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 […]