Firmer Footing for a Policy of Early Intervention: Conflict Early Warning and Early Response Comes of Age

Abstract

Initial versions of conflict early warning and early response were designed primarily for use by foreign policy experts to support early responses to avert chaos in governance, factional bloodshed, and associated humanitarian crises. More recently, there has been a shift of emphasis to early warning and early response at a local level due, in part, to emerging technologies—especially cell phones and social media, involving the “net-roots.” This use of Information and Communication Technologies for Violence Prevention (ICT4VP) is creating a fusion of outsider-top-level and insider-local-level approaches. Although these new systems can be risky, there is evidence that such combinations can be successful, highlighting the importance of policies designed to support local actors for early response in tandem with initiatives by leaders at mid and top levels.