Responding to thugs and vigilantes: the challenges of non-conventional armed violence
Report series launch

Whether in Mali or Mexico, patterns of armed violence across the world have been reshaped by rapid change. In many places, the phenomenon of “non-conventional” armed violence is testing the resourcefulness of peacekeepers, development practitioners, humanitarian workers and mediators alike. A series of papers from NOREF and Clingendael Institute’s Conflict Research Unit  steers a critical gaze towards these emergent types of armed violence in multiple countries, and how various policy initiatives might respond to them.

“Non-conventional” armed violence refers primarily to criminal or organized violence, carried out without any clear political objective or ideological basis. It has taken on an epidemic form in Central America, home to some of the world’s highest murder rates. But this form of violence is also shaping many post-conflict and conflict environments, where factional and territorial control as well as profit-making illicit activities are playing crucial roles in the strategies of armed groups.

Full program can be found on the event page of NOREF.