Towards hybridity in the Protection of Civilians
Lead Research Organisation:
Coventry University
Department Name: Ctr for Trust Peace & Social Relation
Abstract
Violent conflict has a catastrophic effect on all aspects of civilian life. In May 2020, the United Nations Secretary-General reported that more than 20,000 civilians had been killed or injured in 2019 as a result of attacks in conflicts in 10 countries alone. It is for these reasons that the 'protection of civilians' (PoC) in violent conflict zones has become a cornerstone of the policies and actions of those international organisations who intervene in a third-party capacity.
Operations deployed under the United Nations (UN), regional organisations and national governments have all developed policies and frameworks which guide their military, civilian and police personnel in aspects of PoC. Likewise, non-governmental organisations and humanitarian actors have developed their own approaches towards civilian protection, with nuanced but valuable differences from those of the multilateral organisations. In addition, civil society actors from the conflict zone itself approach protection in a way informed by local context. These approaches may also bring a different understanding to what protection is and how it is implemented.
Therefore challenges concerning how different visions of PoC compete and interact within deployment zones have come to the fore. Organisational strategies, governmental approaches, and civil society understandings of what 'protection' means and how it is implemented have been exposed. This necessitates further dialogue amongst the different actors engaged in civilian protection in violent conflict.
This research project will launch a series of workshops whereby policy actors and academic researchers engage on this topic. At the core of these workshops will be the concept of 'hybridity'. A theory drawn from the peacebuilding and development fields, hybridity refers to the interaction between third party interveners, and those who are subject to the intervention. Workshops will examine how intervening organisations have adapted their policies when operating within a shared space with other organisations, and how they react when local actors adapt, ignore, or resist their version of 'civilian protection'.
The workshops will be held in Dublin, London and Durham, and are organised with the intention of linking up an inter-disciplinary network of scholars and policymakers on the topic. Scholars will largely be at the early-career stage of their academic career, and will be invited to present their research into civilian protection, but also to reflect on the research process which they used. The workshops will invite participants from the policy community, engaging with those who develop guidance and policy on civilian protection in an official capacity. Practitioners will be invited to share their perspectives on implementation challenges that they have faced in deployment zones. Here, those who work for humanitarian organisations will outline the processes which took place in engaging with local civil society actors in deployment zones, and how policies were amended in light of local context. Through these workshops it is expected that a sustainable network of engaged parties will be created.
The network will form the core list of authors from which a proposal for a special edition of a high-ranking international journal will be composed. It is expected that academic output will be methodologically rigourous, of high originality and will make a significant contribution to the study of civilian protection in violent conflict.
In addition to the academic output, the workshops will release a number of smaller workshop reports, and a synthesis report. These will be targeted primarily at the policy community to introduce the research project and the discussions which take place. These reports, and background documentation into civilian protection will be stored on a publicly accessible online data-bank. Finally, the series seeks to build a learning pack for students and scholars.
Operations deployed under the United Nations (UN), regional organisations and national governments have all developed policies and frameworks which guide their military, civilian and police personnel in aspects of PoC. Likewise, non-governmental organisations and humanitarian actors have developed their own approaches towards civilian protection, with nuanced but valuable differences from those of the multilateral organisations. In addition, civil society actors from the conflict zone itself approach protection in a way informed by local context. These approaches may also bring a different understanding to what protection is and how it is implemented.
Therefore challenges concerning how different visions of PoC compete and interact within deployment zones have come to the fore. Organisational strategies, governmental approaches, and civil society understandings of what 'protection' means and how it is implemented have been exposed. This necessitates further dialogue amongst the different actors engaged in civilian protection in violent conflict.
This research project will launch a series of workshops whereby policy actors and academic researchers engage on this topic. At the core of these workshops will be the concept of 'hybridity'. A theory drawn from the peacebuilding and development fields, hybridity refers to the interaction between third party interveners, and those who are subject to the intervention. Workshops will examine how intervening organisations have adapted their policies when operating within a shared space with other organisations, and how they react when local actors adapt, ignore, or resist their version of 'civilian protection'.
The workshops will be held in Dublin, London and Durham, and are organised with the intention of linking up an inter-disciplinary network of scholars and policymakers on the topic. Scholars will largely be at the early-career stage of their academic career, and will be invited to present their research into civilian protection, but also to reflect on the research process which they used. The workshops will invite participants from the policy community, engaging with those who develop guidance and policy on civilian protection in an official capacity. Practitioners will be invited to share their perspectives on implementation challenges that they have faced in deployment zones. Here, those who work for humanitarian organisations will outline the processes which took place in engaging with local civil society actors in deployment zones, and how policies were amended in light of local context. Through these workshops it is expected that a sustainable network of engaged parties will be created.
The network will form the core list of authors from which a proposal for a special edition of a high-ranking international journal will be composed. It is expected that academic output will be methodologically rigourous, of high originality and will make a significant contribution to the study of civilian protection in violent conflict.
In addition to the academic output, the workshops will release a number of smaller workshop reports, and a synthesis report. These will be targeted primarily at the policy community to introduce the research project and the discussions which take place. These reports, and background documentation into civilian protection will be stored on a publicly accessible online data-bank. Finally, the series seeks to build a learning pack for students and scholars.
Organisations
| Description | Funding was used for three workshops. The first held at Durham University (May 2022), the second at Kings College London (June 2022), and the third at Dublin City University (August 2022). Workshops were attended by policymakers, practitioners, academics, military personnel, and humanitarian workers. Significant contribution was made to how we understand the core principles of civilian protection. This came in three main areas. Firstly, through identifying a framework in which to define civilian protection: here workshops identified a framework built on four key questions: Who is being protected? From what are civilians being protected? What does protection look like? Who is a protection actor?. Doing this opened up four research questions which can be taken forward in their own right. Secondly, workshops identified new areas of concern and opportunity. Regarding areas of concern, workshops identified issues such as the significance of Private Military and Security Contractors as actors in the civilian protection field. In terms of opportunities, workshops found that a research agenda built around 'relational' aspects of civilian protection would provide a significant step forward for the field. Thirdly, the workshops developed a contribution to training processes for civilian protection, outlining potential blind-spots of existing training provision, and advocating the increased use of local perspectives of civilian protection in training programmes. Using Hybridity as a lens opened important new research questions. Using this framework, workshops explored ways to better understand how approaches to civilian protection coexist, complement or contradict existing mechanisms of protection in conflict zones. Workshops focused on vertical coordination of civilian protection, noting the interaction between policy developed at policy hubs (such as NATO or UN Headquarters), those that work within those organisations and are tasked to interpret the policy through creating mandates and practice, those who implement that policy in deployment zones. Concurrently, there are processes led at the local level, with community actors, and civil society creating their own forms of civilian protection actions (often not led by official policy), and seeking to expose these approaches to outside actors. These top-down and bottom-up approaches are inter-twined, yet because of various factors, it is difficult to achieve coherence. Particularly noteworthy new research networks were established. As well as a spread of governmental actors, participants came from 16 different policy/practitioner organisations, and 18 Academic Institutions. Amongst academics we took into consideration career stage and gender balance and ensured early career researchers were invited. Additionally, we specifically asked those in the network to invite PhD researchers. This brought positive results with PhD research represented from universities at Aberystwyth, Edinburgh, Durham, Leeds, DCU, NUI Galway, and King's College London (KCL). |
| Exploitation Route | 1) Research into the power relations which underpin perspectives of civilian protection: Particularly with regards to how interveners characterise who is classed as a civilian, and how they define protection, risk, and vulnerability. 2) Research into relational aspects of civilian protection: Firstly, through understanding of issues of intersectionality with regards to how different communities understand civilian threat, secondly to understand how those working for civilian protection actors use interpersonal skills to enhance protection 3) Policy and Research into new actors in the civilian protection domain, particularly Private Military and Security Contractors: Recent history has made policymakers aware of the negative consequences of PMSCs in the civilian protection sphere. Further research should identify the motivations, actions and impacts of such actors. 4) Advocacy and research into the impact of explosive ordinances on civilian protection: This would take into account interventions into conflict areas where the use of explosive ordinances is particularly high, as well as further examination of justice and accountability mechanisms for civilian harm. 5) Research and policy development in the training field, particularly in pre-deployment civilian protection training for military, civilian and police practitioners deploying into conflict contexts. |
| Sectors | Government, Democracy and Justice,Security and Diplomacy |
| URL | https://www.coventry.ac.uk/globalassets/media/global/08-new-research-section/ctpsr/towards-hybridity-in-the-protection-of-civilians.pdf |
| Description | BISA Annual Conference 2022: Roundtable 'Hybridity in Civilian Protection' - too be held June 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | The BISA conference is renowned for being inclusive, diverse and friendly. it brings together a worldwide community of specialists to discuss, promote and develop international studies. This roundtable will explore Protection of Civilians (PoC) activities, focusing on how we can better understand processes of implementation, contestation and adaption in areas of violent conflict. The roundtable will link civilian protection with the concept of 'hybridity', a term used in the peacebuilding field, to better understand the evolving flexibility of models of civilian protection. The roundtable forms part of an ESRC/IRC funded project which brings academic, practitioners and policymakers together to explore such issues. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | EWIS 2022 Workshop entitled 'Towards Hybridity in Civilian Protection' to be held in July 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | The European Workshops in International Studies (EWIS), launched by EISA in 2013, have fast established themselves as a spirited place for the European IR community to engage in sustained, in-depth discussion with a diverse range of peers from various institutions, countries, disciplines and career stages. EWIS has proven to be a popular and productive format, perfect for preparing special issues, edited volumes or exploring new ideas, themes and directions in a vibrant and friendly atmosphere. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |