In the international policy and research field of mass atrocity prevention, there is a strong normative emphasis on the duty of outsiders to rescue victim groups either through political pressure or through more forceful economic and military measures. However, the reality of mass atrocities (understood here as large-scale violence against civilians) is that victim groups usually have to protect themselves. There is a need to better understand the strategies threatened groups employ to protect themselves against atrocities, and how these groups may be able to mobilize support domestically or internationally.
Questions asked in the project include:
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Is it possible to see resistance strategies to mass atrocities as something distinctive from resistance to human rights abuses or armed conflict? If so, how?
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How have vulnerable groups on the ground resisted threats of mass atrocities? Is it possible to identify a pattern of resistance strategies across different cases?
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What are the most central actors of resistance in each case?
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Do resistance strategies change over time, during different phases of a conflict?
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How have resistance options been influenced by regional and global political power shifts, alongside national regime changes?
The project studies resistance strategies comparatively. Resistance actors can include non-violent CSOs, trade unions, religious communities, armed resistance movements, political groups, women’s groups etc. They can also include larger groups of civilians who belong to a certain community but who do not constitute an organized CSO or political group. These actors may or may not make appeals to international or regional actors in their resistance strategies. The project is not limited to a specific collection of cases/regions. The aim is to identify patterns across cases and actors, as well as furthering a better understanding of resistance in each case.
For more information about the workshop series and edited volume, see: https://www.massatrocityresponses.com/blog/resistance-project