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Annika Björkdahl
Denna sida på svenska

Annika Björkdahl

Professor

Denna sida på svenska
Annika Björkdahl
Contact details
  • Email: annika [dot] bjorkdahl [at] svet [dot] lu [dot] se
  • Phone: +46 46 222 01 62
Organisation
  • Department of Political Science
  • Room number: 424
  • Service point: 35
Webpage

Political Science | Peace and Conflict Studies

  • Spatial turn in Peace and Conflict Studies
  • Politics of Memory and Cultural Heritage of War
  • Peacebuilding, Transitional Justice and Gender Just-Peace
  • Divided Cities and Urban Peacebuilding

Current research

Annika Björkdahl’s research includes international and local peacebuilding with a particular focus on urban peacebuilding, and gender and transitional justice and she is directing the research project: Troubling Testimonies: Women's Narratives of War (The Swedish Foundation for Humanities and Social Science, 2020–2023), and has recently completed the following projects Vulnerable Cities (FORMAS 2016–2020); The Politics of Memory  (The Swedish Foundation for Humanities and Social Science, 2016–2019) and Cultural Heritage of Conflict: Peacebuilding and the Politics of Memory, (Swedish Research Council, 2016–2019. Among her recent publications are the research monograph Peacebuilding and Spatial Transformation. Peace, Space and Place. (2016 Routledge), co-edited volumes Spatialising Peace and Conflict: Mapping the Production of Place, Sites and Scales of Violences (2016 Palgrave), Peacebuilding and Friction: Global and Local Encounters in Post-Conflict Societies (2016 Routledge), Divided Cities–Governing Contested issues (2015 Nordic Academic Press), Importing EU norms? Conceptual Framework and Empirical Cases (2015 Springer), and she has been guest editor of two special issues; "Space for Peace, Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding (2022) 16(5), and ”Precarious peacebuilding: Friction in Global-Local Encounters”, Peacebuilding 1(3). Björkdahl has also published articles in journal such as Political Geography, Peace and Change, Human Rights Review, Journal of European Public Policy, International Peacekeeping, Security Dialogue and Millennium. Annika Björkdahl was the editor in chief of the international peer review journal Cooperation and Conflict (Sage) (2013–2023). She is currently the co-editor of The Palgrave Book Series Rethinking Peace and Conflict Studies together with Oliver Richmond and Gezim Visoka.

Publications

Books and special issues (last 7 years)

Björkdahl, A. & Buckley-Zistel, S. (2022) Space for Peace. Special Issue, Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, 16(5).

Björkdahl, A. & Kappler, S. (2017) Peacebuilding and Spatial Transformation. Peace, Space and Place. Abingdon and New York: Routledge.

Björkdahl, A. & Buckley-Zistel, S. ed. (2016) Spatialising Peace and Conflict: Mapping the Production of Place, Sites and Scales of Violences. Baskingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan

Björkdahl, A. et al ed (2016) Peacebuilding and Friction: Global and Local Encounters in Post-Conflict Societies. Abingdon and New York: Routledge.

Björkdahl, A. et al ed. (2015) Importing EU norms? Conceptual Framework and Empirical Findings. Springer Publisher.

Björkdahl, A. & Strömbom, L. ed. (2015) Divided Cities- Governing Diversity. Nordic Academic Press.

Forthcoming Books

Björkdahl, A., Höglund, K. & Mannergren Selimovic, J. (forthcoming 2024) Troubling Testimonies: Women’s Narratives of War. New York: New York University Press. 

Björkdahl, Annika et al. (forthcoming 2023) Memory Politics and the Quality of Peace. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

Peer Review Articles (last 7 years)

Björkdahl, A & Mannergren Selimovic, J. (forthcoming 2023) Places of Pain and Spaces of Silence: Revisiting a Bosnian Rape Camp. Geopolitics.

Björkdahl, A. &  Buckley-Zistel, S. (2022) Introducing Space for Peace, Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, 16(5): 536-544.. 

Björkdahl, A. &  Buckley-Zistel, S. (2022) Space for Peace: A Research Agenda, Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, 16(5): 659-676.

Björkdahl, A. & Warvsten, L. (2021) Friction in Transitional Justice Processes: The Colombian Judicial System and the ICC, International Journal of Transitional Justice. 

Björkdahl, A., Kappler, S. & Forde, S. (2021) Peacebuilding, Structural Violence and Spatial Reparations in Post-Colonial South Africa, Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding 

Björkdahl, A & Kappler, S. (2019) The Creation of Transnational Memory Spaces: Professionalization and Commercialization, International Journal of Politics, Culture and Society.

Björkdahl, A (2018) Republika Srpska: Imaginary, Performance and Spatialization, Political Geography, 66: 34-43

Björkdahl, A (2018) Where Peace Takes Place? Review Forum, Political Geography

Björkdahl, A & Mannergren Selimovic, J. (2017) Feeling Silence in a Place of Pain. International Feminist Journal of Politics 19(3): 383-385.

Björkdahl, A & Mannergren Selimovic, J. (2016) ”A Tale of Three Bridges: Agency and Agonism in Peacebuilding”, Third World Quarterly. 37(2): 321-335.

Björkdahl, A., Richmond, O. P & Kappler, S. (2015) 'The Field in the Age of Intervention: Power, Legitimacy, Authority vs the 'Local', Millennium 44(1).

Björkdahl, A & Mannergren Selimovic, J. (2015) Translating UNSCR 1325 from the global to the local: protection, representation and participation in the National Action Plans of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Rwanda, Conflict, Security and Development 15(4): 311-335.

Björkdahl, A & Mannergren Selimovic, J. (2015) ”Gendering Agency in Transitional Justice”, Security Dialogue 46(2): 165-182

Björkdahl, A & Gusic, I. (2015) ‘Global’ norms and ‘local’ agency: frictional peacebuilding in Kosovo, Journal of International Relations and Development.18(3): 265-287

Book chapters (last 7 years)

Björkdahl, A (2023) Spatializing Peace and Peacebuilding. Where is knowledge about Peace and Peacebuilding Produced? In Colin Flint and Kara Dempsey eds. Making Geographies of Peace and Conflict.  Abingdon: Routledge.

Björkdahl, A. & Mannergren Selimovic, J. (2021) Methodologies for Feminist Peace Research Routledge in The Handbook of Feminist Peace Research. Taylor & Francis, s. 40-49 10 s.

Björkdahl, A. & Kappler, S. (2021) Spaces of Peace in The Oxford Handbook of Peacebuilding, Statebuilding, and Peace Formation. Richmond, O. P. & Visoka, G. (red.). Oxford University Press, s. 139-151 13 s. (Oxford Handbooks).

Björkdahl, A. (2020) Urban Peacebuilding. The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Peace and Conflict Studies, eds. Richmond, Oliver & Visoka, Gezim Palgrave Macmillan

Björkdahl, A. & Kappler, S. Peacebuilding and Spatial Transformation, in The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Peace and Conflict Studies,  eds. Richmond, Oliver & Visoka, Gezim Palgrave Macmillan. 

Björkdahl, A. & Kappler, S. The Spatial Dimensions of State-Building, in Handbook of Intervention and Statebuilding edt. Lemay-Hebert, Nicolas Edward Elgar.

Björkdahl, A. & Mannergren Selimovic, J. (2018) ”Civil Society and Women, Peace and Security Agenda”, in Sara Davies and Jacqui True eds. Oxford University Handbook on Women, Peace and Security. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Björkdahl, A. & Mannergren Selimovic, J. (2018) ”Feminist Ethnographic Research: Excavating Narratives of Wartime Rape”, in Gearoid Millar eds. Ethnographic Peace Research: Decolonizing Methodology. Palgrave MacMillan.

Björkdahl, A. & Mannergren Selimovic, J. (2018) (2017) ”Gender and Transitional Justice”, in Olivera Simic (ed.) Understanding Transitional Justice. Palgrave MacMillan.

Björkdahl, A. & Buckley-Zistel, S. (2017) ”Memorials and Transitional Justice” in Olivera Simic (ed.) Understanding Transitional Justice. Palgrave MacMillan.

Björkdahl, A. & Mannergren Selimovic, J. (2016) ”Gender - the missing piece in the peace puzzle” in O. Richmond et al. Dimensions of Peace: Disciplinary and Regional Approaches,Palgrave McMillan.

Björkdahl, A. & Buckley-Zistel, S. (2016) "Spatializing Peace and Conflict: An Introduction", in Annika Björkdahl and Susanne Buckley-Zistel ed. (2016) Spatialising Peace and Conflict: Mapping the Production of Place, Sites and Scales of Violences. Baskingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Björkdahl, A et al. (2016) "Introduction: Peacebuilding through the lens of Friction", in Annika Björkdahl et al ed. Peacebuilding and Friction: Global and Local Encounters in Post-Conflict Societies. Abingdon and New York: Routledge.

Björkdahl, A. & Gusict, I. (2016) ”Sites of Friction: governance, identity and space” in Annika Björkdahl et al eds. Peacebuilding and Friction: Global and Local Encounters in Post-Conflict Societies.Abingdon and New York: Routledge.

Björkdahl, Annika (2015) ”Two Schools Under One Roof”, in Annika Björkdahl and Lisa Strömbom eds. Divided Cities. Governing Contested issues, Nordic Academic Press.

Björkdahl, A. & O. Elgström, O. (2015) “The EPA-negotiations: A channel for norm export and import?” in A. Björkdahl, N. Chaban, J. Leslie, and A. Masselot eds. Importing EU norms? Conceptual Framework and Empirical Findings. Springer Publisher.

Björkdahl, A, Chaban, N., J. Leslie, & Masselot, A. (2015) ”Introduction: Towards a theoretical framework for norm import.” in A. Björkdahl, N. Chaban, J. Leslie, and A. Masselot eds. Importing EU norms? Conceptual Framework and Empirical Findings., Springer Publisher.

Björkdahl, A, Chaban, N., J. Leslie, and Masselot, A. (2015) ”Conclusion: Adoption, adaption, resistance and rejection” in A. Björkdahl, N. Chaban, J. Leslie, and A. Masselot eds. Importing EU norms? Conceptual Framework and Empirical Findings., Springer Publisher.

Annika Björkdahl is Professor of Political Science and co-editor of the Palgrave Book Series Rethinking Peace and Conflict Studies with Oliver Richmond and Gezim Visoka.

High resolution photo

High resolution photo of Annika Björkdahl.

Research Projects

Troubling Testimonies: Women’s Narratives of War

The project analyses the power of witnesses and testimonies in transitions from war to peace. We take an interest in the role of women who testify about violence in war. To testify can be a means of doing justice, of transforming norms, of healing, and of sharing the burden of trauma. Such testimonies can have strong emotive force, and where statistics of genocide and extreme violence fail to convey the true meaning of such atrocities, narratives have affective impact on how conflict and atrocities are understood. We analyse women’s public testimonies about four seminal conflicts in our time:

  • Rwanda in 1994,
  • Bosnia-Herzegovina (1992–1995),
  • Sri Lanka (1983–2009), and
  • ISIS war against the Yazidis in northern Iraq in 2014.

Through a critical reading and re-reading of testimonies from these conflicts, we identify common themes from the early cases of BiH and Rwanda that echo in the more recent testimonies of Yazidi and Sri Lankan women. With our research we shed new light on the effects of gendered violence, the ongoing gendered production of speech and silence in the aftermath of conflict, and the emotive force of story-telling. We show that collectively women’s testimonies are constitutive of the global formation of the normative Women, Peace and Security Agenda.

19 Sep 2023