Back from the ISA convention

I just got off the plane after a short week in New Orleans, attending the Annual Conference of the International Studies Association. As always, a solid PRIO attendance, with some 15 people. The highlights were many to report here (I may not even be aware of them all – feel free to follow up with comments to this blog). I certainly got the sense that those I talked to felt that the conference had been productive for them in particular – which is essentially what it boils down to.

One thing I particularly enjoyed was the roundtable we hosted – ‘Peace Research Coming of Age: Towards a Common Agenda?’ – in which we assessed the state of affairs in the peace research today and the challenges ahead of us. Inger chaired the panel, which consisted of Scott Gates, Roger Mac Ginty, Peter Wallensteen and Susan Woodward, with myself as a discussant. The roundtable was well attended, with an estimated 40 people in the audience, many of whom raised good questions and comments. One rock-solid conclusion was that a running reflection on the agenda, methodology and ethics of peace research is essential, and I committed to make sure that this is kept on the agenda, at ISA and elsewhere. Next year, we should propose a new panel or a roundtable, probably focused on a specific theme within this larger agenda (suggestions welcome).