The concept of Responsibility to Protect (RtoP) has become an important part of the normative framework related to peace and conflict. While its operationalisation remains a challenge, the United Nations (UN), the European Union (EU) and civil society organisations have developed new policies, tools and mechanisms to improve the use and effectiveness of this principle. […]

Over the past ten years, peacebuilding and development actors have developed a more sophisticated understanding of why young people, in particular, are driven to participate in (or resist) violent extremist groups. However, understanding those drivers is only the first step. There is also a pressing need to gather evidence of “what works” in reducing violence […]

The EU’s military training mission in the Central African Republic (EUTM RCA) was launched in July 2016. Its second operational objective is to ‘contribute to Central African armed forces (FACA) capability to become credible, accountable, ethnically balanced and under democratic control.’ The international humanitarian law (IHL) and prevention of sexual violence (PSV) component of the […]

It is a common assumption that only armed military or police can do the work of peacekeeping. However, unarmed civilians have been successfully ‘keeping the peace’ in situations of violent conflict all over the world, and their numbers are increasing. Unarmed Civilian Protection (UCP) is a growing field practice, implemented by more than 40 organisations […]

In the wake of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, unrest in the Donbas region grew into a war between pro-Russian rebel armed groups, seeking independence from Ukraine or unification with Russia, and the post-revolutionary Ukrainian government. Dr Anna Matveeva tells the story of the insurgency from the perspective of the rebellion, providing the detailed account of […]

Over the past twenty years, the aid community has increasingly acknowledged how well-intended policies and programmes can actually do harm by increasing conflict. In response to this, conflict sensitivity has emerged as a set of principles and approaches which could help aid actors to mitigate the risk of their interventions and to leverage their potential […]

Last month, the Foreign Affairs Council adopted Conclusions on Strengthening Civilian Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), in which Foreign Ministers once again highlighted the importance of mainstreaming human rights and gender into all missions’ activities in order to improve their effectiveness. One of the key elements in translating this policy commitment into practice is […]

Cameroon is going through a critical moment. The Boko Haram insurgency is on the wane in the Lake Chad basin but attacks are continuing against civilian and military targets in Cameroon’s Far North. The war has killed 2,000 Cameroonians, displaced 170,000 and triggered the rise of vigilante self-defence groups. Meanwhile, Cameroon’s Anglophone region has experienced […]

Earlier this year, Search for Common Ground, with the support of the United Kingdom’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office in Bishkek and in partnership with the Royal United Services Institute, published a research paper entitled ‘Understanding the Factors Contributing to Radicalisation Among Central Asian Labour Migrants in Russia’. The paper explores linkages between economic alienation and […]

With a new reform-oriented government in place since May 2017, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (hereafter Macedonia) has emerged from its most severe political crisis of the last two decades. With democratic checks and balances being progressively restored, Macedonia seems to be on the right reform path. Cautious steps towards reconciliation with Greece are […]