Truth Commissions and Public Support

Hurting or Healing? How Conflict Exposure and Trauma (Do Not) Shape Support for Truth Commissions

Do conflict exposure and trauma increase or decrease support for transitional justice? Drawing on cross-country survey data, this study shows that the effects are more limited than often assumed and highly depend on contextual factors.

September 2025 · Amélie Godefroidt, Karin Dyrstad
Peace Provisions in Azerbaijan

Bearing the Burden of Peace: Intergroup Attribution Bias and Public Support for Peace Provisions

Drawing on experimental data from Azerbaijan, this article shows that intergroup bias significantly reduces support for peace provisions in the aftermath of war. The findings illustrate the challenges of overcoming deep-seated hostilities in post-conflict societies.

March 2025 · Amélie Godefroidt, Lala Muradova
Reintegration of Former Fighters in Nigeria

What Drives Attitudes Towards the Reintegration of Former Fighters? Insights from a Conjoint Experiment in Nigeria

This study investigates how Nigerian citizens evaluate reintegration scenarios for former fighters. Using a conjoint experiment, the article shows which attributes — such as remorse, community safety, and family ties — drive public support or resistance to reintegration.

May 2023 · Amélie Godefroidt, Arnim Langer
Brexit and Public Opinion in Northern Ireland

The Past, Brexit, and the Future in Northern Ireland: A Quasi-Natural Experiment

This study leverages a quasi-natural experiment to investigate how Brexit reshaped attitudes in Northern Ireland. The article shows that both the Brexit campaign and its outcome interacted with historical conflict narratives to influence public perceptions of the future of Northern Ireland.

February 2023 · Amélie Godefroidt, Karin Dyrstad, Kristin Bakke
AJPS Terrorism Meta-Analysis

How Terrorism Does (and Does Not) Affect Citizens’ Political Attitudes: A Meta-Analysis

This study provides the first comprehensive meta-analysis of terrorism’s impact on public opinion. By synthesizing evidence across diverse contexts and research designs, the paper shows that terrorism has systematic but limited effects on citizens’ political attitudes.

January 2023 · Amélie Godefroidt
Terrorism and Social Trust

How Fear Drives Us Apart: Explaining the Relationship Between Terrorism and Social Trust

This article demonstrates how terrorism-induced fear undermines social trust. Drawing on cross-national data and theoretical insights, it shows that terrorism reduces trust not through direct exposure alone but through the broader societal climate of fear it generates.

September 2020 · Amélie Godefroidt, Arnim Langer
News Coverage of Boko Haram

Understanding News Coverage of Religious-Based Violence: Empirical and Theoretical Insights from Media Representations of Boko Haram in Nigeria

Combining content analysis with in-depth interviews with journalists and editors, this article shows how religious-based violence is framed, how editorial choices and professional constraints shape coverage, and what this means for our theoretical understanding of conflict coverage.

August 2020 · Leila Demarest, Amélie Godefroidt, Arnim Langer