Nichtstaatliche Gewaltakteure und das Humanitäre Völkerrecht

60 years after the signing of the Geneva Conventions, civilians still represent the vast majority of victims in armed conflicts. This is particularly the case in asymmetrical conflicts in which non-state armed groups are involved. This book analyzes under which conditions armed groups are willing to respect humanitarian norms. Although the debates on new wars have drawn attention to non-state armed groups, a systematic analysis of the norm acceptance by armed groups is still missing. In order to fill this gap, the book applies insights from norm diffusion literature to armed groups.
Two in-depth case studies on the LTTE in Sri Lanka and the SPLM/A in South Sudan illustrate that recognition by the international community is an important incentive for armed groups to respect humanitarian norms. These results contradict common wisdom that the only means of dealing with armed groups is criminalization. The study is based on 58 on-site interviews, some of them conducted with former rebels.