The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is a grouping of twenty countries in the Caribbean region, aimed at promoting economic integration, foreign policy coordination, human and social development, and security. The Eastern Caribbean comprises Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. These countries are also part of the ...» more
Implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in Libya
The literature on gender equality, development and security suggests that sustainable peace and successful long-term development are linked to gender equality policies (Selimovic & Larsson, 2014: 5). UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (SCR 1325), approved in 2000, reaffirms the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, peace-building, and in ...» more
Youth unemployment and violence
This literature review looks at whether there is evidence of a causal link between youth unemployment and violence in developing countries, focusing on crime, gang violence and domestic violence. It also looks at female youth unemployment, donor programming, and areas where more research is needed. A causal link between youth unemployment and violence is widely assumed, but ...» more
Libyan political economy
Much has changed in Libya since April 2014. However, Libya remains highly unstable and divided along multiple fracture lines, with a multitude of armed and non-armed groups. Given the fluidity of relations between these groups, literature on the country situation becomes quickly outdated. Libya has three rival claimants to power: a reconvened General National Congress (GNC) ...» more
Lessons from DDR programmes
While the literature on DDR programmes, their evolution and DDR experiences in individual countries (notably in Africa), is considerable and broadly consistent, there is little on the long-term effectiveness of DDR interventions. DDR programming has evolved significantly over the past few decades in response to changing situations and emerging challenges; from traditional ...» more
Factors supporting the emergence of democracies
This review of empirical case studies in this report suggests that, rather than a single theory to explain democratic transitions, a combination is usually applicable. In all cases it was a mix of factors that supported the emergence of democracies, due to time frames (some short-term, some long-standing) and also origin (some domestic, some external). This report draws on the ...» more
Analysis of the Arab Spring
There has been much analysis of the causes and rapid spread of the 2011 Arab Spring (or Arab uprisings). General consensus emerges on a combination of political, economic and social factors as being critical. These can be divided into: a) structural, long-standing, underlying factors that led to a build-up of popular anger and frustration in Arab countries; and b) proximate, ...» more
Supporting reconciliation in post-conflict situations
The key literature on reconciliation approaches is not very recent. However, there is a reasonable body of more recent evidence, particularly from Africa, of on-ground experience of implementing diverse reconciliation mechanisms. Given that reconciliation must be an indigenous process, one which donors can support but not lead/impose (see below), the literature says little ...» more
Building social cohesion in post-conflict situations
The approaches covered in this report include community-driven development, job creation, social protection and education. Whilst in theory there are strong links between these and social cohesion, there is very little rigorous empirical evidence to verify these links. More specifically, the literature highlights that: Community-driven development (CDD) programmes promote ...» more
Economic impacts of humanitarian aid
This review argues that few studies look at all aspects of economic impact of humanitarian aid. Individual studies tend to focus on one or two specific effects (e.g. on food inflation) rather than give an overall perspective of economic impact. The exception is humanitarian aid given in response to the recent Syria crisis, for which a number of studies look at a wide range of ...» more
