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...
Civil-Military Relations
Protecting Civilians While Discrediting Terrorism
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...
From Civilian Immunity to Just Peace
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...
Culture Clash: A Humanitarian Perspective on Civil-Military Interactions
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...
Sorting Out Dilemmas in a New Era of Civil-Military Relations
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...
Engaging the Military in Building Peace in Mindanao
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...