This multi-partner United Nations study seeks to determine whether the UN Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) should increase its support to administrative and social services, and if so, to what types of programming. The study reviews current thinking and practices among United Nations agencies, funds and programmes alongside some of their partners in the areas of administrative services ...» more
Library
This e-library contains more than 4500 external publications on governance, social development, conflict and humanitarian issues. It includes academic and grey literature selected for its basis in good quality research and coverage of a range of perspectives. Policy-oriented summaries of each document are provided, plus links to the full text.
Losing the Ability to Dream: Afghan Perceptions of UK Aid
This report examines the effectiveness of official UK development assistance delivered to Afghanistan since 2001. Over 100 people were either interviewed or invited to participate in small workshops during August-September 2011 to gauge the way Afghans perceive the past, present and future prospects in their country, as well as the specific contribution of UK aid to ...» more
Against Stabilization
This paper is a critique of the concept and practice of stabilization as practiced by leading states from the global north in peace support interventions.It begins by noting how the concept of peace has been side-lined in recent years and has been supplanted by ‘stabilization’, ‘security’ and other concepts that are based on ideas of control. It then charts how the term ...» more
Coherent planning and prioritisation
A fundamental principle of development today is that the governments of partner countries should lead and guide planning and prioritisation exercises, rather than the donor country. However, countries in transition face particular challenges that limit government-led planning and prioritisation. This chapter asks how stricter and more realistic prioritisation can be achieved ...» more
State Fragility: Towards a Multi-Dimensional Empirical Typology
This paper proposes an approach to empirically identify country groupings that are each characterised by a distinct constellation of state fragility. It builds upon a theoretical framework that distinguishes three dimensions of statehood: authority, legitimacy and state capacity. The study argues that current approaches towards measuring fragility do not properly account for ...» more