
Conflict and crisis: actors, norms, transformation
At the Centre for Applied Human Rights (CAHR), we respond to the challenges posed by complex conflicts and crises to individuals, groups and communities through interdisciplinary, co-productive, and impact-oriented research.
Contemporary conflicts relate to land and water governance, to environmental degradation, to development models that skew opportunities for large sections of the population, to an ever-diminishing civic and political space, and to power imbalances that sustain oppressive structures. They are protracted, or move in and out of violence, and between different forms of violence.
At CAHR, we focus on understanding how actors and norms shape each other in conflict, crisis and post-conflict settings, and whether and how such interactions can lead to transformative processes. We work in partnership with non-, inter- and governmental partners ranging from organisations with global reach to local social movements and indigenous groups.
Projects in focus



Publications and digital outputs
'Considerations and Guidance on the Humanitarian Engagement with Religious Leaders' by Ioana Cismas, Marta Furlan, Piergiuseppe Parisi, Chris Rush, Ezequiel Heffes and Hasnaa El Jamali. Published by the Generating Respect Project, University of York.

'Transitional Justice as a Driver of Transformation in Colombia' by Paul Gready, José Antonio Gutiérrez Danton, Piergiuseppe Parisi, and Simon Robins. Policy brief 6 published by CAPAZ - Instituto Colombo-Alemán par la Paz


This digital story draws on interviews conducted by Piergiuseppe Parisi and Yolvi Lena Padilla Sepulveda in 2022 and 2023 in Colombia, as part of the fieldwork for the Generating Respect Project. Nicolás Braguinsky Cascini produced the video. The video is in Spanish with English subtitles.