Patricia Justino presents Institutional Legacies of Violent Conflict

When: Thursday, November 5, 2026, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Where: Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Campus

UNU-WIDER Director Professor Patricia Justino will present her new Oxford University Press volume, Institutional Legacies of Violent Conflict: Development and State-Building in the Shadow of Wartime Institutional Change, at Queen Mary University of London on 5 November 2026.

The book launch will also serve as the inaugural lecture of the university's new Centre for Finance, Innovation and Development (CFID). Professor Roxana Gutiérrez-Romero, Co-Director of CFID and a contributing author to the volume, will open the event

About the book

Violent conflict destroys lives, communities and institutions, but it also transforms how societies are governed. Even where state authority collapses or retreats, new forms of governance, authority and social organization may emerge, leaving institutional legacies that shape development and state building long after fighting ends.

Drawing on original research and case studies from Africa, Latin America and Asia, the volume examines how wartime governance, social contracts and relationships between armed actors and civilians shape political authority, legitimacy and development. Bringing together perspectives from political science, economics and development studies, it explores how these institutions emerge, evolve and influence post-conflict societies.

Post-conflict societies are not institutional blank slates. Wartime institutional legacies can support recovery, participation and stability, but may also perpetuate coercion, exclusion and mistrust. The volume offers insights into the challenges of post-conflict statebuilding and the implications for peacebuilding, institutional reform and sustainable peace.

Online participation

The presentation is also expected to be broadcast via Zoom, subject to technical arrangements.

Register here to attend online