About us

The Richardson Institute is the oldest peace and conflict research centre in the UK, based in the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion at Lancaster University.

The Richardson Institute is the oldest peace and conflict research centre in the UK, based in the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion at Lancaster University. Lancaster has a strong tradition of exploring issues in Peace and conflict studies and the Lancaster Peace Research Centre was formed in 1959, at the same time as the Norwegian Peace Research Institute Oslo. The Richardson Institute was formed in 1969, named after the Quaker Scientist Lewis Fry Richardson, although it emerged out of a number of embryonic initiatives in both Lancaster and London. After a period of time in the capital, the institute moved to Lancaster in 1978 where it has since been directed by Michael Nicholson, Paul Smoker, Morris Bradley, Hugh Miall, Feargel Cochrane and Simon Mabon, who was appointed Director of the institute in 2012. Lucia Ardovini has been appointed Director in 2023.

The Institute engages in a series of activities, ranging from conducting and supporting academic research, hosting externally funded projects, and engaging with policy actors and stakeholders. In 1998 a MA in Conflict Resolution was established at Lancaster University under the Institute’s lead, and the following year a combined major in Peace Studies and International Relations was approved. Since 2012 the Institute has been running an Internship Programme for students that runs across the academic year. The Richardson Institute Internship Programme (RIIP) is open to Part II Undergraduates and Master's students in the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion. The RIIP is run in coordination with a wide range of external partners, and gives our students the opportunity to work alongside leading policy and research organizations, developing analytical and research skills and putting into practice what they learn during their degree. The Institute is currently undertaking the Sectarianism, Proxies and De-Sectarianisation project, funded by Carnegie Corporation.

Richardson Institute Blogs

Disinformation is threatening democracy and governments are only half listening

2024 will break records for the year with the most participants in democratic elections in world history. With these elections across the world, the threat of online disinformation presents a new threat that policymakers are still yet to have effectively responded to.

Let’s drop the obsession with net migration figures.

Much like a broken record, immigration policy announcements in Britain since 2010 have been stuck on introducing stricter rules and harsher deterrents to cut migration figures. Yet, when reflecting on outcomes, these efforts appear to consistently take one step forward and two steps back in achieving that goal.

Growing up in front of a camera: The worrying trend of family influencers documenting every second of their children’s upbringings

It’s not out of the ordinary for parents to capture moments of their children growing up, however how ethical is it when families are profiting from these memories and, by extension, the lives of their children

A photo of Frantz Fanon and others looking at documents.

The Ethics of Violence as a Means of anticolonialism

Violence seems inherently unethical, but anticolonialism presents a curious exception to this rule. Anticolonialism is the process by which the practice of colonialism is resisted and dismantled.

Beyond 'Ban the Box'

How a country prevents the chances of reoffending after committing a crime serves as one of the most important intersections between ethics and policy; at an estimated economic and social cost for anticipating, responding. and dealing with the consequences of these crimes being around £18 billion a year, the importance of tackling this cannot be understated.

A phone screen with the Tik Tok app highlighted.

Shamelessly trying to coin a new term: Filter Politics

This blog does not align with any particular stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; rather, its focus lies in examining the dynamic Palestinian movement unfolding on TikTok.