The Everyday Security of Living with Conflict

TL;DR

This paper emphasizes the importance of understanding everyday security experiences of communities affected by war, advocating for ethnographic approaches to inform security technology design in conflict zones.

Contribution

It introduces a qualitative, ethnographic perspective on security in conflict regions, highlighting lived experiences often overlooked in technological security discussions.

Findings

Ethnography reveals mundane security concerns in conflict zones.

Community experiences vary across Colombia, Lebanon, and Sweden.

Security technology should incorporate lived experiences of affected communities.

Abstract

When `cyber' is used as a prefix, attention is typically drawn to the technological and spectacular aspects of war and conflict -- and, by extension, security. We offer a different approach to engaging with and understanding security in such contexts, by foregrounding the everyday -- mundane -- experiences of security within communities living with and fleeing from war. We do so through three vignettes from our field research in Colombia, Lebanon and Sweden, respectively, and by highlighting the significance of ethnography for security research with communities living in regions afflicted by war. We conclude by setting out a call to action for security researchers and practitioners to consider such lived experiences in the design of security technology that aims to cater to the needs of communities in `global conflict and disaster regions'.