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How to engage with Syria’s new rulers

After the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria, the country’s interim government faces the task of rebuilding the country. Now, foreign countries are trying to steer Syria’s new de facto leaders toward an inclusive government free of sectarian reprisals and away from extreme forms of Islamism.

Briefing paper

2nd April 2025
Irregular maritime migration from Lebanon has risen dramatically over the last three years, driven by compounded political, socio-economic, and securi...

Briefing paper

31st March 2025
Observations derived from the XCEPT programme’s research, and thoughts on the future direction borderlands research might take.

Research report

31st March 2025
Years of research on the experiences and perspectives of Rohingya communities in Cox’s Bazar, drawing attention to governance challenges and the need ...

Briefing paper

31st March 2025
This policy brief accompanies the paper “We no longer know of the peace we once had”.

Research report

31st March 2025
Bangladesh faces huge climate challenges with increasingly frequent and extreme weather events which intersect in complex ways with social and politic...

Briefing paper

31st March 2025
How have historical patterns in China-Myanmar relations shaped today’s conflict dynamics and political developments in Myanmar’s northern borderlands?...

Briefing paper

31st March 2025
Practical lessons and guidance from the X-Border Local Research Network (LRN)’s experience on supporting equitable, locally embedded research in fragi...

Research report

31st March 2025
How do foreign actors pursue their geopolitical interests in Timor-Leste and shape outcomes at the local level? 

Research report

31st March 2025
How the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), under Noor Wali Mehsud’s leadership, strategically reinvented itself—organizationally, financially, and ideol...

Briefing paper

29th March 2025
This policy brief provides an overview of water and land conflicts in refugee settings in Uganda and presents policy considerations to mitigate their ...

Briefing paper

27th March 2025
Courts and investigative bodies – both international and domestic – are increasingly turning to technology to document sexual and gender-based crimes ...

Article

26th March 2025
This paper focuses on the Russian, Turkish, and Iranian-led Astana mediation process for the Syrian Civil War from 2012-2024.

Article

21st March 2025
Since 2017, Tunisia has experienced intensified climate change effects, including severe drought. President Kais Saied’s governance failures have only...

Blog

19th March 2025
Joseph Diing Majok shares his reflections on how his involvement in the XCEPT programme’s Local Research Network has shaped his research career, parti...

Blog

19th March 2025
Elizabeth Nyibol Malou shares how her involvement in the XCEPT programme’s Local Research Network since 2018 has fostered valuable collaborations and ...

Briefing paper

19th March 2025
Lebanon’s financial collapse and the Syrian conflict have allowed for the growth of an illicit economy, giving rise to a new breed of drug traffickers...

Article

17th March 2025
In an interview, Yasmine Zarhloule discusses irregular migration to Europe and the shortcomings of a securitization policy.

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Blog

2nd April 2025
Since 2019, the number of people attempting to flee Lebanon via irregular boat crossings has drastically increased. The new government in Lebanon, led...

Blog

31st March 2025
Local knowledge and solutions are key to expanding access and ensuring effectiveness of climate action. 

Blog

30th March 2025
Why we should challenge the idea that Shi’a militants are just Iranian proxies

Video

28th March 2025
The XCEPT program team reflects on their journey, sharing insights and lessons from seven years of the Local Research Network.

Blog

28th March 2025
The recent combined development of aid cuts with the increasingly restrictive policies of host countries have created new pressures on a scale that th...

Blog

24th March 2025
The potential for rising tension in the Yemeni governorate worries those on both sides its borders.

Event

1st April 2025
Join us on 1 April 2025 at this hybrid event to explore the green transition, geopolitical risks, and political instability, with insights on transiti...

Event

31st March 2025
Join us on 31 March 2025 at this hybrid event to discuss the interlinkages between climate change, conflict, and political instability.

Event

28th March 2025
Join us on 28 March 2025 at this hybrid event to discuss international mediation in regionalised intra-state conflicts.

Event

27th March 2025
Join us on 27 March 2025 for a thought-provoking webinar that examines how pre-displacement exposure to violent conflict affects the long-term social ...

Event

11th March 2025
Join us and King’s College London on 11 March 2025 to discuss Syrian rebels’ motivations, their commitment to the cause, rebel alliance unity, and how...

Event

27th February 2025
On 27 February 2025, the Global Security Programme at Pembroke College, University of Oxford, in partnership with Gulu University, Uganda, and with th...

Event

29th April 2024
Researchers from across the Local Research Network gathered in Bangkok for a workshop hosted by The Asia Foundation.

Event

27th March 2024
Join us on 27 March, 14:00 GMT to discuss changes to economic power in Afghanistan.

Event

26th March 2024
Join us and Bodhi Global Analysis on Tuesday 26 March to discuss recent findings from research on the gender, climate, and security nexus in the Horn ...

Event

22nd March 2024
Join us on Friday 22 March, 15:00-16:00 GMT, for a discussion on responses to transnational terrorist groups in West Africa.

Event

21st March 2024
Join this webinar on Thursday, 21 March 15:00-16:00 GMT, on Lebanon’s security assistance and border management, where experts will explore the impact...

Event

29th February 2024
On 29 February 2024, XCEPT partner Chatham House will hold a webinar focusing on Niger’s coup and regional security implications.

Event

27th February 2024
Online Q&A discussion, 27 February 14:30 – 15:15 GMT/ 09:30 – 10:15 ET

Event

14th December 2023
On 14 December 2023, XCEPT partner Chatham House will hold a webinar focusing on the increasingly complex web of national, military, and militant inte...

Event

13th June 2023
On 13 and 14 June 2023, XCEPT hosted a workshop in Nairobi that brought together policymakers, researchers and practitioners to consider research and ...

Event

5th May 2023
As part of PeaceCon 2023, Nika Saeedi, Dr Nafees Hamid, Dr Simbal Khan and Amadou Tall will provide insights on how development practitioners and poli...

Event

4th May 2023
As part of PeaceCon 2023, Janet Adama Mohammed, Dr. Patta Scott-Villiers and Umar Abdullahi Eggi will present findings from research on changes in cro...

Event

28th March 2023
This online XCEPT panel discussion assessed the differing impacts on the Horn of Africa and Syria of disruption of global commodities, such as grain, ...

Event

27th March 2023
At this event Dr Fiona McEwen, Dr Nafees Hamid, and Dr Rajan Basra offer up new perspectives on what can motivate someone to engage in terrorism, and ...

Event

20th February 2023
At this event, King’s College London researchers Dr Craig Larkin and Dr Inna Rudolf will explore how competing narratives of a traumatic past are shap...

News

26th October 2022
Addressing securitization in conflict zones in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia

Event

20th July 2022
As part of the Cross-Border Conflict Evidence, Policy and Trends (XCEPT) program, the X-Border Local Research Network held a report launch event to ex...

Event

26th May 2022
The Cross-Border Conflict Evidence, Policy and Trends (XCEPT) research programme held a panel event to discuss the experiences of young people growing...

Event

20th January 2022
The Cross-Border Conflict Evidence, Policy and Trends (XCEPT) research programme held a virtual panel discussion exploring how technology is advancing...

Event

7th December 2021
On 7 December, XCEPT team members Dr Alexander Ramsbotham of Conciliation Resources and Peter Beaumont of Satellite Applications Catapult took part in...

Event

22nd January 2021
To discuss the Algerian-Tunisian border relationship, the Carnegie Middle East Center hosted a virtual panel discussion on Monday, June 22nd. The eve...

Event

22nd January 2021
On Friday, January 22, the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center held a virtual panel discussion to examine the local actors and geopolitical s...

Event

19th October 2020
This is an interactive report on how individuals move and interact across borders and transnationally. The report summarises the outcomes of these di...

Event

20th August 2020
The session provides insights into the needs of refugees, their coping strategies, family ties abroad, and the adequacy and limitations of the current...

Event

20th August 2020
A focus on recent research on local populations’ everyday experience of transnational connectedness in the Horn and the implications for the aid and d...

Our research

Research on borderlands, how conflicts connect across borders, and the drivers of violent and peaceful behaviour.

X-Border Local Research Network

What are the causes and implications of conflict in border areas? How can we develop local research skills to investigate these issues?

Transnational Conflict Dynamics and Policy Responses

How do conflicts connect across borders through flows of people, weapons, and resources? How should policy responses adapt?

Violent and Peaceful Behaviour

What behavioural factors drive violence and enable peace? What are the implications for recovery and conflict prevention?  

Conflict and Climate

Research at the intersection of climate, conflict and peace.

What is XCEPT?

The Cross-Border Conflict Evidence, Policy and Trends (XCEPT) research programme brings together world-leading experts to examine conflict-affected borderlands, how conflicts connect across borders, and the drivers of violent and peaceful behaviour.

Funded by UK International Development, XCEPT offers actionable research to inform policies and programmes that support peace.

PARTNERS

Chemonics International is one of the world’s leading partners in international development. As the world’s largest government funded development practitioner, Chemonics has a unique understanding of what works on programmes across fragile and conflict affected states.

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The Asia Foundation is a non-profit international development organisation committed to improving lives across a dynamic and developing Asia.

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Chatham House is a world-leading policy institute, with a mission to help governments and societies build a sustainably secure, prosperous, and just world.

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King’s College London (KCL) is a public research university and a member institution of the federal University of London. Research is core to King’s: it is what we do, what we care about and how we educate.

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Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center is an independent research institute based in Beirut, Lebanon, that is part of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

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The Rift Valley Institute (RVI) is an independent, non-profit organisation, founded in Sudan in 2001, whose researchers currently work across eastern and central Africa.

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Conciliation Resources is an independent international organisation working with people involved in conflict to prevent violence and build peace, and providing advice, support and practical resources.

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The Satellite Applications Catapult is an independent, innovation and technology research organisation. Our mission is ‘to innovate for a better world, empowered by satellites. We help organisations make use of, and benefit from, satellite technologies.

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