Teaching and Research

Saskia Baas is an expert on Sudan, where she has been involved in research and work since 2006. She did extensive fieldwork throughout Sudan for her PhD dissertation on the proliferation of non-state armed groups. She further researched the political accommodation of minority groups after South Sudan’s independence and the escalation of ethnic conflict. Beside her research, she worked for the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission and the Carter Center Democracy Programme, among other NGOs.

Her current research concerns the roles and functions of media actors during violent conflict, particularly focusing on the role of state-media during episodes mass violence. In the context of this research, she analyzes the political communication strategies of the Sudanese regime during the escalation of conflict on its border with South Sudan in 2011, as well as those of the Syrian regime in the ongoing conflict in Syria.

She lectures at the Amsterdam University College, where she teaches courses on international crimes, conflict studies and global politics. She also participates in the supervision of master’s theses in the MSc programme Conflict Resolution and Governance at the Department of Political Science.

 

Saskia Baas (2012) From Civilians to Soldiers and from Soldiers to Civilians. Mobilization and Demobilization in Sudan. Amsterdam University Press

"From Civilians to Soldiers and from Soldiers to Civilians" explores the pathways of civilians into armed groups in Sudan. Drawing on 76 in-depth interviews with current and former combatants from four different armed movements, seven idealtypical motivations to join armed groups are discerned. This nuances prevailing theories on the motivation of actors in civil wars, which normally assume affiliation to armed groups rests on a single motivation. Further, recruitment strategies differ greatly across movements and depend partially on the opportunities available to armed movements to organize themselves, which in turn relates to their ability to control territory. Career opportunities inside the movements and continued loyalty to the movement are discussed. Finally, the attempts to disarm, demobilize and reintegrate (DDR) former combatants into society are analyzed from the perspective of the interviewed combatants.

English Publications

Saskia Baas (forthcoming) Framing the enemy in Sudan's border war. Political communication in times of war.

Saskia Baas (forthcoming) Peace Through Justice? Analyzing the Impact of
the Permanent Court for Arbitration on Local Conflict Dynamics in Sudan's Disputed Abyei
Region

Saskia Baas (2013) Low-intensity conflict in Eastern Sudan: A comparative approach to the development of rebel groups. In: Small Wars and Insurgencies 24:3

Saskia Baas (2012) From Civilians to Soldiers and from Soldiers to Civilians. Mobilization and Demobilization in Sudan. Amsterdam University Press. 

• Order book via Amsterdam University Press

Dutch Publications

Saskia Baas (2011) "Een zelfgekozen lot? Kindsoldaten in Sierra Leone" Militaire Spectator. Book review of Myriam Denov's Child Soldiers. Sierra Leone's Revolutionairy United Front.

Saskia Baas (2010) "Verhalen van guerrilla strijders" Militaire Spectator, year 179, no.11-2010 Article on recruitment in the SPLM/A.

Saskia Baas. (2007) "Grondstof voor conflicten: de vloek vande olie in Sudan" Internationale Spectator, November 2007. Article onthe oil-curse in Sudan.

• Militaire Spectator (2010) Verhalen van Guerilla strijders

• Militarie Spectator (2011) Book Review

Media contributions

Saskia occasionally writes columns on political issues in Sudan for the Sudanese Arabic daily "Hurriyat Sudan". She also writes for other media outlets. Examples include:

 

De Vokskrant, 5 juni 2013. Nederland moet leiding nemen in vredesproces Darfur.

De Volkskrant, 30 May 2011. Internationale gemeenschap moet stelling nemen tegen Soedanese president Bashir.

The Broker, 20 December 2013. Managing ethnic conflict during transitions. http://www.thebrokeronline.eu/Articles/Managing-ethnic-conflict-during-transitions

Society for International Development Forum, 27April 2010. Children who become soldiers.

 

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