How can international actors more effectively support transitions out of violence and fragility? This chapter outlines trends in the international architecture that affect the ability to respond effectively in fragile and violence-prone settings. It argues that international agencies are geared to minimising domestic reputational and fiduciary risk – increasingly so – rather than supporting ‘best-fit’ institutional solutions that match political realities on the ground. The principle barrier to effectiveness is international agencies’ dual accountability to domestic constituencies and citizens in recipient states. Development agencies also need to address critical gaps by focusing more on citizen security, criminal justice and job creation.
The international community has made progress in recent years in supporting a reduction in the incidence of civil war. However, the international system has not kept pace with the adaptation of violent actors themselves, and it is ill-equipped to navigate repeated cycles of violence or the blurred boundaries between political conflict and criminal violence. The focus has also tended to be on post-conflict recovery, rather than on the prevention of new conflicts.
At the same time, expansion in support for work on violence has produced overlaps and discontinuities between different sectors. This is because international tools to address different kinds of violence – diplomacy, defence, and development – were not designed to work together. A number of governments have, however, been making progress in developing whole-of-government approaches.
International interventions to support early confidence-building measures have not always been fast, flexible or responsive enough, and the record of international support for institutional transformation is mixed. In particular:
- The cost savings of avoiding or minimising violence are potentially considerable, yet it is often difficult to generate political and financial support for these areas.
- Despite the need for sustained support for institution building in insecure situations, the volatility of aid flows is a major problem, especially in fragile states.
- The international community remains tempted to emphasise form rather than the function to be accomplished. Support often involves technical assistance that is ill-adapted to local contexts.
- Assistance to countries struggling to develop police, justice, and corrections systems in the face of violent threats is much more limited than assistance for military capacity. There is also relatively little focus on job creation.
- International practice has been slow to change because of the dual accountability dilemma: international actors are accountable first to their domestic constituencies and only second to citizens of recipient states. This leads them to emphasise the risks of action and engagement, rather than the risks of inaction or lack of long-term institution-building.
The international community needs to apply flexible, best-fit practices. The following challenges also need to be addressed:
- There are serious gaps in support for citizen security, justice and jobs for countries struggling to prevent violence.
- Responsiveness to the local context in fragile situations is hampered by internal donor processes that were originally developed for more stable environments. ‘Procedural conformism’ in international agencies is unsuited to the challenges of fragile contexts.
- Better ways of managing the risks of dual accountability are needed. Potential strategies for this are: greater independent oversight and monitoring of government-executed programmes; community-driven development programmes and contracting to NGOs using results-based financing; and the use of multi-donor trust funds.
- New challenges and the changing landscape of international assistance require new efforts to work together. Complex problems of political and criminal violence require the combined capacities of diplomatic, security, and development actors—and better understanding between OECD, low-income, middle-income, and regional partners.
