Research aimed at reducing harm in conflict settings.
An increasingly severe problem.
Armed conflict and political violence are on the rise. Recent years have witnessed an increase in the number of state-involved armed conflicts, and civilian deaths in conflicts are higher than they have been in decades. Over 100 million people have been displaced by war – 1 in every 67 people on Earth – and aid workers, who work to ease suffering in war, have been increasingly targeted by warring parties.
While research alone will not solve these issues – such challenges will require a multi-sector approach involving state-led diplomacy, humanitarian response, and legal accountability, among other efforts – independent and evidence-backed research can help guide responses in the field, empower demands for change, expand possibilities for legal accountability (where relevant), inform policymakers, and ultimately help reduce harm in conflict settings. Our aim is to contribute to these efforts by producing innovative, interdisciplinary research that addresses critical issues aggravating harm in modern conflict contexts, and to advocate for solutions based on this research.
A particular focus on technology.
Digital and other emerging technologies are changing the landscape of modern conflicts. Their impact in some areas is positive: These technologies can be used in ways that enhance protection of civilians and humanitarians, such as by providing accurate and real-time information about the location of humanitarian actors to safeguard them from inadvertent strikes by parties to an armed conflict. These technologies can be also used to document and track ongoing harm, such as using satellite imagery to track overall war-related damage, or by using open-source intelligence techniques to gather critical data about violent acts against persons entitled to protection in wartime. However, these technologies can also exacerbate harm against civilians, humanitarians, and other protected persons in conflict settings in a variety of ways.
Our work has a particular focus on the impact of digital and emerging technologies in modern conflict settings. We consider responsible application of such tools where they can protect those in harms’ way. We leverage these tools where they can aid in tracking, documentation, or other critical research areas. And we examine the potential of such technologies for exacerbating harm. We focus on the intersection between technology and conflict because addressing modern conflict-related harms requires an understanding of technology’s ability both to provide solutions and to amplify harms.
Geared towards impact.
Our research prioritizes collaboration with implementers (including aid organizations, government agencies, U.N. institutions, civil society groups, community leaders, and others) to ensure that our research is directly linked to ongoing challenges and can directly inform solutions. We aim to distribute research findings and associated policy and legal recommendations to policymakers, private sector actors, and stakeholders in the field to promote positive impact. An ideal research project is both conceived and driven by those who are directly implementing this work, and followed up with roundtable discussions, public presentations, and private briefings with key stakeholders.