A number of developments such as the Arab Spring and on-going famines in Somalia and South Sudan have led to renewed interest among both scholars and policymakers in the role of food insecurity and food-price related grievances as catalysts of conflict. In this lecture Prof Gunnar Sørbø, Senior Researcher at Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI), will address such linkages, using case material mainly from Sudan and Somalia, with a particular focus on food insecurity as a risk multiplier and the implications for choice of interventions.

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About the speaker

Professor Gunnar Sørbø is a Senior Researcher at Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI). He is a social anthropologist focusing on development policy and planning; conflict and peacebuilding; social impact assessment (incl. resettlement); agricultural and pastoral systems; and regional analysis and economic adaptations.

Sørbø is an experienced team leader for policy-oriented reviews and evaluations, often with international participation and for many different clients. Before joining CMI as director, he was the first director of the Centre for Development Studies, University of Bergen. He has held positions as trustee or member of several boards, including the Norwegian Agency for International Development, the International Food Policy Research Institute, the International Livestock Centre for Africa, the Research Council of Norway (Division of Environment and Development) and The Rafto Foundation for Human Rights. During 1993-95, Sørbø was a member of the North-South/Aid Commission appointed by the Norwegian Government.