Civilian-armed group relations

Based on extensive first person research, this report examines how communities negotiate the presence of armed jihadist groups in Central Mali.

This paper examines the failure the address climate adaptation in conflict areas beyond state control, and examines the potential for engaging armed groups on the environment.

This rapid analysis explores how the Israel-Hamas war is shaping armed group behavior and the prospects of engagement in the Middle East and beyond.

This paper examines the impact of the non-recognition of de facto authorities on the people living in these territories. Arguing that the negative impacts on populations are profound, it urges for a re-think of approaches to de facto authority.

Published by IDLO on behalf of the Working Group on Customary and Informal Justice and SDG16+, of which the Centre is a member, this report highlights the need for more people-centered approaches to justice.

Based on extensive research in Al-Shabab controlled areas of Somalia, this paper explores dynamics between Al-Shabab and those who live under their control.

This paper argues that we should not see ‘political’ and ‘criminal’ groups as separate categories. Instead, we should envision a spectrum of motives and practices across all armed groups, regardless of how they are labeled.

This joint paper with ODI explores what we know (and what we don’t) about how ordinary people engage with armed groups.

Prevailing understandings of control – which focus on territorial dividing lines and acts of violence – are incomplete. Our paper argues that armed group control should instead be broken down according to the ways in which armed groups seek to influence populations.

There are significant debates and differences of opinion within the Taliban on education. Based on original documents and interviews, our paper explores written Taliban policy on education, and practice on the ground.

Like states, non-state armed groups (NSAG) are bound by international humanitarian law - but they have not been included as participants in developing those rules. This Brief proposes a strategic model aimed at the progressive inclusion of NSAGs in the development of international norms and laws.

Western states have frequently worked with non-state armed groups to confront security threats, as part of global counter-terrorism operations or as de facto security providers in stabilisation contexts. But this often presents substantial risks or drawbacks. This joint paper, published with GPPi, considers how the US tried to mitigate these risks while working with militias and substate forces in Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq.

Seizing on widespread dissatisfaction with formal justice, Taliban courts quickly settled disputes that the state and customary institutions could not. But their courts also enabled the Taliban to infiltrate new areas, softening the ground for further infiltration, and to enforce a strict set of rules on the population.