Conflict in Cities is supported by the Economic and Social Research Council of Great Britain (grant number: RES-060-25-0015)
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Department of Architecture, University of Cambridge
1-5 Scroope Terrace, Cambridge CB2 1PX, UK
Karl O'Connor
Educational Background and Experience:
Karl completed his undergraduate degree in Public Administration and French at the University of Limerick, and a Masters in European Integration with Public Policy at The Queen’s University of Belfast. He then took a post as a researcher with Professor Claudio Radaelli at The Centre for Regulatory Governance at the University of Exeter and subsequently with the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) in London. His experience and research have been policy oriented; examining how the decision-making structures of the civil service can be optimised. His interests include conflict management/resolution, public policy, bureaucrat behaviour, Q Methodology and European committee governance. Karl completed his PhD thesis entitled: ‘Sustaining power-sharing: the bureaucracy, the bureaucrat and conflict management’ at the University of Exeter in 2011. Karl is currently a Postdoctoral researcher within the Department of Politics and Public Administration, The University of Limerick, Ireland.
Title of Thesis:
Sustaining power-sharing: the bureaucracy, the bureaucrat and conflict management
Abstract:
The management of conflict has long been of concern to social scientists, urban planners and community-minded citizens. While differing mechanisms of managing ethno-national or ethno-linguistic tensions exist, few studies advance our understanding of how conflicts are actually managed – in other words, the study of ethnic peace. In this study I draw on the experiences of two differing examples of ethnic peace: Belfast and Brussels in the expectation that other contested cities such as Kirkuk, Jerusalem, Nicosia or Mostar, who may one day consider power-sharing as a form of governance, may learn from what have been categorised as sites of successful power-sharing. While there are few studies of ethnic peace, fewer studies again seek to understand the role of the elite level bureaucrat in sustaining this peace. This research fills this gap in the literature, investigating the politician bureaucrat relationship within the contested urban environment of two differing mechanisms of consociationalism. The research ascertains the extent of discretion available to the bureaucratic elite and further, through determining core beliefs and role conceptions of interviewees, establishes how this discretion is employed. Methodologically, the dissertation draws on a multi-method approach, consisting of semi-structured interviews and a method well established in Psychology but relative new to Political Science: Q Methodology. The empirical findings show that the bureaucratic elite influence the conflict management process. While bureaucrats are found to share a number of core governance beliefs, a number of categories of association can also be identified. These categories are not based on a primary identity, but a secondary learned identity. The findings therefore also propose that a professional or societal attachment can supersede a primary attachment within the public administration of a contested society. In a number of instances, bureaucrats are found to actively represent these secondary learned attachments over their primary identities. The findings define bureaucratic activity in two instances of ethnic peace, as well as contributing to the literature on active representation. Moreover, it is suggested that the role of the bureaucrat in the conflict management process requires much more scholarly attention if political level power-sharing agreements are to be sustainable.
E-mail: Karljoconnor@gmail.com
PhD students:
Anita Bakshi
Architecture, University of Cambridge (Nicosia)
Giulia Carabelli
Sociology, Queens University Belfast (Mostar)
Monika Halkort
Sociology, Queens University Belfast (Nahr el Bared refugee camp, Tripoli, Lebanon)
Konstantin Kastrissianakis
Architecture, University of Cambridge (Beirut)
Karl O'Connor
Politics, University of Exeter (Brussels, Nicosia and Beirut)
Linda Rootamm
Sociology, Queens University Belfast (Berlin)
Kelsey Shanks
Politics, University of Exeter (Kirkuk)
Affiliated Graduates
Annie Kane-Horrigan
Sociology, Queens University Belfast (Belfast)
Brendan Browne
Sociology, Queens University Belfast (Ramallah/Belfast)