The chapter discusses the application of the principle of distinction to combatants and civilians, the consequences of that distinction and the issue of those civilians who directly participate in hostilities both in IACs and NIACs. It then discusses the application of the concept in cyber warfare. The chapter then considers the positions of members of private military security companies, unlawful combatants and UN peacekeepers.

Experiments are increasingly used to better understand various aspects of civil conflict. A critical barrier to peace is often conflict recurrence after a settlement or other attempt to end fighting between sides. This chapter examines the growing literature on experiments in post-conflict contexts to understand their contributions and limitations to our understanding of the dynamics in this period. It argues that work on post-conflict contexts takes two different perspectives: a peace stabilization approach emphasizes special problems from civil conflict, including how to sustain peace agreements, while a peace consolidation approach emphasizes problems common to statebuilding, including how to reconstruct communities. Both seek in part to prevent conflict recurrence, though, and that is the focus of this chapter. Although more existing theory links stabilization programs with enduring peace, more existing experiments examine consolidation programs. Both approaches would benefit from new work. Post-conflict contexts in general, however, are difficult environments in which to work, and so experiments face three interrelated challenges: first, these contexts present special ethical challenges due to both the high stakes of peace and the sensitivity of subjects; second, these are complex treatments often conducted simultaneously by different actors, and these are treatments that depend on both institutional change and behavioral responses, so change is the constant in these contexts; and, third, these contexts also face heterogeneity in terms of programs but also contexts that mean the lessons may not travel even among post-conflict settings. Despite these challenges, experiments in post-conflict contexts hold promise for advancing our understanding of enduring peace.

This chapter does not advocate for one particular brand of realism as the supreme analytical tool.Instead, it presents a synthesis of theories across International Relations to explore the various factors that shape how states and nonstate actors approach peace.No one theory is “the best” at explaining peacekeeping and peacemaking.Rather, each theory provides a piece of the puzzle that explains peace as a dependent variable.This chapter begins by defining realism and integrating the various subtheories of realism to provide a framework to explain when actors choose cooperation over conflict.It frames the discussion in the context of realist strategies for maintaining peace and resolving conflicts. The synergistic cross-paradigmatic approach I propose explains how the various theories shape actor behavior, within the structure provided by realism. The chapter concludes by highlighting the outstanding shortfalls that remain in any peacebuilding approach

The Security Council resolutions of 25 August 1947 had set up (or at least foreshadowed) two UN bodies to assist with the Indonesian problem. Most immediately, noting that the Indonesian Republic had requested ‘a commission of observers’, the Council asked the countries that had ‘career consular representatives’ in Batavia to instruct themto prepare jointly for the information and guidance of the Security Council reports on the situation in the Republic of Indonesia following the resolution of the Council of 1 August 1947, such reports to cover the observance of the cease-fire orders and the conditions prevailing in areas under military occupation or from which armed forces now in occupation may be withdrawn by agreement between the parties. This group of consuls, representing Australia, Belgium, China, France, the United Kingdom and the United States, came to be known collectively as the Consular Commission. Their task was an immediate one: to report to the Council on the situation, and was to begin immediately.