New publication on security perceptions and foreign policy preferences in Georgia

Sabine Carey and Jürgen Brandsch have published a new article on how living near different boundary lines affects perceptions of security and preferences towards dealing with a significantly stronger neighbour. Using novel survey data, they show that ambiguous borderlines are linked with greater concerns about insecurity. while clearly fortified borderlines lower concerns about insecurity. Despite these greater concerns of those living near the creeping border between South Ossetia and the rest of Georgia, they are particularly hesitant towards taking a stronger stance towards their Russian neighbour. Hence, strongly felt instability does not necessarily lead to demanding more hawkish foreign policies.

Article introducing PGMD 2.0 is now available

The article “The Life, Death and Diversity of Pro-Government Militias: The Fully Revised Pro-Government Militias Database Version 2.0.” by Sabine Carey, Neil Mitchell and Katrin Paula is now out in Research & Politics 9(1). It describes this fully revised version of the PGMD. The data are available here.

Paper on killings of journalists accepted for publication

Why are journalists killed for the work they do - and why are journalists predominately murdered in institutional democracies, where they should enjoy particular protection? Sabine Carey and Anita Gohdes research this question with new detailed data on killings of journalists globally, identifying type of perpetrator and outlets the journalists were working for. Their results show that, counterintuitively, democratic institutions do not help protect reporters from being murdered. Among institutional democracies, locally elected governments increase the risk that a journalist is murdered by state actors or by unconfirmed perpetrators.

The article “Understanding journalist killings” has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Politics. Access the pre-publication paper here.

New work on the detrimental impact of war-time militias on post-conflict repression

Sabine Carey and Belén González show in a new study, accepted for publication in Conflict Management and Peace Science, that pro-government militias that carry over from civil war times into the post-conflict period have a detrimental impact on repression in postwar societies. Post-war governments do not very frequently create or align with new irregular armed groups, but if they do, then these new militias target more specifically the opposition but without affecting general levels of repression. The open access article is available here.

New publication on electoral violence

Mascha Rauschenbach and Katrin Paula’s article on electoral violence is now out on FirstView at Journal of Peace Research. using data from seven African countries, their research shows that incumbent supporters are targeted with clientelism, while swing and opposition voters are more likely to be intimidated with violence.

New study on the impact of PGMs on recurrence of conflict

Steinert, steinert & Carey JPR 2018

This is a new study by Christoph Steinert, Janina Steinert and Sabine Carey that shows that conflicts in which pro-government militias participate in the counterinsurgency campaign are more likely to break out again after they have been terminated; published open access in the Journal of Peace Research.

Report in the Frankfurter Allgemeinen Sonntagszeitung

Anita Gohdes and Sabine Carey have written an article about their latest study on the link between the killings of journalists and human rights violations more generally in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 4 June 2017.

FAZ 4 June 2017

Report by the European Commission about our research

The European Commission posted a short report about our study on using the killings of journalists to assess the risk of wider human rights violations.

New publication on link between killing of journalists and repression

In a new study in Journal of Peace Research, Anita Gohdes and Sabine Carey show that the killings of journalists can act as early warning indicator for worsening overall repression. Download the ungated article.

Review article on pro-government militias and conflict published

Sabine Carey and Neil Mitchell published the article "Pro-Government Militias and Conflict" in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics. It examines the supply of and demand for these groups  in civil war and how they shape such conflicts. 

Policy brief on pro-government militias, human rights abuse and the ambiguous role of foreign aid

Sabine Carey and Neil Mitchell published a policy briefing paper with the German Development Institute, in which they explain why foreign aid might encourage leaders to use militias. Download the briefing paper here.

A new typology of pro-government militias

Sabine Carey and Neil Mitchell. 2015. "The Monopoly of Violence and the Puzzling Survival of Pro-Government Militias." submitted to the Annual Review of Political Science.

New publication

The paper “Governments, Informal Links to Militias, and Accountability” by Sabine Carey, Michael Colaresi and Neil Mitchell has been published in a special issue on militia groups in the Journal of Conflict Resolution. You can access the article here. An ungated version of the paper is available here.

Read more about the Pro-Government Militia Project.