About the project
We know much more about the causes of war and ways to end wars than we know about what happens during war. The Waging of War (WOW) project addresses this fundamental research gap, emphasizing the dynamic and evolving nature of the interactions of belligerents, offering new insights into how the organization of warring parties influences the conduct of war, and conversely, how the fighting impacts the organizational structure of the belligerents.
The project is led by Research Professor Scott Gates who has been awarded the prestigious ERC Advanced Grant. Over five years, Gates, based at the University of Oslo and working at PRIO, will lead a team of 10 researchers. Among them are three PRIO Research Directors bringing deep expertise to the project:
- Marianne Dahl – expert in organizational cohesion
- Louise Olsson – expert on gender and conflict
- Siri Aas Rustad – expert on resources and conflict
WOW addresses three central research questions:
- How are wars fought?
- How does the organization of a belligerent party affect the way they wage war?
- How do the dynamics of the war affect the organization of the fighting parties?
The project has 3 objectives:
- To develop a theory of the dynamics of war with applications to interstate and intrastate conflict.
- To apply the dynamics of war theory to specific cases and develop generalizable conclusions.
- To develop a data infrastructure about organizational features and aspects of the dynamics of war.
Funded by the European Union (ERC, WOW, 101201478). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
