State repression plays a significant role in many contemporary conflicts. Peacebuilding requires an understanding of the underlying causes of political repression and violence.
Kroc scholars are engaged in a range of work that seeks to improve our understanding of political violence. Scholars working in this area, such as Christian Davenport, George Lopez, Robert Johansen, Larissa Fast, and Ernesto Verdeja, examine the dynamics of state interactions with opposition groups, the quantitative measurement of state repression, the causes of genocide, and international responses to human rights violations.
Davenport’s most recent book on this topic is Media Bias, Perspective, and State Repression (Cambridge University Press, 2010) and Verdeja’s is Unchopping a Tree: Reconciliation in the Aftermath of Political Violence (Temple University Press, 2009).
