8 - Unarmed Civilian Protection: Exploring the Challenge for Political Science

Summary

Two decades of ‘war on terror’ have dominated our lives and our comprehension of international affairs. Nevertheless, under the radar, unarmed civilian protection (UCP) initiatives have spread in contexts as diverse as Kenya, the Philippines, South Sudan, Israel/Palestine, Honduras, Guatemala, Kosovo and France (Janzen, nd; Schweitzer, 2021). These civilian-based and weapon-free projects seek to mitigate high-level security risks in zones of tensions. They combine local empowerment and third-party physical presence (Muller, 1997). Some teams have specialized in observation and monitoring of political processes (demonstrations, elections, trials, for example), others accompany human right defenders, some groups act as local mediators, most deal with patrolling, rumour control, early warning. Overall, they seek to develop new methods to implement a ‘proactive’ and protective presence (Mahony, 2006; Schweitzer, 2021). Names vary and few of these initiatives have been systematically and impartially assessed. Nevertheless, in recent years, the United Nations (UN), the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and some governments have shown interest in civilian-based security, mostly understood as a complement to institutional efforts to rebuild failed states (UN, 2015; OECD, 2018; Ministère de l’Europe et des Affaires Étrangères, 2018). In its Protection of Civilian Handbook, the UN even moved one step further when emphasizing that community engagement should be the cornerstone of its peacekeeping policy (UN, 2020, pp 107– 13).

Still, the idea that civilians can protect each other without the threat of physical violence, or the use thereof, remains little explored by mainstream International Relations (IR) scholars. No international or even national research programme has been financed to study this approach to security and to compare it with militarized endeavours. In the policy field, UCP initiatives remain small-scale, almost invisible. Financing projects is difficult, especially when they are endogenous. At best, they are considered a useful add-on to military operations. This unwillingness of the discipline (IR) to engage systematically with UCP, its potential and its limits, is puzzling given some recognized successes of this type of peace work. One of its pioneer organizations, Peace Brigades International (PBI) has received several international prizes for its effective defence of human rights defenders.