Ph.D.
Research | Teaching | Publications | Other
Research Areas
Conflict termination, peace agreements, power sharing, civil society actors in peace processes, spoilers, and peacekeeping operations.
Current Research
Peace by Piece - Multiple Actors in Peace Processes in Civil Wars
Main research is conducted within this project, which explores how the presence of multiple actors in civil wars affects the prospects of reaching negotiated settlements and lasting peace. The project is financed through a scholarship from SYLFF. During the fall 2008 she is a Visiting Fellow at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, Notre Dame University.
Turning Spoilers into Statesmen - Third Party Strategies for Sustainable Peace in West Africa
The purpose of the project is to examine why some warring parties, following a peace agreement in a civil war, act as spoilers and resort to arms, while others turn into statesmen and remain committed to peace. The research is carried out together with Mimmi Söderberg Kovacs and is financed by Sida/SAREC (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency).
Power Sharing after Civil War
This project focuses on provisions of power sharing in peace agreements and conditions for durable peace. The project is led by Anna Jarstad and is financed by the Swedish Research Council.
Teaching
Spring 2009: Co-convenor and lecturer, “International Conflict Resolution”, (15 ECTS credits), within the Master Program in Peace and Conflict Studies.
Publications
Dissertation
Nilsson, Desirée, 2006. “In the Shadow of Settlement: Multiple Rebel Groups and Precarious Peace”, Dissertation, Report No. 73, Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University. (Abstract Order)
Peer Reviewed Articles
Nilsson, Desirée, 2008. “Partial Peace: Rebel Groups Inside and Outside of Civil War Settlements”, Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 45, No. 4, Pp. 479-495. *Also published as Policy Research Working Paper No. 4572, World Bank, March 2008.
Jarstad, Anna & Desirée Nilsson, 2008. “From Words to Deeds: The Implementation of Power-Sharing Pacts in Peace Accords”, Conflict Management and Peace Science, Vol. 25, No. 3, Pp. 206–223.
Nilsson, Desirée & Mimmi Söderberg Kovacs, 2005. “Breaking the Cycle of Violence: Promises and Pitfalls of the Liberian Peace Process”, Civil Wars, Vol 7, No. 4, Pp. 396–414.
Other Publications
Nilsson, Desirée, Forthcoming. “Peace Agreements and their Sustainability”. In The International Encyclopedia of Peace. Edited by Nigel Young. New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Nilsson, Desirée, 2008. “Rebels on the Outside: Signatories Signaling Commitment to Durable Peace”. Chapter in Resources, Governance and Civil Conflict, Magnus Öberg & Kaare Strom (eds). London & New York: Routledge.
Nilsson, Desirée & Mimmi Söderberg, 2003. “På väg mot fred i Liberia?” (Towards Peace in Liberia?), Utrikespolitiska Institutet, Stockholm.
Nilsson, Desirée, 2003. Liberia - The Eye of the Storm: A Review of the Literature on Internally Displaced, Refugees and Returnees, Studies on Emergencies and Disaster Relief, Nordiska afrikainstitutet, Uppsala.
Nilsson, Desirée, 2000. Internally Displaced, Refugees and Returnees from and in the Sudan: A Review, Studies on Emergencies and Disaster Relief, Nordiska afrikainstitutet, Uppsala.
Recent Conference Papers
Nilsson, Desirée, 2008. “Behind Closed Doors: Civil Society Actors in Peace Accords and Durable Peace”. Presented at (1) the SYLFF Asia-Pacific Regional Forum at Jadavpur University, Calcutta, India, 19–23 November 2007, and (2) The Annual Meeting of the International Studies Association, San Francisco, March 2008.
Nilsson, Desirée, 2007. “Peace by Piece: Multiple Rebel Groups and Civil War Settlements”. Presented at (1) Jan Tinbergen European Peace Science Conference, within the Network of European Peace Scientists, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 25–27 June 2007, and (2) The Conference of the ECPR Standing Group on International Relations (SGIR), Turin, Italy, 12–15 September 2007.
Nilsson, Desirée, 2007. “Partial Peace: Rebel Groups Inside and Outside of Civil War Settlements”, The World Bank Post-Conflict Transitions Conference, The World Bank, Washington DC, USA, 30 April–1 May 2007.
Jarstad, Anna & Desirée Nilsson, 2007. “Political Pacts – No Promise of Peace?” Paper presented at Annual Meeting the International Studies Association, Chicago, USA, 28 Feb-3 March.
Nilsson, Desirée, 2006. “In the Shadow of Settlement: The Complexity of the Rebel Side and Paths to Durable Peace”, Presented at the Jan Tinbergen European Peace Science Conference, Amsterdam, 26–28 June.
Nilsson, Desirée, 2005. “So Many Rebels, So Little Peace: Conflict in the Aftermath of Agreement”, Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Peace Science Society, Iowa City, November 4–6.
Nilsson, Desirée, 2005. “Signing and Sticking to Peace”. Presented at the Jan Tinbergen European Peace Science Conference, Amsterdam, 27–29 June. Received for this paper presentation the Stuart Bremer Graduate Travel Award.
Other
Visiting Fellow with the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame, Fall 2008.
Contact person of Sweden and member of the steering committee of the Network of European Peace Scientists
Visiting Fellow with the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO), September 2007.
Predoctoral Visiting Fellow with the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) at Stanford University, January –June 2003.
