Aansluiten bij zelfbescherming: niet of maar hoe?

The document critiques the traditional 'rescue paradigm' of humanitarian intervention, where external forces attempt to protect passive victims. Instead, it proposes a model based on 'self-reliance,' identifying four primary civilian survival strategies: avoidance, concession, collective action, and arming. The author suggests that international efforts, including military and aid operations, should be redesigned to support these local initiatives rather than imposing top-down solutions.

• The author identifies four main strategies civilians use to survive in conflict zones: avoidance (fleeing or hiding), concession (paying 'taxes', forced labor, or submitting to sexual demands), collective action (sharing danger information and maintaining community services), and arming (taking up weapons due to immediate danger to family or personal grievances).
• The traditional 'rescue paradigm'—where international forces arrive on a mission to protect threatened civilians—is often ineffective because the international community is frequently unable to provide actual protection due to realpolitik, the prioritization of its own personnel, or the inability of peacekeepers to be present in every location.
• Low-profile, locally-led initiatives can be more effective than large-scale military presences; the author cites a 2011 project in the border region between Sudan and South Sudan costing less than $30,000 that focused on exchanging survival ideas, such as using horns to signal attacks and hiding food supplies.
• To align with civilian self-reliance, the author proposes specific transformations: soldiers should shift from fighting enemies to performing 'risky police work'; emergency aid should move from top-down delivery to participatory, demand-driven help; and intelligence should shift from drone-based surveillance to mutual information exchange with local populations.

APA

Glasius, M. (2015). Aansluiten bij zelfbescherming: niet of maar hoe? Green European Journal. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/aansluiten-bij-zelfbescherming-niet-of-maar-hoe/

Chicago

Glasius, Marlies. Aansluiten bij zelfbescherming: niet of maar hoe? Green European Journal, 2015. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/aansluiten-bij-zelfbescherming-niet-of-maar-hoe/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Glasius |first1=Marlies |title=Aansluiten bij zelfbescherming: niet of maar hoe? |publisher=Green European Journal |date=18 April 2015 |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/aansluiten-bij-zelfbescherming-niet-of-maar-hoe/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{glasius2015aansluiten, author = {Glasius, Marlies}, title = {{Aansluiten bij zelfbescherming: niet of maar hoe?}}, publisher = {Green European Journal}, year = {2015}, month = apr, url = {https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/aansluiten-bij-zelfbescherming-niet-of-maar-hoe/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }