Political settlement literature focuses predominantly on elites, with citizens often seen as passive beneficiaries or potential spoilers. However, emerging literature on the role of civil society in peace processes identifies roles that citizens have played and can play, in creating and maintaining what are essentially political settlements. This report outlines the concept of ...» more
Peacebuilding
Transitional justice lessons for Syria
Literature on transitional justice (TJ) experiences in the Arab world is limited, but there is some emerging analysis. This report found the literature highlights factors common in the region that have implications for TJ processes. These include: weak state legitimacy and capacity; decades of authoritarian rule and deep societal divisions; deep-seated socio-economic ...» more
Stability and stabilisation approaches in multinational interventions
This rapid report is based on quantitative discourse analysis of stability and stabilisation approaches in all current UN, EU and NATO missions. The analysis included a total of 49 missions (covering peacekeeping, civilian and political missions) and 107 mandates/resolutions linked to these missions. Key findings:Out of a total of 49 missions examined for this report, 30 ...» more
Conflict and Stabilisation in Mali and the Sahel Region
The report covers factors including: Islamist terrorism; criminal networks and trafficking (of arms, drugs, cigarettes, and vehicles); and Tuareg rebellions against the Malian government. It also considers state weakness, including the weakness of state security structures in the north, and the role of neighbouring countries, ECOWAS, the AU and other international actors. ...» more
Distortionary economic impacts of aid interventions in fragile states
Key findings: There is a wide range of literature that touches on the issues of economic impacts related to humanitarian and development interventions, including analyses and evaluations on different types of projects or programmes that have had impacts on the local economy. Within this literature the area of most relevance to conflict and post-conflict environments is that ...» more
Theory of Change Approaches to Post-conflict Governance Programming
In its simplest form, Theory of Change (ToC) can be defined as, ‘the description of a sequence of events that is expected to lead to a particular desired outcome’ (Davies 2012). This research report considers the application of ToC to governance programmes in post-conflict and fragile states. It should be noted that, because of what information is available, the examples ...» more
UN Peace Support Mission Transitions
This report provides an overview of the available analysis on UN peace support transitions. The term transitions refers to situations where peace support operations withdraw and hand over responsibility to national authorities, another UN body such as a UN country team, an alternative international presence, or other regional and local actors. The available literature is mostly ...» more
UN Peace Support Mission Transitions – Nepal
While there have been several research studies that reflect on the achievements and challenges facing the UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN), there has been very little analysis of the transition from UNMIN to a UN country office, which took place in January 2011. Much of the analysis of the transition detailed in this report relies on UN documents and is generally uncritical. UNMIN ...» more
UN Peace Support Mission Transitions – Haiti
United Nations peace operations in Haiti date back to September 1993, when the Security Council set up the first UN peacekeeping operation in the country – the United Nations Mission in Haiti (UNMIH). Since then, Haiti has been somewhat of a ‘playground’ for the evolution of UN peacekeeping. Early missions (UNSMIH/UNTMIH) were characterised by narrow remits addressing ...» more
UN Peace Support Mission Transitions – Sierra Leone
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) began in 1999. At its height in 2001 it consisted of some 17,500 personnel. The mission had a strong influence on how the integrated mission concept is understood and applied today, particularly with regard to integrating humanitarian politico-military efforts and the UN system in the country, operating under the ...» more
Peacebuilding support in West Africa
This report identifies the major government and donor programmes that aim to contribute to peacebuilding in four West African nations – Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea. It begins by providing an overview of major partnerships and programmes, particularly those that are present in two or more of the countries. The main types of partnerships for peacebuilding in ...» more
Natural resource exploitation and peacebuilding
Natural resource exploitation has been extensively analysed as a potential source of conflict and a constraint on peace and stability. Studies have continued to demonstrate how ineffective or inequitable arrangements for resource extraction can reignite or exacerbate conflict, perpetuating social and economic grievances and horizontal inequalities. There appears to be ...» more
Youth statebuilding and peacebuilding interventions
Significant numbers of youth are directly affected by conflict and fragility. The various challenges they face in such environments can exacerbate the risks of violence and conditions of fragility. These challenges include: economic and political exclusion, loss of education and divisive education, trauma and the loss of family and social networks. This helpdesk research ...» more
Impact and VFM of Capacity Building Support for Conflict Parties in Negotiations
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 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
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
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
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
