Civilian-Military Coordination in Humanitarian Crises: An Examination of Advances and Challenges

Civil-Military Coordination refers to the overall collaborative efforts of military and civilian actors during crisis. This coordination involves an exchange of information and dialogue, shared operational environment, and joint planning to ensure effective and efficient response to disaster and crisis. With increasingly complex wars and crises, there has been a rise in Military involvement during humanitarian operations. There have been long-standing controversies on whether the Military should be involved in the provision of humanitarian aid, and whether coordination and joint efforts between Military and the humanitarian sectors are necessary. There is also a marked lack of collaboration between the Military and humanitarian sectors when it comes to response efforts. This thesis aims to find common ground in Civil-Military Relations Theory and to identify advances and challenges in Civil-Military Coordination. This thesis ends with the implementation of guidance and training, as well as recommendations for further collaboration during humanitarian response