Bridging the Atrocity Prevention Gap between the International and the Local: Lessons Learned from Meso-Level Leadership in Ukraine and Syria

Authors

Kristina Hook, Kennesaw State UniversityFollow
Jamie D. Wise, George Mason UniversityFollow

Abstract

This paper explores meso-level approaches to atrocity prevention that incorporate a wider array of local expertise at all stages, from early warning to transitional justice. Specifically, we treat meso-level approaches as encompassing local leadership and advocacy across bottom-up processes, grassroots efforts, victim-led activism, and civil society mobilization. We draw from two contemporary cases of mass atrocities, Ukraine and Syria, which exemplify such efforts, using primary interview data with meso-level actors. First, we examine atrocity risk early warning in Ukraine, where prescient local expertise at the meso-level failed to influence international responses, asking what went wrong and what more could be done to meaningfully incorporate their knowledge. Second, we explore how local efforts at justice-seeking in Syria filled accountability gaps left behind by failures at higher levels, as well as the lessons learned from attempts to localize transitional justice. We also present a framework developed to better learn and listen to meso-level expertise as a priority for the field of atrocity prevention. We conclude with practical recommendations for policymakers and practitioners working across early warning and transitional justice contexts.

First Page

246

Last Page

279

Acknowledgements

The field work for the Ukraine case study was funded by the U.S. Fulbright program, USAID Research and Innovation Fellowship program, National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF-GRFP), Notre Dame Anthropology Department, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, Kellogg Institute for International Studies, Nanovic Institute for European Studies, and the Holodomor Research and Education Consortium (approved under IRB protocol FY22-35, Kennesaw State University). The author is appreciative of each of these funding programs for making this research possible. This case study analysis greatly benefitted from translational and research contributions provided by Oksana Yanchuk. The field work for the Syria case study was funded by an International Research Grant from The Ohio State University (approved under IRB protocol 2018B0367, The Ohio State University). The author would like to thank Hannah Grigg and Hollie Nyseth Nzitatira for providing valuable feedback and assisting with this study. The author would also like to thank two Arabic language interpreters for their essential support to this project. The authors also wish to express appreciation to Richa Bhattarai for formatting assistance with this article.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5038/1911-9933.18.1.1957

Recommended Citation

Hook, Kristina and Wise, Jamie D. (2024) "Bridging the Atrocity Prevention Gap between the International and the Local: Lessons Learned from Meso-Level Leadership in Ukraine and Syria," Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal: Vol. 18: Iss. 1: 246–279.
DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5038/1911-9933.18.1.1957

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License