The 'stabilisation' agenda is now a major priority for the UK government and the wider international community. Whether in a situation of conflict such as Afghanistan, or following a major natural disaster such as in Haiti, securing a stable environment for the process of international development is crucial to recovery. In responding to the challenges posed by complex political emergencies and modernisation projects, intervening governments have committed to the 'Responsibility to Rebuild', one of the three key elements of the 'Responsibility to Protect', adopted by the United Nations in 2005. Civil engineering projects play a key role in achieving the wider objectives of stabilisation, democratisation and state-building.

The field of international intervention in situations of underdevelopment, insecurity, and state failure is particularly suited to multi-disciplinary research. The aspiration of the workshop is to establish links between academics; policymakers from different branches of government; the military and civilian practitioners from the armed services, the UN, and international NGOs; and representatives from the private sector. The aim will be to map out, through presentation and debate, an interdisciplinary research agenda bringing together social sciences, law, and natural sciences/engineering. The workshop seeks to address three questions:

• How can the “Responsibility to Rebuild” be delivered in practice?
• What should international intervention post conflict or natural disaster look like?
• How can the different strands of physical infrastructure, governance, and civil society participation be woven together?

The organisers invite contributions that explore different dimension of:

• R2P
• Humanitarianism
• Infrastructure-stabilisation nexus
• Policy approaches (IGOs, Government agencies, etc)
• Democratisation
• Conflict Management
• Industry’s involvement in stabilisation projects
• Post-conflict recovery/reconstruction
• State building

We are particularly interested in papers and panels that draw links between these areas and introduce a new research agenda using both mainstream and critical approaches. In particular, answers will be sought to the following questions: what is the role of engineering and physical infrastructure projects in the delivery of both development and security; how do these projects interact with the wider socio-political and human rights agenda; how can they best be linked to ensure successful achievement of policy aims?

Guidelines for the submission of proposals:

Papers: 200 words abstract and contact information including institutional affiliation)

Panels: 200 words abstract of rationale for panel; 150 words abstract for each paper; Contact information of chair and panelists.

Please send all proposals to Dr. Monika Barthwal-Datta (M.Barthwal-Datta@Surrey.ac.uk) by April 30th 2010.