Who We Are

The Peace and Conflict Studies Network is an initiative to connect academics working in conflict, security and peace studies at universities in the Netherlands.

In 2021, an inventory by Peace and Conflict Studies Centre of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and the Dutch Foundation for Peace Research showed that almost all universities in the Netherlands offer relevant research and education. Yet, the size and quality of these efforts go largely unnoticed – not just by public and private organisations, including the media, but also by the academic world.

At a Roundtable meeting in Groningen on 17 March 2022, some twenty participants from ten organizations decided to launch a national network to feel this gap.

Participants: Rosanne Anholt (RU); Steven van Bockstael (UG); Monica den Boer (NLDA); Michel Bravo (SVW); Jesse Crane-Seeber (UG); Jolle Demmers (UU); Isabelle Duyvensteyn (UL); Ed Dumrese (Slot Loevesteijn); Nour Gjaltema (VU); Sanne Groothuis (VU); Annabelle de Heus (NHL Stenden); Magdalena König (UG); Nico Schrijver (Em. UL); Ingrid Sennema (UG); Lenneke Sprik (NHL Stenden); Wolf-gang Wagner (VU); Jaap de Wilde (UG); Erin Wilson (UG).

They decided on a loose organizational set-up. A subgroup was asked to write a Mission Statement, and the interfaculty research institute Globalisation Studies Groningen offered to set up and run this website for the coming years.

Coordinating team:
Jolle Demmers (UU), Isabelle Duyvesteyn (UL), Ellen Giebels (UT), Beatrice de Graaf (UU), Mathijs van Leeuwen (RU), Wolfgang Wagner (VU), and Jaap de Wilde (UG)

Administrative support:
Ingrid Sennema and Marloes Viet (GSG).