David Backer
Visiting Research Fellow, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies
A vital objective in countries emerging from conflict is establishing peaceful coexistence among antagonists. Large-scale studies of this subject are rarely conducted with individuals affected by past violence. Using original data from a survey of more than 2,600 victims of repression and civil war in Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone, Backer will examine conceptions of reconciliation; the extent of inter-personal, inter-ethnic ,and political reconciliation; and factors that affect these views and orientations.
David Backer is an assistant professor of government at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. His research focuses on transitional justice in West Africa, South Africa, and Latin America. As a Kroc Institute Research Fellow, Backer is analyzing civil war victims’ responses to post-conflict justice processes in four West African countries: Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.
Free and open to the public.
A light lunch will be available before the lecture.
Co-sponsored by the Kellogg Institute for International Studies