Research
At the Centre on Armed Groups, our research is driven by a single organisational goal: reducing violence and ending armed conflict.
Our methodologies
We use a range of research methods, each tailored to the question and context at hand. Political economy analysis is a cornerstone of our work, helping to situate armed groups within local, national and transnational systems of power. This enables us to understand how various types of armed groups generate income, deliver services, and compete for authority and legitimacy. To complement this, we draw on grounded, interpretive approaches to explore how civilians experience life during conflict and under armed group control. These methods allow us to examine the everyday relationships between communities and the armed actors who govern them. When appropriate, we also incorporate quantitative analysis, satellite imagery, and open-source intelligence to deepen or expand our insights.
Our data collection
Our team has extensive experience conducting research in conflict-affected areas. We maintain trusted networks with active and former armed group members, state actors, and civilians living under armed group rule across the world.
Most of our work relies on in-depth interviews and stakeholder engagement. We prioritise flexibility and responsiveness in the field, allowing unexpected insights to emerge. When relevant, we pair this with quantitative methods, particularly for our research on economic flows, taxation, governance, and resource management. Meanwhile, me maintain rigours academic standards, particularly regarding methodology and ethics.
Our publications
We aim to ensure our publications are accessible to both researchers and policymakers. Alongside written outputs, we regularly share findings through closed briefings, convenings, academic conferences and targeted workshops, tailoring formats to our audiences’ needs.
Protecting civilians, researchers, and implementing partners is our first priority. As such, not all of our findings are released publicly immediately or in full. However, we strive to ensure that each project includes at least one public-facing output from each project, even when authorship remains anonymous, to ensure the information reaches those who can benefit from it.