Dr. Oliver Kaplan, Lecturer in Human Rights at the Josef Korbel School, University of Denver Wednesday, January 30 Civilians would seem powerless when facing violent and heavily armed actors in settings of civil conflict, and yet communities in various countries have found ways to avoid violence. In this presentation Dr. Kaplan will discuss the various strategies he has documented that communities from around the world have used to retain autonomy and self-rule in the face of competition among multiple armed groups. Since armed actor coercion of (and violence against) civilians has been theorized to stem from divisions within civilian societies, Dr. Kaplan argues that social cohesion among civilian communities affords them greater chances to implement nonviolent collective strategies to deceive and influence armed actors and defend their communities. He explores how these strategies vary in their organizational requirements, contentiousness, and probable effectiveness. These strategies illustrate that the unity of unarmed civilians can help impede and isolate violent "extremists." To learn more, visit http://www.nonviolent-conflict.org

1. How$Communi*es$Use$Nonviolent$Strategies$$
!
to$Avoid$Civil$War$Violence$
!
Interna9onal!Center!for!Nonviolent!Conflict!!
!
Webinar!
January!30,!2013!
Oliver!Kaplan,!Ph.D.!
The!Korbel!School!of!Interna9onal!Studies!
!
!
!
Oliver.Kaplan@du.edu!
h>p://mysite.du.edu/~okaplan2!!
!
! 1!

2. The!Puzzle!!
• Do#non%violent#strategies#provide#protec2on#
against#heavily#armed#violent#actors?#
• “Culture!of!Peace”:!What!is!it?!How!does!it!work?!
• The!goal!of!nonUviolent!strategies!during!conflicts!
– Autonomy:!local!decisionUmaking!and!selfUrule!
– Stay!out!of!conflicts!
– Isolate!“extremists”!
• Civilian!strategies!are!difficult!to!document!and!
analyze—they!are!the!“dogs!that!don’t!bark”!

3. The!Challenge!of!Civilian!Strategies!
• Humanitarian!interven9ons!are!rare!and!weak!
• Individuals!face!danger!confron9ng!belligerents!
• Civilians!face!a!free!rider!problem:!
– All!want!protec9on,!but!taking!ac9on!is!dangerous!
• The!public!good!of!community!protec9on!is!
underUprovided!
• Even!if!all!residents!have!pacifist!preferences!
they!may!be!afraid!to!act!and!need!reassurance!

4. Outline!
I. Introduc9on!to!nonUviolence!during!conflict!
II. Theories!of!violence!
III. Inventory!of!community!protec9on!strategies!
IV. Comparing!strategies!
V. Logics!of!armed!actor!responses!
VI. Conclusion!

5. I.!Introduc9on!to!NonUviolence!!
During!Conflict!
!
• The!breadth!of!nonUviolent!movements!
• The!role!of!community!coopera9on!and!
organiza9on!

6. Compara9ve!Examples!of!!
Civilian!Autonomy!in!Civil!War!!
Cases!of!collec9ve!ac9ons!for!protec9on!in!civil!conflicts!
Colombia!
Philippines!
Afghanistan!
Russia!
Mexico!
Vietnam!
Congo!
Mozambique!
!
Source:!!Author’s!coding!
6!

7. The!Power!of!Organiza9on!
Organiza*on$!$Strategies$!$$Violence$
!
• Lone!individuals!are!vulnerable!
• Community!organiza9on!helps!civilians!cooperate:!
– Formal!peace!organiza9ons!
• “Peace!Zones”,!“Peace!Communi9es”,!“Humanitarian!
Spaces”,!etc.!
– Informal!organiza9ons!leveraged!for!protec9on!
• Village!councils,!economic!coopera9ves,!religious!
ins9tu9ons,!etc.!

8. PreUexis9ng!Organiza9ons!

9. How!Coopera9on!and!Organiza9on!!
Helps!Civilians!
1. DecisionUmaking!capacity!
2. Informa9on!management!
3. Collec9ve!memory!and!learning!
4. Implement!collec9ve!strategies!and!advocacy!
5. Resilience!to!threats!
!
9!

10. Which!Organiza9ons!Ma>er?!
• Some!organiza9ons!provide!civilians!with!be>er!
prospects!to!deal!with!violence!than!others!
• Certain!organiza9onal!characteris9cs!enhance!
capacity,!limit!spoilers,!and!help!avoid!retalia9on!
!Helpful!organiza9onal!characteris9cs:!
!
!DecisionUmaking!
!Legi9mate!
!Broad!in!coverage!
!Apoli9cal!(?)!
10!

11. II.!Why!Are!Civilians!Killed?!
• Genocide!and!“draining!the!sea”!(Valen9no)!
• Rebel!indiscipline!and!abuse!(Weinstein)!
• Collateral!damage!
• Selec9ve!targe9ng!(Kalyvas)!
– Coerce!support!through!fear,!by!zones!of!control!
– Mechanism!of!denuncia9ons!of!enemy!collaborators!
to!armed!groups!
!!!Civilian!organiza9onal!mechanisms!primarily!!
!!!solve!problems!of!selec9ve!violence!
! 11!

12. III.!Inventory!of!NonUviolent!Strategies!
“Weapons!of!the!Weak”!for!conflict!semngs!
1. Dispute!resolu9on!(local!harmony)!
2. Propagate!norms!of!nonUpar9cipa9on!
3. Informa9on!and!policing!of!collaborators!
4. Protest!and!reputa9on!effects!
5. Early!warning!systems!
12!

13. Types!of!Protec9on!Strategies!
• Subtle!“weapons!of!the!weak”!
– Managing!communi9es!
– Indirect!influence/!armed!actors!unaware!
• Overt!protest!
– Direct!interac9ons!with!armed!actors!(dialogue)!
– Direct!ac9ons!against!armed!actors!(protest)!
• Alterna9ves!to!nonUviolent!autonomy!strategies!
– Do!nothing/!displace!
– Arming!

14. 1.!Dispute!resolu9on!(local!harmony)!
• Armed!groups!prey!on!disputes!and!divisions!to!
exert!their!authority!
• Harmonious!rela9ons!among!residents!mean!
fewer!disputes!breakUout!
• Civilians!can!ac9vely!resolve!disputes!among!
residents!and!block!armed!group!inroads!
• Example:!Local!Coordina9ng!Commi>ees!in!Syria!

16. 2.!Norms!of!nonUpar9cipa9on!
and!nonUviolence!
• Promote!ideologies!of!pacifism,!nonUviolence,!
nonUpar9cipa9on!in!the!conflict!
• Peaceful!resolu9on!of!disputes!
• Manage!and!incen9vize!behavior!of!residents!
to!avoid!armed!groups!
• Alterna9ve!ac9vi9es!to!joining!armed!groups!
• Limit!recruitment!to!and!manpower!for!armed!
groups!

17. Banning!weapons!!
in!the!Philippines!

18. 3.!Dialogue!and!the!“inves9ga9ons”!mechanism!
!
1. Violence!is!costly!to!both!armed!groups!and!communi9es!
2. Civilian!organiza9ons!can!use!advantages!in!local!
informa9on!to!iden9fy!enemy!collaborators!for!armed!
groups!
3. Armed!groups!value!this!informa9on!because!policing!
defec9on!is!difficult!
4. This!limits!violence!in!two!ways:!
!i.!!Keeps!armed!groups!from!mistakenly!killing!nonUdefectors!
!!!!!!!ii.!!Increases!costs!to!civilians!for!aiding!armed!groups!
Example:!The!Peasant!Workers!Associa9on!of!the!Carare!!
(ATCC!in!Colombia;!Kaplan,!Oliver.!Journal#of#Peace#Research,!May!2013)!
! 18!

19. Mul9Usport!courts:!Mee9ng!Places!in!Colombia!

20. 4.!Protest!and!Reputa9on!Effects!
• Impose!costs!on!armed!actors!and!draw!outside!
a>en9on!to!deter!violence!
– Declara9ons!of!neutrality!!
– Dialogue,!moral!appeals,!rhetorical!traps!!
– “Go!public”!to!denounce!aggression!and!abuses!and!
shame!armed!actors!
– Threat!of!protest!
– Mass!nonUviolent!manpower!and!unarmed!guards!
• Accompaniment!from!NGOs!and!external!actors!
!
!!Even!sta9ng!neutral!inten9ons!of!communi9es!
can!be!viewed!as!hos9le!(e.g.,!peace!communi9es)!

21. Marching!Against!Violence!

22. Protest!and!Reputa9on!Effects!
Examples:!!
• Nasa!indigenous!group!of!Colombia!
• Villages!in!Afghanistan!

23. 5.!Early!Warning!Systems!
• Informa9on!networks!to!provide!early!
warning!of!combat!to!avoid!violence!
– Convince!armed!actors!to!fight!outside!the!
boundaries!of!civilian!se>lements!
– Temporary!displacement!or!shelter!residents!un9l!
figh9ng!has!subsided!
• May!be!set!up!within!the!community!or!
through!dialogues!with!combatants!
• Examples:!Congo,!Syria,!Colombia!

25. IV.!Comparing!Strategies!
• Determinants!of!strategic!choice!
– Conten9ousness!of!strategies!
• Organiza9onal!requirements!
• Costs!imposed!on!armed!actors!
• Risks!of!armed!actor!retalia9on!
– Ideas!and!cultural!predisposi9ons!for!par9cular!
approaches!

26. Conten9ousness!of!NonUviolent!Strategies!
Conten*ousness$of$Civilian$Strategy$
Low$$
Displace!
•!Organiza9on!requirements!!
Ally!! increasing!in!conten9ousness!
Dispute!resolu9on!(local!harmony)! !
•!Costs!on!armed!groups!!
Early!warning!systems! increasing!in!conten9ousness!
Norms!of!nonUpar9cipa9on! !
•!Risk!of!retalia9on!!
Inves9ga9ons!mechanism! increasing!in!conten9ousness!
!
Bar!arms!and!armed!groups! !
! ! Does!greater!conten9ousness!!
Protest!and!reputa9on!effects! yield!greater!protec9on?!
High$ Armed!resistance!
!

27. V.!Logics!of!Armed!Actor!Responses!
• Fewer!inroads!to!communi9es!and!fewer!resources!
• Moral!considera9ons!
– Ending!an!en9re!village!and!a>acking!organiza9ons!mean!
greater!“moral”!costs!
• Rhetorical!traps!and!inconsistencies!with!rebel!ideologies!
• Reputa9on!with!observers!(harder!to!achieve!objec9ves)!
– Local!(broader!popula9on!and!other!villages)!
– Interna9onal!backers!
– Military!may!be!drawn!to!region!
• “Not!worth!the!marginal!gains”!to!a>ack!organized!
villages!
• Fissures!within!armed!groups!about!uses!of!violence!

28. Hybrid!Armed!Groups!
Hybrid!groups!are!both!mo9vated!to!use!violence!
and!may!be!suscep9ble!to!civilian!strategies!
Contested!zone!
Ideological!! Contesta9on! Opportunis9c!!
‘angels’! abusers!
Resource!bases!
Controlled!zone!

29. VI.!Conclusion!
• Civilians!exercise!agency!even!in!hos9le!semngs!
• Community!organiza9on!and!coopera9on!
facilitates!diverse!non%violent#protec9on!strategies!
• Strategies!have!the!highest!odds!of!success!when!
adapted!to!communi9es,!coopera9on!levels,!
conflict!condi9ons,!and!types!of!threats!
– Inves9ga9ons!(selec9ve!violence)!vs.!protest!(abuse)!
• NonUviolent!strategies!may!entail!risks!
• Analyze!condi9ons!for!success,!armed!actor!
mo9va9ons,!and!likely!responses!

30. Thank!You!