Armed conflict in the early 21st century tends to be asymmetrical and protracted, fought by an array of armed groups on both physical and political battlefields, and causing disproportionate suffering and death to civilians. The Edges of Conflict Project worked to better understand the nature of such conflict and to improve respect for the rule of law in complex security environments. The project was launched in 2007 as an innovative partnership between the Canadian Red Cross and the Centre of International Relations, Liu Institute for Global Issues, at the University of British Columbia, funded by Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Department of National Defence. The project aims to provide relevant and innovative policy solutions to some of the key problems faced in modern day armed conflicts.
Gone are the days when armed conflict was contested between relatively evenly-matched professional armies of sovereigns, under the command of gentlemen generals – if such a romanticized view of war ever truly existed. The archetypical armed conflict of the early 21st century is asymmetrical and protracted, fought by an array of armed groups on both physical and political battlefields, and causes disproportionate suffering and death to civilians.
Read the full On the Edges of Conflict Conference Report.
