Every dollar matched up to $50,000 until December 31! Give today.
Our SpeakUp® Mechanism
Nonviolent Peaceforce logo with blue dotDonate

Research

We’ve known for a long time that Unarmed Civilian Protection works because of the testimonies of communities and field teams around the world. In addition, the published evidence for Unarmed Civilian Protection as a viable and effective approach is strong, and growing stronger. The below provide an overview of research on Unarmed Civilian Protection practices across a range of contexts.

NP Research

UCP Research Highlights

Research on UCP

Sampling of Related Works

  • Sjöberg, A., Michalko, J. and Davies, G. (2026) Gender norms and protection: navigating agency, risk and backlash. HPG working paper. London: ODI Global 
  • Jennifer M. Welsh, Emily Paddon Rhoads and Juan Masullo (2025) 'Risky Business: Organizational Challenges in International Support for Civilian Self-Protection', Perspectives on Politics.
  • Veronique Barbelet and Leigh Mayhew (2025) 'Early warning and early response to violence for civilian safety and security', ODI Global.
  • Felicity Gray (2022) 'Protection as connection: feminist relational theory and protecting civilians from violence in South Sudan', Journal of Global Ethics 18(1): 152-170.
  • Jana Krause, Erin Kamler (2022) 'Ceasefires and Civilian Protection Monitoring in Myanmar', Global Studies Quarterly 2(1).
  • Margaux Pinaud (2021) ‘Home-Grown Peace: Civil Society Roles in Ceasefire Monitoring’, International Peacekeeping 28(3): 470-495. 
  • Congo Research Group (2020), Building Relationships, Building Peace: The Role of Civilians and Civil Society in Preventing Mass Atrocities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Washington D.C.: United State Holocaust Memorial Museum. 
  • Peris Jones and Wangui Kimari (2019) ‘Security beyond the men: Women and their everyday security apparatus in Mathare, Nairobi’, Urban Studies 56(9): 1835-1849. 
  • Joseph Bock et al. (2019) Halting Hate: How to Use the Interruption Model to Counter Hate-Motivated Violence, American Arbitration Association.  
  • Jana Krause (2018) Resilient Communities: Non-Violence and Civilian Agency in Communal War, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.  
  • Nerve Macaspac (2019) ‘Insurgent Peace: Community-Led Peacebuilding of Indigenous Peoples in Sagada, Philippines’, Geopolitics 24(4): 839-877. 
  • Oliver Kaplan (2017) Resisting War: How Communities Protect Themselves, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.  
  • Veronique Dudouet (2017) Powering to Peace: Integrated Civil Resistance and Peacebuilding Strategies, International Center on Nonviolent Conflict, vol. 1.  
  • Landon Hancock (2016) ‘Agency and peacebuilding: The promise of local zones of peace’, Peacebuilding, 5(3), 255–269. 
  • Jeffrey A. Butts (et al.) (2015) ‘Cure violence: A public health model to reduce gun violence’, Annual Review of Public Health (36): 39–53. 
  • Georgi Engelbrecht and Vidushi Kaushik (2015) ‘Community-based protection mechanisms’, Peace Review 27(1), 43–51. 
  • Sara Koopman (2014) ‘Making space for peace: International protective accompaniment in Colombia’, in F. McConnell, N. Megoran, & P. Williams (eds.), Geographies of peace: New approaches to boundaries, diplomacy and conflict resolution, London/New York: IB Tauris. 109–130. 

 

Unarmed Civilian protection

Knowledge Database

User-friendly way of finding the latest research on
unarmed civilian protection, community self-protection and related topics.
Go now

Monthly Newsletter

Stay Informed

More than 700 people across 10+ countries have trained 26,000 individuals in unarmed civilian protection. Join us today to build a culture of global peace in more communities and across multiple generations — as a donor, a volunteer, a team member, or an independent researcher. Sign-up now to receive updates on events, NP’s work on the ground, career opportunities, and more.
SUBSCRIBE
arrow-right
English
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognizing you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.