Jacqui Cho

Cho, Jacqui. (2025) Decentring foreign peace mediation through the case of Cameroon, African Affairs, 123 (493).

The article decentres foreign peace mediation endeavoursaround the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon by foregrounding the domestic political environment into which such a mediation initiative is thrust. Recognizing mediation as but one site of political contestation, the article moves beyond the reductionist binary of either making or not-making peace in the meanings of peace processes. Drawing on over  60 interviews, including those withCameroonian ruling party members, opposition politicians, individuals involved in the armed separatist movement and civil society activists, the article asks what the Swiss facilitation attempt between 2019 and 2022 meant for these different domestic actors and what this in turn meant for the peace process. It pays particular attentionto how the mediation attempt interacted with the fragmentation of the Cameroonian state, a frequent feature of highly personalized authoritarian regimes, and how this manifested in the creation of competing processes under the banner of “peace”. The case has important implications for the scholarship on state behaviour vis-à-vis mediation, particularly in authoritarian settings, as well as debates around spoilers and devious objectives in the peace mediation literature.

Cho, Jacqui. (2024) A self-fulfilling prophecy? Constructions of youth-as-troublemakers in UN DDR processes, Security Dialogue, 55 (3).

Youth as a category that informs international interventions in conflict-affected settings has gained currency in the past decade. This article traces the rising rhetoric of youth in UN Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) discourse and demonstrates how changes in its dominant representations have implications beyond the matter of semantics. Drawing on post-structuralist traditions, the article highlights how the DDR discourse delineates problems through particular framings that call forth certain solutions, which in turn reinforce the very (mis)understandings that underlie the interventions. A case study from the Central African Republic illustrates how the hegemonic representation of youth-as-troublemakers in UN documents, together with a compelling narrative that naturalized the link between youth, unemployment and violence, made possible and conferred legitimacy to the proliferation of projects with an overwhelming economic focus. The article discusses how the resource landscape, such as opportunities to unlock earmarked funding, incentivizes the reproduction of certain constructions of youth that align with today’s policy panic around violent extremism. In so doing, it puts into question the instrumental approach towards discourse by pointing to surprising ways in which discourses become appropriated by both international peacebuilders and the ‘subjects’ of these interventions. 

Cho, Jacqui & Landau, Dana M. (2023) In Search of the Golden Formula: Trends in Peace Mediation Research and Practice, Civil Wars, 25 (2-3).  

This paper examines how the research on, and practice of, peace mediation has evolved in the past 25 years, with a particular focus on the hypothesised factors that explain mediation ‘success’ and argues for an explicit re-centring of the political in peacemaking. The analysis highlights how research on peacemaking has seen a growth of quantitative studies, while at the same time the practice field of peace mediation has been characterised by a process of professionalisation. We argue that in parallel to these two trends, there has been a shift away from focusing on exogeneous factors, such as those pertaining to the conflict context, to explain ‘success’ or ‘failure’ towards those endogenous to the peace process. A rapidly growing literature on elements of peace process design ranging from inclusivity, mediator characteristics, mediation styles, as well as substance of negotiated agreements has both informed and been informed by developments in the practitioner community of mediation. These mutually reinforcing trends, while enriching the field, risk portraying mediation as a technical and de-politicised exercise and create inflated expectations on the role and capacity of mediators. We illustrate these trends with a discussion of the case of UN peacemaking in Yemen.

Cho, Jacqui, Curtis, Devon, Dudouet, Véronique, Malm, Johanna, Sindre, Gyda M., and Söderberg Kovacs, Mimmi. (2022) The Political Dynamics of DDR: Key Research Findings. Joint brief series: The Political Dynamics of DDR. Stockholm: Folke Bernadotte Academy, PAW and UNDPO/OROLSI DDR Section.

Research on the political integration of armed groups makes it clear that there is no single recipe for peaceful political transition. It is not possible to say that a particular sequencing will inevitably lead to sustainable peace, or that formerly armed groups will moderate their claims if certain sets of conditions are obtained. Instead, this body of research supports the view that such transitions involve a multitude of factors and that fine-grained, context-specific analysis is always necessary. Nonetheless, drawing on the findings presented in the joint Research Brief series, as well as the larger body of research on the political integration of armed groups, we present seven recommendations that could help open pathways and clarify options for international engagement on DDR.

Cho, Jacqui. & Sindre, Gyda M. (2022) Ideological Moderation in Armed Groups Turned Political Parties. Joint brief series: The Political Dynamics of DDR. Stockholm: Folke Bernadotte Academy, PAW and UNDPO/OROLSIDDR Section.

Do armed groups adapt and potentially moderate their ideologies as they become political parties? What does this mean for post-war politics? This research brief has shown that armed groups turned political parties engage in efforts to rebrand themselves as they navigate the post-war political environment. Ideologies play out in different ways in different contexts, and a complex mix of electoral, patrimonial and state-building logics shapes their decisions and outcomes. As the brief has highlighted, it is important to remember that many armed groups invest significant energy, time and other resources into ending wars and transitioning to electoral democracy. This brief closes with several key lessons learned from past experiences, followed by findings that can inform future engagements with armed groups transitioning into political parties.

• Making peace by fighting war: Competing Visions of  Conflict Management and African Agency in the “New Scramble for Africa” 

Forthcoming * Accepted by Contemporary Security Policy in April 2025. 

• Making Peace within Hierarchy: Seeing International Peacemaking, World Order and History from Cameroon 

Forthcoming *Accepted by Review of International Studies in March 2025. 

• Cho, Jacqui. (2023) 'The War That Doesn’t Say Its Name: The Unending Conflict in the Congo' by Jason Stearns, International Peacekeeping, DOI: 10.1080/13533312.2023.2251374.

• Cho, Jacqui. (2022) 'Proscribing peace: how listing armed groups as terrorists hurts negotiations' by Sophie Haspeslagh, International Affairs, 89(5), pp. 1802-1804.

• In Focus: Jacqui Cho wants to translate her research on peacemaking in more hands-on ways (July 2024), Featured Interview, University of Basel. 

For German version, Im Fokus: Jacqui Cho möchte ihre Forschungsergebnisse zur Friedensschaffung in die Praxis umsetzen.

• Cho, Jacqui. (May 2020) Meet the winner: Jacqui Cho shares her experience with the Cambridge Refugee Scholarship Campaign, Cambridge Hub. 

Invited to write a blog entry after receiving the 2020 Vice Chancellor's Social Impact Award from the University of Cambridge.