Best Practices in Unarmed Civilian Proection in Israel/Palestine

Abstract

Professional and organized unarmed civilian protection is an emerging practice that has been shown to be increasingly effective in reducing violence in various types of conflict across the globe. Today the global community faces large-scale conflicts in places such as South Sudan, Libya, Iraq, and Syria, as well as many simmering conflicts in places such as Mozambique in imminent danger of full-scale recurrence.Beyond major armed conflicts, many local communities and neighborhoods in the U.S. face pervasive threats such as gang violence, police brutality, and mass shootings. In response to this violent context,many actors have been developing nonviolent resistance and peacebuilding practices and new ways of thinking about conflict. In this case study we seek to contribute to these urgent and exciting developments.This case study identifies good practices of unarmed civilian protection in Israel/Palestine. For this project, we spent roughly two weeks in mid-August 2015 interviewing practitioners of UCP,beneficiaries, and Israeli, Palestinian, and international community stakeholders. We conducted 53 expert interviews, including 35 with practitioners representing 14 groups that do at least some form of UCP work, 6 with beneficiaries of UCP, and 22 with outside stakeholders.1 We also engaged in several field observations of UCP organizations at work, and held a focus group discussion with 11 UCP practitioners from three different organizations.

Jonathan Pinckney

Assistant Professor

My research interests include civil resistance, democratization, and peacebuilding.