Gerrit Kurtz | King's College London (original) (raw)

Papers by Gerrit Kurtz

In the current wave of renewed interest in conflict prevention, we argue that key lessons from 20... more In the current wave of renewed interest in conflict prevention, we argue that key lessons from 20 years of practice and research have not been learned yet. Official documents and parts of the literature are too often confined to a technocratic understanding of conflict prevention drawing on positivist conflict forecasting (science) and toolbox approaches to "what works" (craft). Moreover, wishful thinking affects the expected influence of external actors as well as warning-response dynamics within organizations. Drawing on extensive research we elaborate on how the "art" dimension of conflict prevention can advance research and practice of three important fields: forecasting and early warning, organizational and decision-making structures, and diplomacy and engagement strategies. The paper argues for paying closer attention to informal, individual, and political dimensions of prevention and a more finegrained understanding of how art, craft, and science approaches can complement each other.

Global Affairs, 2019

In the current wave of renewed interest in conflict prevention, we argue that key lessons from 20... more In the current wave of renewed interest in conflict prevention, we argue that key lessons from 20 years of practice and research have not been learned yet. Official documents and parts of the literature are too often confined to a technocratic understanding of conflict prevention drawing on positivist conflict forecasting (science) and toolbox approaches to "what works" (craft). Moreover, wishful thinking affects the expected influence of external actors as well as warning-response dynamics within organizations. Drawing on extensive research we elaborate on how the "art" dimension of conflict prevention can advance research and practice of three important fields: forecasting and early warning, organizational and decision-making structures, and diplomacy and engagement strategies. The paper argues for paying closer attention to informal, individual, and political dimensions of prevention and a more fine-grained understanding of how art, craft, and science approaches can complement each other.

PeaceLab Blog, 2019

In conflict-prone countries, diplomats must employ a special skill-set that allows them to escape... more In conflict-prone countries, diplomats must employ a special skill-set that allows them to escape from biased conventional wisdoms and balance the personal and the professional in negotiations. Ministries and international organizations should foster mechanisms such as structured spaces for reflection and frequent exchange with fellow diplomats from relevant missions in the region.

Strife, 2019

The UN's inquiry into its own actions in Myanmar since 2012 draws significant parallels with a si... more The UN's inquiry into its own actions in Myanmar since 2012 draws significant parallels with a similar exercise that focused on the UN's role during the end of the war in Sri Lanka. Once again, the UN found itself in a situation where a government was committing atrocities, but the UN showed an incoherent, ineffective response. Without clear leadership adjudicating differences among key stakeholders in the UN system, the principled engagement to which Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had committed himself remained elusive.

UN Basis-Information der DGVN; Einführungsartikel in R2P, für Schüler und Studierende

The Human Rights up Front initiative has made important strides towards fostering a more activist... more The Human Rights up Front initiative has made important strides towards fostering a more activist organizational culture in the UN system. The UN has streamlined its early warning and crisis management system. With greater vigor, UN officials engage with governments on crisis situations such as that in South Sudan. For an activist organizational culture to take hold, it needs stronger, more nuanced engagement by constructive member states. Member states need to understand the origins of the initiative in the war in Sri Lanka, how previous reform attempts shaped its design and the difficulties of its operational implementation. Seven recommendations for how member states can support the initiative's goals further are provided.

The debate about a responsibility to protect people from mass atrocities goes to the heart of cur... more The debate about a responsibility to protect people from mass atrocities goes to the heart of current changes in the world. Coinciding with the shift of power and influence away from the West, its nascent and contested evolution as a norm has become a crucial arena in which fundamental conflicts about the future global order play out—far beyond simplistic
dichotomies between ‘North’ and ‘South’ or ‘West’ and ‘Rest’. This special issue analyses how seven major powers engaged with these struggles over sovereignty and responsibility, universalism and exceptionalism, hypocrisy and selectivity. Emerging from a globally collaborative research group on ‘Global Norm Evolution and the Responsibility to Protect’,
the papers pursue three goals: to study major powers’ normative foreign policies in their historical, institutional and cultural background, to bring the role of major powers back into the analysis of norm development and to expand on the standard narrative about the evolution of ‘R2P’ by embedding it in a more global, less-Western centric context.

European governments, parliaments and civil societies belong to the most important supporters of ... more European governments, parliaments and civil societies belong to the most important supporters of a ‘responsibility to protect’ (R2P). However, despite a shared positive attitude towards R2P and coordinated diplomatic efforts, major European governments and therefore the European Union (EU) have never reached a consensual position on R2P. Based on 47 expert interviews and a review of official government documents, the article analyses the positions of France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the common EU institutions across a series of critical junctures of the R2P debate between 2005 and 2013. The authors find that Paris and London agree with Berlin and Brussels that R2P requires longer term multilateral norm building. Yet, while Germany stresses military restraint and civilian crisis prevention, France and the UK continue to view R2P through their pre-existing traditions of a droit d’ingérence and the ‘doctrine of a humanitarian intervention’, respectively. These differences are largely due to diverging strategic cultures based on different historical lessons on the use of force. Brussels’ efforts to coordinate a common EU position have been constrained by these diverging positions.

With an ostensible commitment to sovereignty and non-intervention and a long standing involvement... more With an ostensible commitment to sovereignty and non-intervention and a long standing involvement in United Nations peacekeeping operations, India’s position on R2P seems puzzling. Still, despite the rhetoric about India being an ‘emerging power’, it often abstains from diplomatic engagement beyond its region, including in R2P situations. What explains its sceptical interpretation, cautious attitude and limited practice? The paper shows that India’s position has evolved in three phases since 2005, from scepticism via calibrated engagement to renewed suspicions after the fall out of the Libya intervention. The paper argues that mainly domestic factors can account for these changes in India’s R2P policy. Despite these changes, however, India’s main concerns with R2P display remarkable consistency: an insistence on the consent of the state, a narrow definition of its scope involving a high threshold of violence, the exclusive authority of the UN Security Council and a deeply ingrained scepticism towards the utility of the use of force.

Im Mai 2009 endete der 27 Jahre dauernde Bürgerkrieg in Sri Lanka durch die militärische Niederla... more Im Mai 2009 endete der 27 Jahre dauernde Bürgerkrieg in Sri Lanka durch die militärische Niederlage der tamilischen Rebellen. Die Reaktion der Vereinten Nationen während der letzten Monate dieses Krieges war unangemessen und hat unzählige Zivilisten nicht vor Tod, Vertreibung und Menschenrechtsverletzungen schützen können. Wie ein UN-interner Untersuchungsbericht verdeutlicht, liegen diesem Versagen grundlegende Probleme in der Arbeit der Vereinten Nationen zugrunde. Doch auch die UN-Mitgliedstaaten hatten ihren Anteil daran: Sie gaben keine klaren Weisungen und billigten das Handeln der sri-lankischen Regierung im UN-Menschenrechtsrat.

Einige Weblinks in dieser Broschüre sind durch technische Veränderungen im Satz wie z.B. Trennzei... more Einige Weblinks in dieser Broschüre sind durch technische Veränderungen im Satz wie z.B. Trennzeichen möglicherweise fehlerhaft. Andere können durch Veränderungen auf den adressierten Websites ungültig geworden sein.

In the current wave of renewed interest in conflict prevention, we argue that key lessons from 20... more In the current wave of renewed interest in conflict prevention, we argue that key lessons from 20 years of practice and research have not been learned yet. Official documents and parts of the literature are too often confined to a technocratic understanding of conflict prevention drawing on positivist conflict forecasting (science) and toolbox approaches to "what works" (craft). Moreover, wishful thinking affects the expected influence of external actors as well as warning-response dynamics within organizations. Drawing on extensive research we elaborate on how the "art" dimension of conflict prevention can advance research and practice of three important fields: forecasting and early warning, organizational and decision-making structures, and diplomacy and engagement strategies. The paper argues for paying closer attention to informal, individual, and political dimensions of prevention and a more finegrained understanding of how art, craft, and science approaches can complement each other.

Global Affairs, 2019

In the current wave of renewed interest in conflict prevention, we argue that key lessons from 20... more In the current wave of renewed interest in conflict prevention, we argue that key lessons from 20 years of practice and research have not been learned yet. Official documents and parts of the literature are too often confined to a technocratic understanding of conflict prevention drawing on positivist conflict forecasting (science) and toolbox approaches to "what works" (craft). Moreover, wishful thinking affects the expected influence of external actors as well as warning-response dynamics within organizations. Drawing on extensive research we elaborate on how the "art" dimension of conflict prevention can advance research and practice of three important fields: forecasting and early warning, organizational and decision-making structures, and diplomacy and engagement strategies. The paper argues for paying closer attention to informal, individual, and political dimensions of prevention and a more fine-grained understanding of how art, craft, and science approaches can complement each other.

PeaceLab Blog, 2019

In conflict-prone countries, diplomats must employ a special skill-set that allows them to escape... more In conflict-prone countries, diplomats must employ a special skill-set that allows them to escape from biased conventional wisdoms and balance the personal and the professional in negotiations. Ministries and international organizations should foster mechanisms such as structured spaces for reflection and frequent exchange with fellow diplomats from relevant missions in the region.

Strife, 2019

The UN's inquiry into its own actions in Myanmar since 2012 draws significant parallels with a si... more The UN's inquiry into its own actions in Myanmar since 2012 draws significant parallels with a similar exercise that focused on the UN's role during the end of the war in Sri Lanka. Once again, the UN found itself in a situation where a government was committing atrocities, but the UN showed an incoherent, ineffective response. Without clear leadership adjudicating differences among key stakeholders in the UN system, the principled engagement to which Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had committed himself remained elusive.

UN Basis-Information der DGVN; Einführungsartikel in R2P, für Schüler und Studierende

The Human Rights up Front initiative has made important strides towards fostering a more activist... more The Human Rights up Front initiative has made important strides towards fostering a more activist organizational culture in the UN system. The UN has streamlined its early warning and crisis management system. With greater vigor, UN officials engage with governments on crisis situations such as that in South Sudan. For an activist organizational culture to take hold, it needs stronger, more nuanced engagement by constructive member states. Member states need to understand the origins of the initiative in the war in Sri Lanka, how previous reform attempts shaped its design and the difficulties of its operational implementation. Seven recommendations for how member states can support the initiative's goals further are provided.

The debate about a responsibility to protect people from mass atrocities goes to the heart of cur... more The debate about a responsibility to protect people from mass atrocities goes to the heart of current changes in the world. Coinciding with the shift of power and influence away from the West, its nascent and contested evolution as a norm has become a crucial arena in which fundamental conflicts about the future global order play out—far beyond simplistic
dichotomies between ‘North’ and ‘South’ or ‘West’ and ‘Rest’. This special issue analyses how seven major powers engaged with these struggles over sovereignty and responsibility, universalism and exceptionalism, hypocrisy and selectivity. Emerging from a globally collaborative research group on ‘Global Norm Evolution and the Responsibility to Protect’,
the papers pursue three goals: to study major powers’ normative foreign policies in their historical, institutional and cultural background, to bring the role of major powers back into the analysis of norm development and to expand on the standard narrative about the evolution of ‘R2P’ by embedding it in a more global, less-Western centric context.

European governments, parliaments and civil societies belong to the most important supporters of ... more European governments, parliaments and civil societies belong to the most important supporters of a ‘responsibility to protect’ (R2P). However, despite a shared positive attitude towards R2P and coordinated diplomatic efforts, major European governments and therefore the European Union (EU) have never reached a consensual position on R2P. Based on 47 expert interviews and a review of official government documents, the article analyses the positions of France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the common EU institutions across a series of critical junctures of the R2P debate between 2005 and 2013. The authors find that Paris and London agree with Berlin and Brussels that R2P requires longer term multilateral norm building. Yet, while Germany stresses military restraint and civilian crisis prevention, France and the UK continue to view R2P through their pre-existing traditions of a droit d’ingérence and the ‘doctrine of a humanitarian intervention’, respectively. These differences are largely due to diverging strategic cultures based on different historical lessons on the use of force. Brussels’ efforts to coordinate a common EU position have been constrained by these diverging positions.

With an ostensible commitment to sovereignty and non-intervention and a long standing involvement... more With an ostensible commitment to sovereignty and non-intervention and a long standing involvement in United Nations peacekeeping operations, India’s position on R2P seems puzzling. Still, despite the rhetoric about India being an ‘emerging power’, it often abstains from diplomatic engagement beyond its region, including in R2P situations. What explains its sceptical interpretation, cautious attitude and limited practice? The paper shows that India’s position has evolved in three phases since 2005, from scepticism via calibrated engagement to renewed suspicions after the fall out of the Libya intervention. The paper argues that mainly domestic factors can account for these changes in India’s R2P policy. Despite these changes, however, India’s main concerns with R2P display remarkable consistency: an insistence on the consent of the state, a narrow definition of its scope involving a high threshold of violence, the exclusive authority of the UN Security Council and a deeply ingrained scepticism towards the utility of the use of force.

Im Mai 2009 endete der 27 Jahre dauernde Bürgerkrieg in Sri Lanka durch die militärische Niederla... more Im Mai 2009 endete der 27 Jahre dauernde Bürgerkrieg in Sri Lanka durch die militärische Niederlage der tamilischen Rebellen. Die Reaktion der Vereinten Nationen während der letzten Monate dieses Krieges war unangemessen und hat unzählige Zivilisten nicht vor Tod, Vertreibung und Menschenrechtsverletzungen schützen können. Wie ein UN-interner Untersuchungsbericht verdeutlicht, liegen diesem Versagen grundlegende Probleme in der Arbeit der Vereinten Nationen zugrunde. Doch auch die UN-Mitgliedstaaten hatten ihren Anteil daran: Sie gaben keine klaren Weisungen und billigten das Handeln der sri-lankischen Regierung im UN-Menschenrechtsrat.

Einige Weblinks in dieser Broschüre sind durch technische Veränderungen im Satz wie z.B. Trennzei... more Einige Weblinks in dieser Broschüre sind durch technische Veränderungen im Satz wie z.B. Trennzeichen möglicherweise fehlerhaft. Andere können durch Veränderungen auf den adressierten Websites ungültig geworden sein.