Civil-Military Relations in Humanitarian Emergencies: Lessons Learned and New Challenges

The complex system of international intervention comprises different components, such as actors, norms and practices, which together contribute to the definition of policies and interventions. Civilian and military actors operate under different mandates, principles, roles, frameworks, doctrines and operational modalities, and they share a temporal space which requires communication, interaction and coordination. Efforts have been made over the years to define an international framework that clarifies roles, spaces and modes of interaction. Against a backdrop of growing competition for resources and an increasing number of crises of various kinds, this issue is being raised again with greater urgency. Against this backdrop, the European Union's Aid Policy has emerged as a key player, shaping the interface between civilians and the military through its emphasis on principled humanitarian action, policy coherence, and an integrated approach. EU instruments — from the humanitarian mandate of DG ECHO to the development and crisis management tools of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) — introduce opportunities and tensions, particularly regarding the boundaries between humanitarian assistance, stabilisation efforts, and security sector engagement. The paper analyses the current situation, considering the roles of civilian and military actors in missions, examining the existing framework, and comparing experiences, operational methods, and intervention doctrines. Attention is given to the influence of EU Aid Policy on these dynamics, its impact on coordination practices in the field and its contribution to current debates on the division of labour, neutrality and the politicisation of aid in complex emergencies.