Associate Professor Anders Themnér Awarded Research Grant

Our Associate Professor Anders Themnér has been awarded a grant by the Swedish Research Council (VR) for the project ‘Uncivil Students: The Militarization of Student Civil Society as a Threat to Democracy’. Joining Anders on the project is Ibrahim Bangura, Associate Professor in the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies at Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone. Congratulations on this exciting project!

The militarization of student civil society organizations (SCSOs) risks undermining student organizations’ ability to function as protest brokers–forging pro-democracy alliances with other CSOs. It may also foster a new generation of leaders who use violence as a tool for political contestation.

The project will examine which factors lead to student civil society organizations (SCSOs) turning violent. The study will involve in-depth fieldwork and social network analysis at four African universities.