THEORIES IN PEACE AND CONFLICT RESEARCH
Theory is the fourth cornerstone of the science business. With the aid of appropriate logical framework of techniques, that is, methodology, scientists use theories to link the philosophical foundations, comprising ontology and epistemology, to empirical data, thereby completing and validating their investigations as scientific enterprises. The paper examines the nature, origins and role of theory and stresses its centrality to empirical and analytical works in Peace and Conflict Research (PCR) as an applied (social science) research. It lists twenty-five theories in PCR and classified them using the core distinction issues in Peace and Conflict Studies and the traditional classifications based on agency and structural and political economy. The paper also presents and discusses the tension between theory verification and theory generation in Peace and Conflict Research. It makes a case for theory generation PCR of African peace and conflict dynamics by African peace and conflict researchers.