Civilian Agency in Violent Settings

More than half the world’s population are living in settings where they are regularly exposed to violence, whether from armed actors, gangs, community defence forces or criminal groups. What do civilian communities do to protect themselves and others in these settings? And what can we learn from them about civilian protection? To look at these questions, Katharine and Florian are joined by Juan Masullo and Emily Paddon Rhoads, who are two of the editors of the new book ‘Civilian Protective Agency in Violent Settings: A Comparative Perspective’ (Oxford University Press).

Shedding light on the dynamics in different countries, Emily and Juan also discuss the conceptual foundations of their work, reflect on the methodological and ethical challenges of doing research in this field and share some of their novel theoretical insights.