations – so be sure to follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter (Instagram coming soon)! Please help us disseminate this call and… let’s get creative!