So-called humanitarian military interventions are heavily contested regarding their definition and effects on violent conflicts. Most previous studies agree that a humanitarian military intervention occurs when a state, a coalition of states, or an international organization deploys troops abroad, using or threatening force with the declared purpose of protecting citizens of the target country from ongoing violence. According to this understanding, there is significant overlap between humanitarian military interventions, military missions referencing the Responsibility to Protect, and robust peacekeeping operations authorized to protect civilians under fire.
This Call for Papers invites scholars working in any of these fields. We welcome proposals from early-career researchers as well as senior colleagues.
The workshop aims to advance comparative empirical research. Studies presented at the workshop may be qualitative, quantitative, or both. To enable intensive discussions, the number of participants will be limited, and each paper will be allocated one hour for presentation and discussion.
The workshop will take place on 15–16 September 2025 at the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF) in Germany. PRIF is Germany’s oldest and largest peace research institute and has constructed a dataset on humanitarian military interventions.
The workshop is supported by the German Foundation for Peace Research. Costs for travel and accommodation (up to an average of 620 € per person) and meals during the workshop will be covered.
Please submit your paper proposal (150–300 words) to gromes(at)prif.org by 30 April 2025. Acceptance notifications are expected to be sent out in May 2025.
Contact: Thorsten Gromes & Lucas Kori Leonhard, PRIF
