Post-Conflict Reintegration Lab

06/25/2025

Earlier this spring, Postcor Lab researcher Tanya Irwin successfully defended her PhD dissertation, "The Determinants and Dimensions of Armed Group Taxation". To celebrate her successful defence, we are spotlighting a conversation held during the heart of her doctoral research at the University of Toronto Department of Political Science — bringing into focus a research journey shaped by deep curiosity, methodological rigour, and sustained field engagement.

In this latest instalment, we spotlight Tanya’s work on armed group taxation and governance in the Philippines and Somalia—tracing the theoretical insights, field experiences, and institutional collaborations that have shaped her trajectory as a scholar. Congratulations, Tanya!

Read the full interview on our website here:

Earlier this spring, Postcor Lab researcher Tanya Bandula-Irwin defended her PhD dissertation, "The Determinants and Dimensions of Armed Group Taxation". To celebrate her successful defence, we are spotlighting a conversation held during the heart of her doctoral research — bringing into focus a r...

02/17/2025

Next up in our portrait series, we have Zaceu Lian stepping into the spotlight! Zaceu Lian is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto Department of Political Science and has been a long-time advocate for democracy, federalism, human rights, and peace in the Union of Burma (Myanmar). After spending 14 years in exile in India and Canada, he returned in 2012 and worked full-time on peace and national reconciliation programs led by the government of Myanmar, ethnic armed organizations (EAOs), and political parties until the military coup in March 2021. As a former fellow with the UBC Myanmar Initiative, Zaceu has written and spoken extensively on Myanmar’s democratic transition, peace process, and federalism at various seminars and forums. Read the latest interview on our website here:

Next up in our portrait series, we have Zaceu Lian stepping into the spotlight! Zaceu Lian is currently a PhD candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto and has been a long-time advocate for democracy, federalism, human rights, and peace in the Union of Burma (Myan...

02/12/2025

We are pleased to announce the recent publication of "Wars Without End: Competitive Intervention, Escalation Control, and Protracted Conflict" (Oxford Academic (Oxford University Press), authored by Postcor Lab Co-Director, Co-Founder, and Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto Department of Political Science, Dr. Noel Anderson.

Read more about Dr. Anderson's latest scholarly publication here: https://www.postcorlab.com/post/celebrating-the-release-of-dr-noel-anderson-s-latest-scholarly-work-wars-without-end

04/19/2024

Next up in our ongoing portrait series, we have Cheng Xu stepping into the spotlight! Cheng is a former Canadian Armed Forces infantry officer and paratrooper with the Third Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. In 2014 he deployed on Roto 0 of Operation Reassurance in Central and Eastern Europe. As a PhD Candidate at the University of Toronto Department of Political Science, he is specializing in Comparative Politics, International Relations, and Development Studies. His doctoral thesis, entitled “It Takes a Village to Raise a Rebel: Social Relations and their Impacts on Insurgent Mobilization” aims to explore the social roots of insurgent mobilization and how they shape civil war outcomes with a focus on the Philippines. Read more about Cheng's ongoing work in our latest interview here:

Next up in our ongoing portrait series, we have Cheng Xu stepping into the spotlight! Cheng is a former Canadian Armed Forces infantry officer and paratrooper with the Third Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. In 2014 he deployed on Roto 0 of Operation Reassurance in Central an...

04/18/2024

In our ongoing series spotlighting researchers at the Postcor Lab, we are pleased to introduce Semuhi Sinanoglu, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Toronto Department of Political Science. Semuhi is currently a Trudeau Centre Fellow in Peace, Conflict, and Justice at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy and a Regional Manager at the Digital Society Project. His dissertation research is about how autocrats sustain their ruling coalitions under economic crises by using repression and polarization to politically control key elite groups. He uses quantitative, computational, and experimental methods for his academic research. His co-authored papers are published on high-impact academic journals such as Comparative Politics and Sociological Methods & Research.

Read more about Semuhi's ongoing work in our latest interview here:

In our ongoing series spotlighting researchers at the Postcor Lab, we're pleased to introduce Semuhi Sinanoglu, a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science at the University of Toronto. Semuhi is currently a Trudeau Centre Fellow in Peace, Conflict, and Justice at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Publ...

04/17/2024

We are delighted to share some wonderful news from the Lab! Jae Hyun Park, a dedicated Post-Conflict Reintegration Lab esearcher and PhD candidate at the UnUniversity of Toronto Department of Political Sciencehas recently published a paper titled “Living in Yesterday’s Terror: The Impact of Civil War Violence on the Post-War Election in South Korea,” featured in the esteemed journal of Terrorism and Political Violence.

Read more about Jae's recent publication here:

We are delighted to share some wonderful news from the Lab! Jae Hyun Park, a dedicated Postcor Lab researcher and PhD candidate at the University of Toronto's Department of Political Science, has recently published a paper titled “Living in Yesterday’s Terror: The Impact of Civil War Violence on...

04/16/2024

🎙️ Tune in to this brand new podcast from the Post-Conflict Reintegration Lab ! Join host Khalil Alwazir as he delves into the complexities of civil wars in "Diplomatic Discord." Explore the 'greed vs. grievance' debate and more on Spotify and YouTube.

Listen to this episode from Diplomatic Discord on Spotify. In this enlightening episode, we delve deep into the age-old question: What truly ignites the flames of civil wars? Khalil Al-Wazir navigates us through the intricate maze of academic literature on the subject, shedding light on the intricat...

04/05/2024

Meet Zerihun Kinate, one of the brilliant researchers driving progress in our lab! Zerihun is a PhD student at the University of Toronto Department of Political Science and is currently planning to pursue a collaborative specialization with the Harney Program in Ethnic, Immigration, and Pluralism Studies. Zerihun's current research focuses on the political economy of conflicts, democratization, nation-building, post-conflict reconstruction, political development in countries of the Horn of Africa, and much more. Read more about Zerihun’s ongoing work in our latest interview here:

Zerihun A. Kinate is PhD student in political science and public policy at the University of Toronto. He is currently planning to pursue a collaborative specialization with the Harney Program in Ethnic, Immigration, and Pluralism Studies. Zerihun's current research focuses on the political economy o...

03/30/2024

Next up in our ongoing series, we have Khalil Al-Wazir stepping into the spotlight! Khalil is currently pursuing his Ph.D. at the University of Toronto Department of Political Science, where he is specializing in civil war mediation. Before joining the program, he authored the book 'Centrist Reflections on Political Philosophy' critiquing ideological extremes while emphasizing pragmatic policy. He also contributed to two UN Secretary-General reports, played a prominent role in a system-wide review of security sector reforms, and was awarded the United Nations Department for Safety and Security Under-Secretary-General's Excellence Award. Moreover, Khalil was recently awarded the Schwarzman Scholarship, a competitive programme designed to prepare the next generation of global leaders, so he will pause his PhD to join the fellowship in Beijing this August. As an academic and aspiring diplomat, Khalil aims to promote constructive solutions to intractable conflicts.

Read more about Khalil's work here:

Khalil Al-Wazir is a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto specializing in civil war mediation. Before joining the program, he authored the book 'Centrist Reflections on Political Philosophy' critiquing ideological extremes while emphasizing pragmatic policy. He also contributed to two UN Secre...

03/23/2024

In our ongoing series, "Portraits from the Lab," we're excited to spotlight Luke Lischin, one of the many brilliant graduate student researchers driving progress in our team! Luke Lischin is currently a Ph.D. student at the University of Toronto Department of Political Science focusing on Comparative Politics and International Relations. His research interests intersect political violence, group identity, security institutions, and governance with a focus on the Philippines and Indonesia. His current projects include ongoing research on conflict and governance within the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, monitoring incidents of political violence in the Southern Philippines, and an exploratory study of political violence and local security institutions in Indonesia.

Previously, Luke worked as an Assistant Research Fellow at the National War College in Washington DC. He received his MA in Security Studies from the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University.

Read more about Luke’s ongoing work here:

Luke Lischin is a Ph.D. student in the Political Science Department at the University of Toronto focusing on Comparative Politics and International Relations. His research interests intersect political violence, group identity, security institutions, and governance with a focus on the Philippines an...

10/02/2023

📢 Exciting announcement! Our latest Notes from the Field publication is now live on our website. This week, we highlight the work of Jae Hyun Park, a devoted researcher at the Postcor Lab and a Ph.D. candidate, as he shares insights from his recent fieldwork expedition to Myanmar. Read more about Jae's experience using the following link:

We are pleased to announce the release of our latest Notes from the Field publication! This week, we feature the work of Jae Hyun Park, a devoted researcher at the Postcor Lab and a Ph.D candidate, as he shares insights from his recent fieldwork expedition to Myanmar. Read more about Jae's fieldwork...

08/16/2023

We are delighted to share some wonderful news from the Lab! Sanjida Amin, a Postcor Lab researcher and PhD candidate at the University of Toronto Department of Political Science, has recently published a paper titled "Limited Security Alignments in the Indo-Pacific and Africa: Implications for International Conflict Management in South Sudan," featured in the esteemed Horn Bulletin Journal.

In her article, Sanjida explores the major trends in security alignments in the Indo-Pacific and Africa over the last decade, while also tracing out the implications of limited alignment strategy in the diminishing pattern of security support from major powers. The article is now available for open access through the following link:https://horninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/HORN-Bulletin-Vol-VI-•-Iss-IV-•-July-August-2023.pdf