PART I of this ACE topic area will introduce the key theoretical perspectives. These will assist readers in understanding dynamics of electoral conflicts and perpetrators’ motives and consequences of election-related violence, including gender-based violence and violence against marginalized groups.

PART II presents frameworks for assessing and analysing factors that can trigger negative conflicts and election-related violence in specific contexts. While several approaches are highlighted, International IDEA’s concept - that distinguishes thirty-six (36) process (internal/endogenous) and context-related (external/exogenous) factors - is presented in detail.

Finally, PART III presents the framework for taking prevention and mitigation actions. Aligned with the Infrastructure for Peace (I4P) concept, which acknowledges that sustainable peace needs a collaborative institutional framework between state and non-state actors, it distinguishes between three groups of organizations and their mandate or capacity to act in ensuring that elections are peaceful and credible. These are: electoral management and dispute resolution bodies, security sector agencies, and other state and non-state actors.