Associate Professor Isak Svensson
Dr Svensson is currently Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Otago and Associate Professor at the Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University.
His area of expertise ranges from religion in conflict resolution, unarmed insurrections, to international mediation. His dissertation, ‘Elusive Peacemakers: A Bargaining Perspective on Mediation in Internal Armed Conflicts’, focused on the conditions for international mediation in civil wars. His main focus has been on how mediation can help to overcome bargaining problems, including the role of bias mediation in civil wars, issues of power and trust mediators, and third-party security guarantees.
He has published works in several high-ranking journals, such as Journal of Peace Research, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Negotiation Journal and International Negotiations. In addition, he has written several book-chapters with prestigious publishers. He has also explored the Norwegian mediation efforts in Sri Lanka.
Svensson has been a visiting fellow at the Centre for the Study of Civil Wars (CSCW) at the International Peace Research Institute (PRIO), Oslo.
Email isak.svensson@otago.ac.nz
Phone 643 479 7681
Publications
Monographs
- Isak Svensson & Peter Wallensteen, Going Between: Ambassador Jan Eliasson and the Styles of International Mediation, 2010, United Institute of Peace Press (USIP), Washington D.C.; ISBN: 978-1-60127-062-7
- Isak Svensson, Elusive Peacemakers: A Bargaining Perspective on Mediation in Internal Armed Conflicts, Dissertation thesis, Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University, 2006, Report no 75. ISBN 91-506-1908-X
Peer-reviewed international journals
- Isak Svensson, “East Asian Peacemaking: Exploring the patterns of conflict management and conflict settlement in East Asia”, Asian Perspective, forthcoming 2011(2)
- Isak Svensson & Mathilda Lindgren, “Community and Consent? Exploring Unarmed Insurgencies in Non-democracies”, European Journal of International Relations, forthcoming 17 (1), 2011
- Isak Svensson & Emily Harding, “How Holy Wars End: Exploring the Termination Patterns of Conflicts with Religious Dimensions in Asia”, Terrorism and Political Violence, forthcoming
- Kristine Höglund & Isak Svensson, “Should I Stay or Should I Go? Termination as Tactic and Norwegian Mediation in Sri Lanka”, Negotiation and Conflict Management Research, 4 (1), pp. 12–32, 2010
- Molly Melin & Isak Svensson, “Incentives for Talking: Acceptance of Mediation in International and Civil Wars”, International Interactions, 35(3), 2009
- Isak Svensson, “Who Brings Which Peace: Biased versus Neutral Mediation and Institutional Peace Arrangements in Civil Wars”, Journal of Conflict Resolution, 53:3, p. 446 – 469, 2009
- Kristine Höglund & Isak Svensson, “Mediating between Tigers and Lions: Exploring Norwegian Peace Diplomacy in Sri Lanka’s Civil War”, Contemporary South Asia, 17:2, p. 175 – 191, 2009
- Kristine Höglund & Isak Svensson, “‘Damned if You Do, and Damned if You Don’t’: Nordic Involvement and Images of Third-Party Neutrality in Sri Lanka”, International Negotiation, 13(3), 341-364, 2008
- Isak Svensson, “Fighting with Faith: Religion and Conflict Resolution in Civil Wars”, Journal of Conflict Resolution, 51(6), 930-949, 2007
- Isak Svensson, “Mediation with Muscles or Minds? Exploring Power and Trust Mediators in Civil Wars”, International Negotiation, 12(2), 2007
- Isak Svensson, “Bias, Bargaining, and Peace Brokers: How Rebels Commit to Peace”, Journal of Peace Research, 44(2), 2007
- Kristine Höglund & Isak Svensson, “’Sticking One’s Neck Out: Mistrust Reducing Strategies in Sri Lankan Peace Negotiation Processes’”, Negotiation Journal, 22 (4), October (2006)
- Kristine Höglund & Isak Svensson, “The Peace Process in Sri Lanka”, in Civil Wars 5 (4), Winter 2003, Frank Cass, London
Book Chapters
- Kristine Höglund & Isak Svensson, “Fallacies of the Peace Ownership Approach: Exploring Norwegian Mediation in Sri Lanka”, prepared for book project Liberal Peace in Question: Politics of State and Market Reforms in Sri Lanka, Kristian Stokke & Jayadeva Uyangoda (eds), London, Anthem Press, 2010
- Kristine Höglund & Isak Svensson, “Mediating between Tigers and Lions: Exploring Norwegian Peace Diplomacy in Sri Lanka’s Civil War”, in Aggestam, Karin & Björkdahl, Annika (eds): War and Peace in Transition: Changing Roles and Practices of External Actors; Nordic Academic Press, 2009
- Isak Svensson, “Guaranteeing Peace: The Credibility of Third-Party Mediators in Civil Wars”, book-chapter in Bercovitch, Jacob and Gartner, Scott (eds): International Conflict Mediation: New Approaches and Findings, Routledge 2009
- David Rangdrol & Isak Svensson, “Demos or Deus? Patterns of Religious Dimensions in Asian Armed Conflicts, 1945-2005”, in Ashok Swain, Joakim Öjendal, and Ramses Amer (eds), The Democratization Project: Challenges and Opportunities, London, Anthem Press, 2009
- Isak Svensson, “Partial Peacemakers: Explaining Mediation Success in African Armed Conflicts”, book-chapter in Thomas Ohlson (ed): From Intra-State War to Durable Peace: Conflict and its Resolution in Africa after the Cold War, forthcoming Uppsala: Nordic Africa Institute
- Isak Svensson, ”Democracies, Disengagement and Deals: Exploring the Effect of Different Types of Mediators in Internal Armed Conflicts”, in Resources, Governance and Civil Conflict, Kaare Strom and Magnus Öberg (eds). Routledge 2007
Other Publications (Selected)
- Svensson, Isak and Lindgren, Mathilda: “Peace and Protest: unarmed insurrections in East Asia, 1946-2006”, Asia Insight 2/2009
- Isak Svensson, The Nagorno Karabakh conflict: Lessons from the mediation efforts; Initiative for Peacbuilding / The Crisis Management Initiative (CMI), Brussels, 2009
- Isak Svensson, “Divine Disputes? Exploring the Religious Dimensions of Armed Conflicts”, Occasional Papers, 2008, Life and Peace Institute, Uppsala
- Isak Svensson, “Randomized Intervention: New Approaches to Impact Assessment”, New Routes, 13 (2), 2008
- Isak Svensson, “What the Foreign Minister Can Learn from Norway”, Internationella Studier, 2006 (2), Utrikespolitiska Institutet, (in Swedish only)
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