Description
Unarmed Civilian Protection (UCP) is a nonviolent, civilian-led approach to reducing violence in conflict zones. In a time of declining international capacity to protect civilians, the Creating Safer Space research network—comprising 70 organisations in 13 countries, most in the Global South—examined how communities protect themselves and others amid violence through local knowledge, collective action and solidarity. UCP practices often emerge where formal mechanisms fail or are absent, yet remain under-recognized in global protection frameworks and peace research. We discuss how, through decolonial, feminist, and Indigenous methodologies, the network sought to co-produce knowledge and collaborate equitably between academic and community partners, modelling participatory, creative and reflexive research practices to challenge extractive norms, centre marginalized voices and reimagine peacebuilding from the ground up. Findings from 26 projects affirm that community-led UCP saves lives, influences armed actors’ behaviour and changes conflict dynamics–rendering it a potentially decolonial alternative to dominant forms of paternalistic protection.
