This report assesses the impact and value for money (VFM) of international support to government and rebel capacity building for negotiations. It finds that there has been little sustained analysis of the impact of this kind of support. Few donor evaluations focus specifically on these activities and those that do are often not made public (expert comments). No studies were ...» more
Conflict
Conflict dynamics in West Africa
Of the 16 countries that make up the West African sub-region , four have had large scale civil conflict and at least seven have experienced significant low-scale conflicts within the last 25 years, a consequence of multiple interrelated factors. These include: political system failures social exclusion persistent poverty and low levels of economic development poor ...» more
Conflict, Violence, Security and Justice Statistics
This report provides some global statistics relating to armed conflict, armed violence and security and justice. These figures may be useful for the following: highlighting the link between poverty and conflict, security and justice providing international comparisons of national-level issues offering examples of success in relevantly similar contexts acting as measures and ...» more
The dynamics of social movements in fragile and conflict-affected states
This literature review assesses the available academic and policy-oriented literature on social movements in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. It examines who becomes involved in collective action and why, the barriers to mobilisation and, where social movements do emerge, how these are able to sustain mobilisation and broaden their membership base to reflect the ...» more
Early Warning Indicators of violent conflict
This report provides a general overview of the literature on conflict early warning systems (CEWSs) and identifies the most commonly-used indicators of violent conflict. CEWSs use a variety of data sources and models to predict conflict. These systems usually distinguish between long-term structural factors, medium-term proximate or accelerator factors, and short-term trigger ...» more
Cash payments in DDR programmes
Cash payments to ex-combatants are a common feature of Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) programmes, yet there is considerable debate in academic and donor circles about the benefits and risks of using them. Evidence on the impact of cash payments in DDR programmes is mixed, and experience has not been universally positive. Cash payments may take various ...» more
Understanding Sectarianism in MENA countries
There is some debate about how sectarianism, particularly as it relates to the Middle East is commonly conceptualised. For many in the Middle East, it has come to be defined as the process of ascribing political and social claims or rights on the basis of religious adherence and belonging. However, scholars stress the importance of developing an appropriate conceptual framework ...» more
Factors Contributing to Transitional Justice Effectiveness
Many claims have been made about the positive impact that transitional justice can have on societies recovering from violent conflict. Sceptics argue, however, that many transitional justice measures can undermine negotiated settlements and exacerbate divisions. There is growing recognition of the need to engage in more systematic research on the effects and impact of ...» more
DDR and Transitional Justice
This report looks at the links between DDR and transitional justice. DDR programming has become a regular component of international peace support and peacebuilding architecture. DDR programmes can play an important role in limiting violence by disarming large numbers of actors and disbanding illegal, dysfunctional or bloated military structures. While there is a growing body ...» more
Poverty and vulnerability in DRC
Analysing data on the DRC is extremely difficult. Robust, geographically disaggregated data on poverty in DRC is scarce, with most analysis focused on Kinshasa or DRC as a whole. A lot of data has not been processed and data from national and different multilateral agencies can contradict each other. There is a need for greater capacity to identify and understand the nature of ...» more
Cash transfers in fragile/conflict-affected environments
There has been a rise in the implementation of cash transfer schemes in fragile and/or post-conflict environments. However, these programmes have often been small in scale compared with commodity distributions. Concerns about implementation in such contexts include insecure delivery and corruption. However, many methods have been used in unstable contexts to safely transfer ...» more
Lessons From The Northern Ireland Peace Process
Key Findings One of the key lessons is that successful conflict resolution requires long-term and unwavering commitment from external actors. Peace processes should be inclusive, comprehensive and involve long- and short-term measures to bolster the commitment of all sides. In NI, various mechanisms (including a degree of textual ambiguity in the GFA) allowed difficult issues ...» more
Community Peacebuilding
Key findings: Community peacebuilding initiatives have been developed in several conflict-affected countries. In fragile and (post)conflict-affected settings, community-led processes to peacebuilding can complement state structures and institutions that are often weak in capacity or political will.Most community peacebuilding initiatives in South Asia are relatively new. As ...» more
Global Drivers of Conflict and Instability
The security-development discourse combines a concern with poverty and economic growth with that of national, regional and global security. It incorporates country-level analyses within a broader framework of transnational issues that impact on conflict dynamics. Issues of poverty and inequality reflect power relations framed by international forces. It is generally thought ...» more
Development Assistance and Social Capital
Most studies on social capital examine the impact of social capital variables on particular development outcomes. There are few studies that provide evidence of the impact of development assistance on social capital, and even less that focus specifically on Sudan and more widely on Central and East Africa. A common theme among the available studies from the regions is the ...» more
New Literature on Conflict in the DRC
This report provides an overview of some of the recent academic, policy and practitioner literature on conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It focuses on literature produced since mid-2007, when the DFID Strategic Conflict Assessment was published. It is also limited to an assessment of the English language literature. The report highlights a number of key ...» more
Investment Climate Constraints in Fragile and Conflict Affected States
The investment climate can be understood as the set of factors in a given location that shape firms’ incentives and opportunities to invest, grow and create jobs. Some of these factors are costs; others are risks; still others are the competitive forces in the economy. Together, they determine the vibrancy and reach of private sector firms in the economy. A strong investment ...» more
Youth, armed violence and job creation programmes
In response to growing evidence from the social science literature about the links between youth unemployment and armed conflict, donors have increasingly used youth job creation programmes as a tool with which to address armed violence. Many donors now identify addressing youth unemployment as an urgent priority, both in the field of peacebuilding and in efforts to foster ...» more
Conflict Prevention and Local Engagement
Conflict prevention refers to approaches to avoid, minimise, and/or contain potential violent conflicts, and to prevent violent conflict from re-emerging. Engagement with local actors such as civil society, politicians, and community groups can have an important positive impact on conflict prevention, both in situations that have not yet experienced violent conflict and in ...» more
Truth Commissions
Political backing is integral to the success of a truth commission. It is often presumed that national governments that have themselves established truth commissions (either by presidential decree or through legislation) will be supportive of them. This, however, has not always been the case. Where political will is absent, the work and impact of the commission is frequently ...» more
