Conflict, Security and Justice

The Conflict, Security and Justice thematic pathway is offered through a number of subject areas at Durham, Newcastle, Queen’s Belfast and Ulster universities. It is a collaborative pathway offering students the opportunity to pursue cutting-edge interdisciplinary research supported by scholars working across a range of areas. We have particular strengths in border security, children and conflict, conflict and ethics, conflict transformation, critical security studies, cyber-security, development, gender and conflict, human rights, peace and state building, policing post-conflict societies, policy studies, religion and conflict, security and violence, social justice, terrorism and counter-terrorism, transitional justice and victims of conflict. This pathway brings together scholars from Environmental Planning, Human Geography, Language-based Area Studies, Law, Politics and International Studies, Social Anthropology and Sociology across the four institutions. The establishment of secure, peaceful, and just societies requires insight and innovation from all disciplines, and as an inter-disciplinary pathway, Conflict, Security and Justice provides crucial opportunities to support and encourage cross-cutting research that addresses global challenges in novel ways.

At Durham University, the Global Security Institute provides expertise in security, peace and state building, with regional expertise in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. The School of Government and Politics hosts the al-Sabah Programme for Regional Politics and International Security. In Geography, there is also extensive specialism in international boundaries conflict resolution at IBRU: Centre for Borders Research.

At Newcastle University, research in Conflict, Security and Justice sits across a number of subject areas with specific foci in Environmental Planning, Human Geography, Law and Sociology. Within these subject areas we have particular strengths in military, war and security related research, as well as in human rights and social justice scholarship.

At Queen’s University, Belfast, the Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice is a centre for research into past conflicts, transitional justice, ethics and security. In addition, the university’s Centre for Security Information Technologies offers opportunities for cyber-security, border, security technologies and data gathering and protection related scholarship.

At Ulster University, research is focused through the International Conflict Research Institute (INCORE) and the Transitional Justice Institute which provide support for scholarship on peace and conflict and justice-related studies.

The Conflict, Security and Justice pathway offers funding for 1+3 (MA + PhD), +3.5 (PhD with additional research training, or required language training) and +3 (PhD). Students will be based in one institution but may have supervisors based in more than one of the subject areas or institutions that make up this pathway. Please contact the pathway leader at the university you are thinking of joining, listed below.