10 - Unarmed Civilian Protection and Nonviolence with Attention to Sub-Saharan Africa

Summary

Although there is a growing body of literature on nonviolence, there are fewer writings on the relationship between unarmed civilian protection (UCP) and nonviolence and how the two concepts work together in practice. This chapter will bridge this gap, arguing that nonviolence is not only UCP's principal but is its overall guiding concept. To this end, the chapter discusses how different scholars and practitioners define nonviolence, its principles and methods, including: protests, non-cooperation, and nonviolent direct intervention, where UCP originated from and what their relationship is. It further explores past and contemporary examples of successful use of nonviolent actions and how UCP activities contributed to protection of civilians and activists in their efforts to prevent violence, improve security and build peace. The chapter concludes that the Indigenous people and societies are the custodians of UCP, as they have paramount responsibility to create and sustain their own protection and nonviolent action methods, strategies and mechanisms.

Background

Research on nonviolence has never dominated the academic field of Peace Studies (John, 2022, p 359). Evidently, many library shelves in Peace Study colleges are filled with books on wars and people's armed conflicts (Johansen, 2009, p 69). However, following the wave of nonviolent movements in 2011 onwards that yielded dramatic results, there is a growing body of literature on nonviolence. However, very little attention has been paid to highlighting the contributions of unarmed civilian protection (UCP), also referred to as unarmed civilian peacekeeping, in people's struggle for better protection, governance and service delivery.

While the extent and intensity of wars and conflicts in sub-Saharan Africa decreased in the 1990s, the region remains prone to conflicts, with about 30 per cent of the region's countries affected in 2019 (Fang et al, 2020, p 2). However, against the same backdrop, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) reveals 56 state-based conflicts in 2020, including eight wars. Most of these conflicts occurred in Africa, as the region registered 30 state-based conflicts, including nine new or restarted ones (Pettersson et al, 2020, p 2). Civilians have increasingly become victims in situations of wars, armed conflicts and where there is negative peace with a prevalence of structural injustices.