Ami Carpenter

Assistant Professor

Ami Carpenter is an Assistant Professor of Conflict Studies at University of San Diego’s Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies.  She holds a PhD in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University, and joined the School with a background in conflict prevention, human security and community development in post-conflict countries. Current research projects include:

"Druglords & Warlords: Dealing with Leaders in Factional Conflict" (Washington, DC)

Factional conflict is often characterized by violence without “rules”, in which there is scant recognition of the distinction between combatant and civilian, and where control of resources (often illicit) are a primary motivation. The question of how to deal with increasingly powerful non-state entities is particularly important due to the harm caused to civilian populations, and to the capacity of black market industries to expand their networks and revenue streams. This project gathers data on the approaches taken by US governmental agencies to dealing with illicit leaders (druglords and warlords), the logics underpinning those approaches, and their impact on human security indicators and sources of factional conflict.

“Preventing Land Conflict: Civil Society & Land Mediation in Guatemala” (Quiche, Guatemala)

This project analyzes the impact of a land mediation program operating in Quiche, Guatemala. The root cause of land conflict in Guatemala is an extremely inequitable land tenure model that prioritizes the interest of landed elite and export-oriented agriculture over the majority landless, indigenous population. This study reports on the effectiveness of the land mediation strategy and program for levels of community violence, resolution rate, and human development indicators but it also addressed a contested question regarding civil society organizations (CSOs) in conflict zones: does their “work on the ground” influence positive changes at the structural and macro level over time, through what mechanisms, and in what ways? In addition to tracking micro-level impacts of access to mediation, this project tracks macro-level impacts on security, land redistribution, legal and regulatory frameworks, and cooperation between state and civil society.