Professor of Peace and Conflict Research

Director of the Uppsala Centre for Sustainable Development

Research | Teaching | Publications | Other

Research Areas

Causes and dynamics of conflict and conflict escalation, Sustainable peace building

Current Research

Emerging Security Challenges, Climate Change and Conflicts, Democracy and Sustainable Development, Trans-boundary Water Sharing, Sustainability of Post-Conflict Peacebuilding, Diasporas and peace. 

Teaching

Convenor of one of the Department’s PhD advisory groups and advisor to 4 PhD students.

Convenor of the Master’s Course ”New Security Threats”, 15 ECTS.

Previously taught courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels covering a wide range of topics, including conflict theory, international security and scientific method. 

Was the Director of the Department’s Master’s Programme from 1998-2007.

Publications

Books and Monographs 

Transboundary Water Management and the Climate Change Debate (London: Routledge, 2013),  with Anton Earle, Ana Elisa Cascao, Anders Jagerskog and Joakim Öjendal.

Understanding Emerging Security Challenges: Threats and Opportunities (London: Routledge, 2012).

Struggle Against the State: Social Network and Protest Mobilization in India (Farnham: Ashgate, 2010).

Managing Water Conflict: Asia, Africa and the Middle East (London & New York: Routledge, 2004).

The Environmental Trap: The Ganges River Diversion, Bangladeshi Migration and Conflicts in India (Uppsala: Department of Peace and Conflict Research, 1996), 135 Pages.

Environment and Conflict: Analysing the Developing World (Uppsala: Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Report No. 37, 1993), 51 Pages.

Security of Small States in the International System (New Delhi: JNU, Ph.D. Thesis, 1991), 252 Pages.

Edited Books

The Security-Development Nexus: Peace, Conflict and Development (London: Anthem Press, 2012). Editor with Ramses Amer & Joakim Öjendal.

The Democratization Project: Opportunities and Challenges (London: Anthem Press, 2011). Paperback Edition. Editor with Ramses Amer & Joakim Öjendal.

The Democratization Project: Opportunities and Challenges (London: Anthem Press,
2009). Hardcover Edition. Editor with Ramses Amer & Joakim Öjendal. 

Islam and Violent Separatism: New Democracies in Southeast Asia (London: Kegan Paul, 2007). Editor.

Globalization and Challenges to Building Peace (London, New York & Delhi: Anthem Press, 2007). Editor with Ramses Amer & Joakim Öjendal.

Diasporas, Armed Conflicts and Peacebuilding in their Homelands (Uppsala University, Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Report No. 79, 2007). Editor.

Natural Resources Scarcity in South Asia: Nepal's Water (Stockholm: Institute for Security and Development Policy, 2007). Editor with Fiona Rotberg.

Education as Social Action: Knowledge, Identity and Power (Basingstoke & New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005). Editor and author of two chapters.

Articles in Peer Review Journals

"Global Climate Change and Challenges for International River Agreements", International Journal on Sustainable Society, vol. 4, nos 1 &2, 2012, pp. 72-87.

"Challenges for Water Sharing in the Nile Basin: Changing Geo-Politics and Changing Climate", Hydrological Science Journal, vol 56, no. 4. 2011, pp. 687-702.

"Stateless Diaspora Groups and Their Repertoirs of Nationalist Activism in Host Countries", The Journal of International Relations, vol.8, no.1, 2010, pp. 37-60; with Bahar Baser.

"Environment and Conflict in South Asia: Water-Sharing between Bangladesh and India", South Asian Journal, 28, April-June 2010, pp. 27-34.

"The Indus II and Siachen Peace Park: Pushing India-Pakistan Peace Process Forward", The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs (London), vol. 98, Issue 404; October 2009, pp. 569-582.

"Home Thoughts from Abroad: Diasporas and Peace-Building in Northern Ireland and Sri Lanka", Studies in Conflict and Terrorism (Washington DC), vol. 32, Issue 8, 2009, pp. 681-704; with Feargal Cochrane and Bahar Baser.

"War on Drugs and War on Terror: Case of Afghanistan", The Peace and Conflict Review (UPeace), vol. 3, issue 2, Spring 2009, pp. 41-53, with Daniela Corti.

"Diaspora Design versus Homeland Realities: Case Study of Armenian Diaspora", Caucasian Review of International Affairs (Frankfurt), vol. 3, no. 1, Winter 2009, pp. 45-61, with Bahar Baser.

"Mission Not Yet Accomplished: Managing Water Resources in the Nile River Basin", Journal of International Affairs (New York), vol. 61, no. 2, Spring/Summer 2008, pp. 201-214.

"Diasporas as Peacemakers: Third Party Mediation in Homeland Conflicts", International Journal on World Peace (St. Paul, MN), vol. 25, no. 3, September 2008, pp. 7-28, with Bahar Baser.

"Should Government Encourage Migration?", Philippine Journal of Third World Studies, vol. 22, no. 1, 2007.

“The Nile Basin Initiative: Too Many Cooks, Too Little Broth”, SAIS Review (Washington DC), vol. 22, no. 2, Summer-Fall 2002, pp. 293-308

“Water Wars: Fact or Fiction”, Futurers (London), no. 33, October 2001, pp. 769-781.

“Investigating Democracy and Social Capital in India”, Economic and Political Weekly (Bombay), vol. 36, no. 8, February 2001 with Hans Blomkvist.

“Social Capital and Popular Mobilization: Studying Environmental Protests in an Indian State”, Asian Journal of Political Science (Singapore), vol. 8, no. 1, June 2000, pp. 33-46.

“Constructing Water Institutions: Appropriate Management of International River Water”, Cambridge Review of International Affairs (Cambridge), vol. 12, no. 2, Spring/ Summer 1999, pp. 214-225.

“Flood: An Increasing Menace”, Seminar (New Delhi), no. 478, June 1999, pp. 30-33.

“Fight for the Last Drop: Inter-state River Disputes in India”, Contemporary South Asia (London), vol. 7, no. 2, July 1998, pp. 167-180.

"A New Challenge: Water Scarcity in the Arab World", Arab Studies Quarterly (Washington DC), vol. 20, no. 1, Winter 1998, pp. 1-11.

“Reconciling Disputes and Treaties: Water Development and Management in Ganga Basin”, Water Nepal (Katmandu), vol. 6, no. 1, 1998, pp. 43-65.

“The Nile River Dispute: Ethiopia, the Sudan, and Egypt”, The Journal of Modern African Studies (Cambridge), vol. 35, no. 4, December 1997, pp. 675-694.

“Environmental Security: Cleaning the Concept”, Peace and Security (Vienna), vol. 29, December 1997, pp. 31-38.

"Democratic Consolidation: Environmental Movements in India", Asian Survey (Berkeley), vol. 37, no. 9, September 1997, pp. 818-832.

"Environmental Migration and Conflict Dynamics: Focus on Developing Regions", Third World Quarterly (London), vol. 17, no. 5, December 1996, pp. 959-973.

"Displacing the Conflict: Environmental Destruction in Bangladesh and Ethnic Conflict in India", Journal of Peace Research. (Oslo), vol. 33, no. 2, May 1996, pp. 189-204.

"The Farakka Barrage: A Double-Edged Sword", Theoretical Perspectives, (Dhaka), vol. 3, no. 1, 1996, pp. 127-150.

"Water Scarcity: A Threat to Global Security", Environment & Security (Laval), vol. 1, no. 1, 1996, pp. 156-172.

"International Impact on Democratisation: Recent Transitions in South Asia", Strategic Studies Journal (Aligarh) vol. 6, 1993, pp. 38-51.

"Conflicts over Water: The Ganges Water Dispute", Security Dialogue (Oslo), vol. 24, no. 4, December 1993, pp. 429-439.

Chapters in the Peer Reviewed Books

"Politics or Development: Sharing of International Rivers in the South" in Joakim Öjendal, Stina Hansson, Stina; and Sofie Hellberg, Eds., Politics and Development in a Transboundary Watershed (Springer, 2012).

"Diasporas' Role In Peacebuilding: The Case Of The Vietnamese- Swedish Migrant Group". In Ramses Amer, Ashok Swain and Joakim Öjendal, eds. The Security-Development Nexus: Peace, Conflict and Development (London: Anthem Press, 2012), with Nhi Phan.

"Liberal State-Building And Environmental Security: The International Community Between Trade-Off And Carelessness". In Ramses Amer, Ashok Swain and Joakim Öjendal, eds. The Security-Development Nexus: Peace, Conflict and Development (London: Anthem Press, 2012), with Roland Kostic and Florian Krampe.

"Stability and Sustainability in Peace Building: Priority Area for Warfare Ecology", in G.E. Machlis, T. Hanson, Z. Špirić & J.E. Mckendry (eds.) Warfare Ecology (Springer: Netherlands, 2011), pp. 199-210. with Florian Krampe.

“South Asia, its Environment and Regional Institutions”, in Lorraine Elliott & Shaun Breslin eds., Comparative Environmental Regionalism (London: Routledge, 2011), pp. 76-91.

“The Democratization Project: Peace, Conflict and Development”, in Ashok Swain, Ramses Amer and Joakim Öjendal, eds., The Democratization Project: Opportunities and Challenges (London: Anthem Press, 2009), pp. 1-15.

"South Asian Regional Council and South Asian Rivers: A Study in Water Conflict", in Manas Chatterji and B. M. Jain, eds., Conflict and Peace in South Asia (Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing Ltd., 2008), pp. 269-284.

“Violent Separatism in Southeast Asia: Old Conflicts, New Challenges”, in Ashok Swain, ed., Islam and Violent Separatism: New Democracies in Southeast Asia (London, New York & Bahrain: Kegan Paul, 2007), pp. 1-18.

“Building Peace in the Era of Three Waves”, in Ashok Swain, Ramses Amer and Joakim Öjendal, eds.,Globalization and Challenges to Building Peace (London, New York & Delhi: Anthem Press, 2007), with Ramses Amer & Joakim Öjendal.

“Catapulting Conflicts or Propelling Peace: Diasporas and Civil War”, in Ashok Swain, Ramses Amer and Joakim Öjendal, eds.,Globalization and Challenges to Building Peace (London, New York & Delhi: Anthem Press, 2007), with Jonathan Hall.

“Agenda 21”, Robertson, Roland, and Jan Aart Scholte, eds. Encyclopedia of Globalization (New York: Routledge, 2006).

“Knowledge, Identity and Power–Education Movements in the Global South” in Ashok Swain, ed., Education as Social Action: Knowledge, Identity and Power (Basingstoke & New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005), pp. 1-19.

“Social Action for Education, the State and the Global Network” in Education as Social Action: Knowledge, Identity and Power (Basingstoke & New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005), pp. 205-214.

“Diffusion of Environmental Peace? International rivers and Bilateral relations in South Asia” in Ramesh Thakur and Oddny Wiggen, eds., South Asia in the World: Problem Solving Perspectives on Security, Sustainable Development, and Good Governance (Tokyo: UNU Press, 2004), pp. 248-265.

“Social Capita and Protest Movement: The Case of Kerala” in Dwaipayan Bhattacharya, Niraja Gopal Jayal, Bishnu N Mohapatra & Sudha Pai eds., Interrogating Social Capital: The Indian Experience (New Delhi: Sage, 2004), pp. 296-322.

“Environmental Cooperation in South Asia” in Ken Conca and Geoffrey D. Dabelko eds. Environmental Peacemaking (Washington, D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Center Press; Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002), pp. 61-85.

“Managing the Nile River: The Role of Sub-Basin Co-operation” in Manas Chatterji, Saul Arlosoroff & Gauri Guha, eds, Conflict Management of Water Resources (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2002), pp. 145-160.

“Water Scarcity as a Source of Crises” in E. Wayne Nafziger, Frances Stewart & Raimo Väyrynen, eds., War, Hunger and Displacement: The Origins of Humanitarian Emergencies (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), pp. 179-205.

"Sharing International Rivers: A Regional Approach", in Nils P. Gleditsch, ed., Conflict and the Environment (Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1997), pp. 403-416.

"Environment, Conflict and Cooperation", in Dag Brune, D. V. Chapman, M. D. Gwynne & J. M. Pacyna, eds., The Global Environment: Science, Technology and Management, Vol. 2 (Weinheim: VCH, 1997), pp. 691-704, with Peter Wallensteen.

"India: The Domestic and International Politics of Water Scarcity", in Leif Ohlsson, ed., Hydropolitics: Conflicts over Water as a Development Constraint (London & New Jersey: Zed Books, 1995), pp. 123-148, with Elisabeth Corell. 

Reports

Climate Change and the Risk of Violent Conflicts in Southern Africa, (Pretoria: Global Crisis Solutions, 2011), with Ranjula Bali Swain, Anders Themnér and Florian Krampe.

Security in the Middle East-Increasingly Multidimensional and Challenging, A Study Commissioned by the Strategic Perspective Project within the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters, Stockholm, August 2009, with Joakim Öjendal and MichaelSchulz.

Management of Trans-boundary Freshwater Resources: A Case for EC Conflict Prevention, SWP-CPN Report, August 2001, with Jerome Riviere.

Water & Development, A Commissioned Study Prepared for the European Parliament by Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), May 2000, with Gunilla Björklund, Ulf Ehlin, Malin Falkenmark, Jan Lundqvist, Johan Rockström and Anna Brismar, 104 pages.

Environmental Degradation and Population Displacement, AVISO Papers, no. 2, (Global Environmental Change and Human Security Project, Victoria, Canada), 1999, with Steve Lonergran, 8 pages.

Comprehensive Assessment of the Freshwater Resources of the World, International Fresh Water Resources: Conflict or Cooperation?, (Stockholm: Stockholm Environment Institute, 1997), with Peter Wallensteen, 32 pages.

Other publications

“The China Factor: New Challenges for Nile Basin Cooperation”, New Routes (Uppsala), no. 3, 2011, pp. 7-10, with Qazal Jamali.

“Transboundary Rivers and Climate Change: African and Asian Rivers”. Conflict Trends (Durban), vol. 2, pp: 16-21, with Florian Krampe.

"Nile: Troubled Waters", The Africa Report (Paris), no. 17, June-July 2009, pp. 34-39.

"Democracy, Minority Rights and Conflict Prevention in Asia" in Ciska Raventos, ed., Democratic Innovation in the South: Participation and Representation in Asia, Africa and Latin America (Buenos Aires: Clacso Books, 2008), pp. 219-237. (Available in Spanish as well).

“Diasporas and Peace Building: A Multifaceted Association”, in Ashok Swain, ed., Diasporas, Armed Conflicts and Peacebuilding in their Homelands (Uppsala University, Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Report No. 79, 2007), pp. 9- 15, with Jonathan Hall and Roland Kostic.

“International Rivers and External Support”, Currents (Uppsala), 42, March 2007, pp. 4-7.

“Regional Organization and Global Terrorism in Southeast Asia”, in Kamaulzaman Askandar, ed., Understanding and Managing Militant Movements in Southeast Asia (Penang: SEACSN Publication, 2005), pp. 145-155.

“Southeast Asia: Regional Organization and Global Terrorism”, The SEACSN Bulletin (Penang), January-June 2004, pp. 4-8.

”Political Structure and Dam Conflicts: Comparing Cases in Southeast Asia” in Water & Politics: Understanding the Role of Politics in Water Management (Marseille: WWC, 2004), pp. 95-114, with Ming Chee Ang.

Social Network & Social Movement: Are Northern Tools Useful to Evaluate Southern Protests?, Uppsala Peace Research Paper No. 4, Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University, 2002, 33 pages.

“Managing the Zambezi: The Need to Build Water Institutions” in Daniel Tavera & Sam Moyo, eds., Environmental Security in Southern Africa (Harare: Sapes Books, 2000), pp.119-138 with Patrik Stålgren.

“Environmental Peace: Managing Conflict and Building Cooperation over Scarce Renewable Resources”, in Joost Platje & Michael A. Giacomin, eds., Environmental Protection in the Baltic Region: Awareness Building and Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction (Copenhagen: Nordic Council of Ministers, 2000), pp. 35-42.

“Long-Term Sustainability of Bilateral River Agreements” in Water Security for Multinational Water Systems – Opportunity for Development, SIWI Report 8 (Stockholm: Stockholm International Water Institute, 2000), pp. 137-142.

“Environmental Scarcity and Global Security”, Kristdemokratisk Debatt (Stockholm), no. 4, 2000, pp. 31-35.

“Making it a Larger Slice: Conflict Management Strategy for River Sharing in the South” in Water and Dispute Prevention: South Perspective (Center for the Global South, American University, Washington DC, Reports and Papers No. 19, 1998), pp. 29-38.

“Water Apartheid: The Politics of River Diversion”, in Gunnel Cederlöf, ed., Water: The Taming of a Scarce Resource (Uppsala: Council for Assistance and Development Studies, Uppsala University, 1998), pp. 93-102. 

“Environmental Disaster and Environmental Conflict”, in Geopolitics in Humanitarian Assistance , vol. 3, (European Commission: NOHA, 1998), pp. 65-70. 

“Sharing the Ganges: Ugly Conflict over Holy Water”, in Farid Abbaszadegan & Franz Wennberg, eds., Hydrpolitik och Demokrati (Uppsala: Asiatic Society, 1998), pp. 7-19.

“Water Scarcity: Competition Leading to Cooperation over Rivers”, Utrikes Perspektive (Lund), no. 4, 1998, pp. 5-10.

“Environment and Conflict”, Människan & Naturen Kursboken 1996 (Uppsala, 1997), pp. 155-162.

"Connecting Social Capital with Democratic Protests: Three Popular Movements in India Against Big Dams", Agora Project's Working Papers from the Conference on Social Capital and Democracy (Uppsala: Department of Government, 1996), pp. 141-145.

"Kleinkrieg um die Macht: Die Wahlen in Indien haben die Spaltung der Gesellschaft offengelegt" (Struggle for Power: Elections in India open up the Division in Society), der überblick (Hamburg), no. 2, June 1996, pp. 53-55, (In German).

"Environmental Migration and Political Conflicts: Bangladeshis in India", in Tekeste Negash & Lars Rudebeck, eds., Dimensions of Development with Emphasis on Africa (Uppsala: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet & Forum for Development Studies, 1995), pp. 246-265.

"International Fresh Water Systems as a Source of Conflict and Cooperation", in Kurt R. Spillmann & Günther Bächler, eds., Environmental Crisis: Regional Conflicts and Ways of Cooperation, Environment and Conflict Project (Zürich & Bern), Occasional Paper No. 14, September 1995, pp. 138-147, with Peter Wallensteen.

Vatten–en källa till konflikt: Tre exempel från Indien (Water–A Source of Conflict: Three Examples from India), Världspolitikens Dagsfrågor, no. 5, 1994 (Stockholm: The Swedish Institute of International Affairs). (In Swedish), with Elisabeth Corell, 32 Pages.

"Blasphemie oder Verrat der Nation? Politische Hintergründe der Angriffe auf Taslima Nasreen" (Blasphemy or Betrayal of the Nation? Political Background of the Attacks on Taslima Nasreen), der überblick (Hamburg), no. 4, December 1994, pp. 74-77, (In German).

"Conflict Inducing Potential of the River Water Resources: Building A Framework for the Future", in Tawatchai Tingsanchali, ed., Environmentally Sound Water Resources Utilization (Bangkok: AIT, 1993), pp. II-329-336.

Other

Selected experiences in academic administration

Director, The Uppsala Center for Sustainable Development (Uppsala University and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences), since September 2008.

Head of the Department (Prefekt), Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University, Fall 2005.

Director of the Uppsala University’s Program of International Studies, June 1998-July 2007.

Director of the Master’s Program of Peace and Conflict Studies, Uppsala University, since August 2007-August 2008.

Coordinator of the Swedish Network of Peace, Conflict and Development Research, 2005-2007.

Member of Sida’s Research Council’s Reference Group for Natural Resources Management, since 2011.

Chair of Sida’s Research Council’s Reference Group for Development Studies and Social Science, 2004-2007 (member 2002-2007).

Member of the Board of Trustees and the Executive Committee of the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation, Uppsala, Sweden, since 2006.

Member of the Dag Hammarskjöld Lecture Committee, Uppsala, Sweden, since 2009.

Member of the Selection Committee of “The Humanitarian Water and Food Award”, Copenhagen, Denmark, since 2010.

Selected research assignments

Visiting Fellow, Harrison Program on the Future Global Agenda, Department of Government and Politics, University of Maryland, College Park, USA, June-August 2006.

Visiting Professor, Dr. Andrew R. Thompson Natural Resources Law Program, Faculty of Law, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, July-August 2005.

Visiting Professor, Department of Political Science, the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara, India, January-February 2005.

Advisor to the Public Utilities Board, Government of Singapore, Singapore, 2003-2005.

Fellow, UN Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), Geneva, Switzerland for the year 2001.

Visiting Researcher, Department for Political Studies, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, December 1999-January 2000.

Visiting Fellow, Unit of Research and Education for Peace, University of Science, Penang, Malaysia, July 1999.

MacArthur Fellow, Center for International Studies, University of Chicago, USA, Autumn 1997.

Visiting Fellow, Nordic Institute for Asian Studies, Copenhagen, Denmark, August 1997.

Referee for Journals

Journal of Peace Research, International Studies Quarterly, International Political Science Review, International Organization, International Negotiation, Political Studies, Conflict Management and Peace Science, Cooperation and Conflict, Journal of Human Development, Global Environmental Politics, Journal of Third World Studies, Ambio, Environmental Politics, East-West Centre Bulletin, Water International, Journal of Environmental Management, Africa Today, Contemporary South Asia, Journal of Hydrological Science, and Canadian Journal of African Studies, Routledge.