Cities have been targeted since time immemorial, evidenced by the plunder and pillage of ancient cities such as Carthage—one of the most powerful trading and commercial centers from 650 B.C.E. to 146 B.C.E.—that was razed to ground by Roman military forces.
In responding to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of war in cities, it is crucial to pay attention to every individual death, injury, and incident of destruction and also to indirect harm to the collective population and its shared spaces—to the very fabric of the city.
The city as a unit is the expression of a sum greater than its parts: homes, centers of community and culture, roads to work and school, infrastructure and architecture, and the people living there; it is both political and politicized.
In one of the most dramatic moments in international legal history, advocates for South Africa argued before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that Israel’s resort to and conduct of war in Gaza violates the Genocide Convention.
Ukraine is a country with more than 100 years of experience in nonviolent action. Since the beginning of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian civil society has spontaneously and courageously organized to counter the military occupation through hundreds of...
Lisa Schirch and David Cortright In recent decades, international peacekeeping missions have become more robust and multi-dimensional, involving diverse civilian and military actors. In many cases, civilian peacebuilding and development actors are on the ground...
Robert C. Johansen International law and time-honored ethical traditions prohibit the targeting of noncombatants. Yet in most recent conflicts, more civilians have been killed than soldiers. What can we do to increase the influence of legal and ethical norms...
Maryann Cusimano Love General David Petraeus was in the hot seat during his Senate confirmation hearings in Washington this summer, and it had nothing to do with the heat wave outside. While senators were confirming Petraeus as commander of U.S. and international...
Larissa Fast It may seem logical that military and civilian actors should work in close collaboration, especially in places like Afghanistan and Sudan, where non-governmental organizations and other humanitarian actors work in close proximity to combat and...
Lisa Schirch and David Cortright In conflict zones around the world, military troops and civilian peacebuilders are interacting and sharing space in unprecedented ways. In Thailand, civil society groups worked with the military to write national security policy for...
Myla Leguro Civilian peacebuilders in the southern Philippines are strategically engaging the military as an important stakeholder in the peace process. An increasing number of former military officials are now directly involved in the Mindanao peace negotiations...