Gene Carolan, a PhD candidate in International Law and Peace Studies at Maynooth University Department of Law, recently presented a paper at the Annual Conference of the Conflict Research Society at Trinity College Dublin.
The Conflict Research Society is the oldest society in the UK dedicated to the research of peace and conflict, and one of the oldest societies of its kind in the world. The Society promotes academic and policy-relevant research on conflict processes and cooperation. The society provides a forum of deliberation for leading global academic institutions and NGOs. Amongst those in attendance at Trinity College were representatives of Irish governmental and civil society organisations, and pre-eminent international scholars from Yale and Oxford.
Gene’s paper unpacked the lessons learned from 40 years of peace-making between north and south Sudan, including the proven viability of highly legalized agreements and the manner in which they radically affect autonomous arrangements. It concluded by addressing the implications these findings have for the conflicts that continue to plague the region.
Gene’s doctoral research critically evaluates the protracted peace processes in the Sudan, the Philippines and Sierra Leone with a view to identifying the legal mechanisms that are central to peace agreement sustainability. He lectures on Legal Research Methods at undergraduate level.