My PhD Research

My PhD project is titled The Inclusion and Implementation of Gender Provisions in Ceasefires. I investigate the conditions under which gender perspectives and gender provisions are included in ceasefire agreements and subsequently implemented.

My dissertation is article-based and currently made-up of three articles.

The first article presents a novel dataset on gender provisions in ceasefires, the “Provisions for Women in Ceasefires” (PWiC) Dataset. With Dr. Siri Aas Rustad, we examine the conditions leading to the inclusion the gender provisions in ceasefires. The dataset includes more than 600 ceasefires globally between 1989 and 2023. We include 12 thematic types of gender provisions and rank the specificity of gender provisions.

In the second article, I ask why gender provisions are included in some ceasefires and not others despite the similar conflict contexts. I take a multi-method approach, building on the PWiC dataset and semi-structured interviews conducted in Nairobi, Addis, and online. I use the cases of ceasefires in South Sudan and the DRC to further investigate my research questions

The third article is based on semi-structured interviews with high-level experts in peacekeeping, conflict resolution, humanitarian affairs, and conflict mediation and examines on the implementation of gender provisions in ceasefires. I focus on the ceasefire component of the Revitalised Agreement in South Sudan.

My research builds on my work with Siri Aas Rustad, including our policy brief. Our working paper is titled “Introducing the Provisions for Women in Ceasefires (PWiC) Dataset” (Obermeier & Rustad).

During the 2024-2025 academic year, I was a non-residential Civil War Paths Fellow with the Civil War Paths Project at the University of York. In the fall of 2025, I was a Visiting Research Fellow at the Rift Valley Institute and British Institute in Eastern Africa, located in Nairobi, Kenya.

I’m always happy to connect, so reach out if you’d like to chat or discuss working together.