What are the most promising strategies for reducing crime, violence, and conflict? The past decade has seen a dramatic expansion in the experimental literature designed to help answer this question. Moving beyond evaluations of individual programs, these studies seek to advance our understanding of what drives individuals and groups towards violence and conflict and the levers at our disposal for their reduction.
While there may not yet be a list of peacebuilding and governance interventions that are ready to scale, as we might find in sectors such as education or health, several promising lines of inquiry have emerged as new research probes the mechanisms behind successful interventions—i.e. how they work. This seminar will highlight the most important discoveries from randomized evaluations in recent years and illuminate how this field of research is providing key insights for more effective programming. Drawing on a recent review of emerging evidence, it will cover a range of interrelated topics—from policing and justice provision to peacebuilding and dispute resolution—highlighting new insights for programming, while also identifying where evidence gaps remain.