Citizen Preferences in the Design of Effective Peace Settlements

How does the design of peace settlements most effectively secure citizen support?

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Finding the answer to this question is the main goal of this research project and will mark an important first step in identifying information negotiators can use to more fully integrate citizen preferences into the design of peace settlements. Currently, peace settlements often fail to incorporate public opinion due to lack of nuanced information on the preferences of citizens concerning the various compromises contained within the agreements.

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The CPIDEPS project runs from October 2017 to September 2019 and involves two survey experiments conducted in Northern Ireland and Cyprus. It seeks to find the most effective way of designing peace settlements, which are based on citizens support. The analysis of the data collected in the surveys will inform elites and decision-makers with a better basis for understanding the preferences of citizens in Northern Ireland and Cyprus. However, the impact of the project will not be limited to these two cases. Based on the research, a transferable set of methods will be developed, which can be applied to other post-conflict settings.