#BISA2026 War Studies Working Group keynote announced – Waging war, making peace
We are excited to confirm that the annual War Studies Working Group keynote at #BISA2026 will be a roundtable entitled ‘Waging war, making peace from South Africa to Northern Ireland, the Middle East to Ukraine: An IR perspective’.
The roundtable will consider the extent to which post-Cold War peacemaking was a ‘moment’ made possible by international circumstances, the nature of that peacemaking, and why that moment is very probably at an end.
The end of the Cold War not only brought much relief to those who had suffered its consequences, but opened up the very real possibility of previously unresolved regional conflicts being brought to an end. Yet as continuing conflicts from the Middle East to Ukraine show, wishing for peace is not the same thing as being able to bring it about. This raises at least three key questions for scholars of IR. Why have some peace processes proved durable and others not? Why has the United Nations failed in achieving one of its core purposes of achieving peace? And what role has been played by the so-called great powers in either facilitating or undermining ongoing peace processes?
Speakers
This keynote roundtable will bring together scholars with considerable experience of researching the war to peace trajectory:
Professor Michael Cox, Chair (LSE) - Professor Michael Cox is a Founding Director of LSE IDEAS. He was Director of LSE IDEAS between 2008 and 2019 and now holds a senior fellowship. He is also Emeritus Professor of International Relations at LSE.
Professor Mary Kaldor (LSE) - Mary Kaldor is an Emeritus Professor of Global Governance and Director of the Conflict and Civicness Research Programme in LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Professor Kaldor is highly regarded for her innovative work on democratisation, conflict, and globalisation.
Professor Roger Mac Ginty (Durham University) - Roger Mac Ginty is Professor at the School of Government and International Affairs at Durham University, the editor of the journal Peacebuilding, and co-founder of the Everyday Peace Indicators. He is ISA Peace Studies Section Distinguished Scholar for 2025.
Professor Caroline Kennedy-Pipe (University of Loughborough) - Caroline Kennedy-Pipe is Professor of War Studies at Loughborough University. She teaches and researches on contemporary war, geopolitics and defence. She is currently working on the politics of the Arctic and new security challenges.
Dr Aaron Edwards (Sandhurst) - Aaron Edwards is a Senior Lecturer in Defence and International Affairs at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and an Honorary Research Fellow in Politics and International Relations at the University of Leicester.
Dr Fiona Stephen (Former Director of the Northern Ireland Council on Integrated Education) - Fiona Stephen (PhD Queens University Belfast) was the Founding Director of the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education.
Dr Richard Hargy (Queen’s University of Belfast) - Dr Hargy is a Visiting Scholar at Queen’s University Belfast’s Centre for the Study of Ethnic Conflict. His research explores the intersections of Irish political history and international diplomacy, with a particular focus on U.S. engagement in the Northern Ireland peace process.
The roundtable will take place on Wednesday 3 June as part of the BISA 2026 annual conference.
At the BISA conference you can join a dynamic community of specialists from around the world to discuss, debate, and advance the field of international studies. Whether you're presenting your latest research, seeking insightful feedback, or simply looking to engage in thought-provoking discussions, our conference offers something for everyone. The draft programme will be released, and registration will open, in January 2026.