Parallel session
Peace and conflict

While the pandemic has presented undeniable challenges to public health and the global economy, we still have limited understanding of its political implications. How has the pandemic, and its related policy response, affected violence, rebellion, and conflict worldwide? How has trust and economic inequality within and between social groups and towards institutions shaped cooperation with government responses to the pandemic in fragile and conflict affected communities?

In this session, distinguished economists and political scientists will explore these questions and more on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on peace and conflict dynamics. 

Collaborators

Patricia Justino | Chair

Patricia Justino is a development economist who works at the interface between Development Economics and Political Science. She is a leading expert on political violence and development, and the co-founder and co-director of the Households in Conflict Network. She is currently a Senior Research Fellow at UNU-WIDER and Professorial Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) in Brighton, UK (on leave). Professor Justino’s research focuses on the relationship between political violence, institutional transformation, governance and development outcomes.

Renard SextonRenard Sexton | Presenter

Renard Sexton is a political scientist who studies conflict and development, especially in Southeast Asia (including the South China Sea), Afghanistan and Latin America. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Emory University. His scholarly work has been published in the American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science and Journal of Politics. He also does policy work and commentary, which has been published by the Washington Post, New York Times among others.

Colette Salemi | Presenter

Colette Salemi is a PhD student and research assistant at the University of Minnesota. Salemi is a microeconomist focused on labor and economic activity in developing countries and is currently working on projects related to forced displacement and refugee policy as well. She is trained in both quantitative and qualitative methods and is an advanced student of Arabic.

Jeffrey BloemJeff Bloem | Presenter

Jeffrey Bloem is a development economist with the International Trade and Development Branch in the Economic Research Service’s Market and Trade Economics Division. His research focuses on applied development microeconomics with applications in agricultural economics, poverty alleviation, conflict, labor, and education. Jeffrey also is co-organizer of the Online Agriculture and Resource Economics Seminar.

Elena Esposito | Presenter

Elena Esposito is an Assistant Professor at HEC, University of Lausanne. She is an applied economist with research interests in the fields of development and economic growth, political economy, and economic history.

Ada González-TorresAda González-Torres | Presenter

Ada González-Torres is an Assistant Professor in the Economics Department at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Her main fields are in development economics and political economy. In her research she focuses on the role of trust, social norms and information mechanisms in determining development outcomes. Her work includes studying social aspects of epidemic outbreaks, causes and consequences of civil violence, and gender-based violence in low-income settings.