Isak Svensson
Professor at Department of Peace and Conflict Research
- Telephone:
- +46 18 471 57 40
- E-mail:
- Isak.Svensson@pcr.uu.se
- Visiting address:
- Gamla Torget 3, 1tr
753 20 Uppsala - Postal address:
- Box 514
751 20 UPPSALA
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Short presentation
Isak Svensson is the Dag Hammarskjöld Professor in Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University, Sweden.
His three main areas of expertise are international mediation, religion and conflict, and nonviolent conflicts.
Keywords
- mediation
- religion
- nonviolence
Biography
Dag Hammarskjöld Professor, November 2023, Uppsala University
Professor, October 2015, Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University
Associate Professor, February 2009, Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University
Doctor of Philosophy, October 2007, Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University

Publications
Recent publications
Peace Talks in the Russia-Ukraine War: When, Who, and How?
Part of International Negotiation, p. 97-122, 2025
- DOI for Peace Talks in the Russia-Ukraine War: When, Who, and How?
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No End in Sight?: Trajectories of War Terminations in Islamist Armed Conflicts
Part of Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, p. 1-20, 2024
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Fueling protest?: Climate change mitigation, fuel prices and protest onset
Part of World Development, 2024
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Civil society protests and inclusive peace talks
2023
Part of Terrorism and Political Violence, p. 1126-1146, 2023
- DOI for Resisting Radical Rebels: Variations in Islamist Rebel Governance and the Occurrence of Civil Resistance
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All publications
Articles in journal
Peace Talks in the Russia-Ukraine War: When, Who, and How?
Part of International Negotiation, p. 97-122, 2025
- DOI for Peace Talks in the Russia-Ukraine War: When, Who, and How?
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No End in Sight?: Trajectories of War Terminations in Islamist Armed Conflicts
Part of Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, p. 1-20, 2024
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Fueling protest?: Climate change mitigation, fuel prices and protest onset
Part of World Development, 2024
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Part of Terrorism and Political Violence, p. 1126-1146, 2023
- DOI for Resisting Radical Rebels: Variations in Islamist Rebel Governance and the Occurrence of Civil Resistance
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Pushing the doors open: Nonviolent action and inclusion in peace negotiations
Part of Journal of Peace Research, p. 58-72, 2023
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Part of Civil Wars, p. 103-136, 2023
- DOI for Divided We Fall: Ethnic Cleavages, Movement Cohesion, and the Risk of Escalation to Civil War in Non-Violent Uprisings
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Local Ceasefires and De-escalation: Evidence From the Syrian Civil War
Part of Journal of Conflict Resolution, p. 1350-1375, 2023
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Part of Journal of Conflict Resolution, p. 1703-1730, 2022
- DOI for Violent Political Protest: Introducing a New Uppsala Conflict Data Program Data Set on Organized Violence, 1989-2019
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Part of Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, p. 1-19, 2022
- DOI for Capitalizing on Cleavages: Transnational Jihadist Conflicts, Local Fault Lines and Cumulative Extremism
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The Intractability of Islamist Insurgencies: Islamist Rebels and the Recurrence of Civil War
Part of International Studies Quarterly, p. 620-632, 2021
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Confronting the caliphate?: Explaining civil resistance in jihadist proto-states
Part of European Journal of International Relations, p. 572-595, 2021
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The surprising decline of international mediation in armed conflicts
Part of Research & Politics, 2020
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Between the Bombs: Exploring Partial Ceasefires in the Syrian Civil War, 2011–2017
Part of Terrorism and Political Violence, p. 681-700, 2020
Letter to the Editors: Emancipation and Critique in Peace and Conflict Research
Part of Journal of Global Security Studies, p. 703-707, 2020
Resisting Resolution: Islamist Claims and Negotiations in Intrastate Armed Conflicts
Part of International Negotiation, p. 389-412, 2020
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In the Streets and at the Table: Civil Society Coordination during Peace Negotiations
Part of International Negotiation, p. 225-251, 2020
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Peace Talks and Valid Spokespersons: Explaining the Onset of Negotiations in Southern Thailand
Part of International Negotiation, p. 495-518, 2020
Part of International Negotiation, p. 296-323, 2019
Is Shia-Sunni Violence on the Rise?: Exploring New Data on Intra-Muslim Organised Violence 1989-2017
Part of Civil Wars, p. 25-53, 2019
Part of Religions, 2019
- DOI for Why Is There So Little Shia-Sunni Dialogue?: Understanding the Deficit of Intra-Muslim Dialogue and Interreligious Peacemaking
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From Revolution to Resolution:: Exploring Third‐Party Mediation in Nonviolent Uprisings
Part of Peace and Change, p. 271-291, 2018
The missing jihad: Why have there been no jihadist civil wars in Southeast Asia?
Part of The Pacific Review, p. 96-115, 2018
Disputes over the Divine: Introducing the Religion and Armed Conflict (RELAC) data, 1975–2015
Part of Journal of Conflict Resolution, p. 1127-1148, 2018
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Manufacturing Dissent: Modernization and the Onset of Major Nonviolent Resistance Campaigns
Part of Journal of Conflict Resolution, p. 311-339, 2016
Manufacturing Dissent: Modernization and the Onset of Major Nonviolent Campaigns
Part of Journal of Conflict Resolution, p. 311-339, 2016
Part of Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, p. 185-189, 2016
Part of Journal of Peace Research, p. 559-573, 2014
Talking Peace: International Mediation in Armed Conflicts
Part of Journal of Peace Research, p. 315-327, 2014
Part of International Negotiation, p. 315-342, 2014
Peace from the Inside: Exploring the Role of the Insider-Partial Mediator
Part of International Interactions, p. 698-722, 2013
The Exit Option: Mediation and the Termination of Negotiations in the Northern Ireland Conflict
Part of International Journal of Conflict Management, p. 40-55, 2013
Rivers of Peace: Institutionalized Mekong River Cooperation and The East Asian Peace
Part of European Journal of East Asian Studies, p. 7-34, 2013
Dialogue and Interethnic Trust: A Randomized Field Trial of ‘Sustained Dialogue’ in Ethiopia
Part of Journal of Peace Research, p. 563-575, 2013
One God, Many Wars: Religious dimensions of armed conflict in the Middle East and North Africa
Part of Civil Wars, p. 411-430, 2013
The Exit Option: Mediation and the Termination of Negotiations in the Northern Ireland Conflict
Part of International Journal of Conflict Management, p. 40-55, 2013
Believers and Belligerents: Exploring Faith-Based Mediation in Internal Armed Conflicts
Part of Politics, Religion & Ideology, p. 556-577, 2013
Research on Bias in Mediation: Policy Implications
Part of Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs, p. 17-26, 2013
From Bombs to Banners?: The Decline of Wars and the Rise of Unarmed Uprisings in East Asia
Part of Security Dialogue, p. 219-237, 2011
Should I Stay or Should I Go?: Termination as a Tactic and Norwegian Mediation in Sri Lanka
Part of Negotiation and Conflict Management Research, p. 12-32, 2011
How Holy Wars End: Exploring the Termination Patterns of Conflicts with Religious Dimensions in Asia
Part of Terrorism and Political Violence, p. 133-149, 2011
Part of Asian Perspective, p. 163-185, 2011
Community and Consent: Unarmed insurrections in non-democracies
Part of European Journal of International Relations, p. 97-120, 2011
Part of Cooperation and Conflict, p. 166-184, 2011
Mediating between tigers and lions: Norwegian peace diplomacy in Sri Lanka's civil war
Part of Contemporary South Asia, p. 175-191, 2009
Incentives for Talking: Accepting Mediation in International and Civil Wars
Part of International Interactions, p. 249-271, 2009
Part of Journal of Conflict Resolution, p. 446-469, 2009
Peace and protest: Unarmed insurrections in East Asia, 1946-2006
Part of Asia Insights, p. 11-13, 2009
Part of International Negotiation, p. 341-364, 2008
Mediation with Muscles or Minds?: Exploring Power and Trust Mediators in Civil Wars
Part of International Negotiation, p. 229-248, 2007
Bargaining, bias and peace brokers: How rebels commit to peace
Part of Journal of Peace Research, p. 177-194, 2007
Fighting with faith - Religion and conflict resolution a in civil wars
Part of Journal of Conflict Resolution, p. 930-949, 2007
"Sticking one's neck out": Reducing mistrust in Sri Lanka's peace negotiations
Part of Negotiation journal, p. 367-387, 2006
Books
Fredens diplomater. : Nordisk medling från Bernadotte till Ahtisaari
Santérus Förlag, 2016
Fredens Diplomater: Nordisk medling från Bernadotte till Ahtisaari
Santérus, 2016
Religion and the International System
Sage Publications, 2016
International mediation bias and peacemaking: Taking sides in civil wars
Routledge, 2014
Ending Holy Wars: Religion and Conflict Resolution in Civil Wars
University of Queensland Press, 2012
The Go-Between: Jan Eliasson and the styles of mediation
United States Institute of Peace Press, 2010
Chapters in book
Resolving Religious Conflicts through Peace Agreements
Part of International law and peace settlements, p. 374-397, Cambridge University Press, 2021
Mediation of Interstate Conflicts and Civil Wars
Part of Oxford Research Encyclopedia of International Studies, Oxford University Press, 2020
Mediating Closure: Timing for a MHS
Part of How Negotiations End, p. 201-207, Cambridge University Press, 2019
Civil war and religion: an overview
Part of The Oxford Encyclopedia of Politics and Religion, Oxford University Press, 2019
Part of Research Handbook on Mediating International Crises, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019
Where Are the Women in Peace Mediation?
Part of Gendering Diplomacy and International Negotiation, p. 149-168, Palgrave Macmillan, 2018
The East Asian Peace: will it last?
Part of Debating the East Asian Peace, p. 281-296, NIAS Press, 2017
Mapping armed conflicts over Islamist claims: exploring regional variations
Part of SIPRI Yearbook 2017: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security, p. 58-65, Oxford University Press, 2017
When do we mediate? Global trends in armed conflict and peace mediation.
Part of The 2016 Oslo Forum Network of Mediators, 14-15 June, p. 40-47, Norwegian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, 2016
A reversal of peace? The role of foreign involvement in armed conflict: a case study on East Asia
Part of SIPRI Yearbook 2016, p. 220-235, Oxford University Press, 2016
Part of Handbook of Religion and Society (2nd EDITION), Springer, 2016
Part of Elsevier’s International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences (IESBS), Elsevier, 2015
Mediation and peace agreements
Part of SIPRI yearbook, p. 43-55, Oxford University Press, 2014
Conflict Resolution in Civil Wars
Part of Routledge Handbook of Civil Wars, p. 363-375, Routledge, 2014
The fragile peace in East and South East Asia
Part of SIPRI yearbook, p. 28-40, Oxford University Press, 2013
Conflict resolution and religious dimensions of armed conflicts
Part of The Ashgate Research Companion to Religion and Conflict Resolution, p. 119-136, Ashgate, 2012
Partial Peacemakers: Explaining Mediation Success in African Armed Conflicts
Part of From Intra-State War to Durable Peace, Republic of Letters Publishing, 2012
Fallacies of the Peace Ownership Approach: Exploring Norwegian Mediation in Sri Lanka
Part of Liberal Peace in Question, p. 63-76, Anthem Press, 2011
Guaranteeing Peace: The Credibility of Third-Party Mediators in Civil Wars
Part of International Conflict Mediation, Routledge, 2009
Mediating between Tigers and Lions: Norwegian Peace Diplomacy in Sri Lanka's Civil War
Part of War and Peace in Transition, p. 147-169, Nordic Academic Press, 2009
Demos or Deus: Patterns of Religious Dimensions in Asian Armed Conflicts, 1945-2005
Part of The Democratization Project, p. 67, Anthem Press, 2009
Part of Resources, Governance and Civil Conflict, Routledge, 2008
Collections (editor)
Conference papers
2018
The Shia-Sunni Schism: Exploring Trends in Intra-Muslim Organized Violence, 1989-2016
2018
2018
2017
How Do Islamist Conflicts End?: Religious claims and civil war outcomes, 1975-2015
2017
How Jihadist States End: Exploring the Termination Patterns of Revolutionary Islamist Statelets
2017
How Do Islamist Conflicts End?: Religious claims and civil war outcomes, 1975-2015
2017
How Jihadist States End: Tracing the end dynamics of revolutionary Islamist states
2017
The Rise of Islamist Armed Conflicts and Challenges to Conflict Resolution
2017
The Missing Jihad: The East Asian Peace and the Global Patterns of Religious Conflicts
2014
Talking Peace: International Mediation in Armed Conflicts
2013
“Manufacturing Dissent: Economic Structure and the Onset of Major Nonviolent Resistance Campaigns”,
2013
Peacemaking in Who’s Authority?: Exploring Mandates in International Mediation of Civil Wars
2012
Protecting Protégés?: Rebel-biased Mediation and the Case of Malaysian Mediation in the Philippines
2012
Karin Aggestam & Isak Svensson: Where Are the Women in International Mediation?
2012
2008
2008
Other
Civil society protests and inclusive peace talks
2023
Women, Peace and Security: Women's Organizations in Peace-Making
2020
What We Know - and Don't Know - about Religious Civil Wars
2018
Förhastad slutsats om kvinnors roll i fredsprocesser”, 2018-01-05, Replik, DN Debatt
2018
Gene Sharp (1928-2018) – ickevåld som strategi
2018
Krig och fred 2018: de 8 viktigaste trenderna, posted 2018-12-17
2018
Nobelpriset 2018 – några högoddsare och lågoddsare,posted 2018-09-25
2018
Civil Resistance and Conflict Transformation: Transitions from armed to nonviolent struggle
Part of Cooperation and Conflict, p. 560-562, 2016
Nio punkter för global fred (Nine Points for Global Peace)
2015
Part of Journal of Peace Research, p. 535-535, 2013