This literature review seeks to place the emergence of the civil service within its historical context, and highlight the role it has played in state-building. The civil service has helped the state to penetrate peripheral territories, standardise physical and psychological space, and accommodate competing sources of power. The review notes the expansion of the ...» more
Conflict Analyses
These Conflict Analysis reports synthesise findings and recommendations from the literature on the drivers of conflict and peace in specific contexts and the roles of domestic, regional and international actors. They usually draw on between 15-25 days of desk-based research, and they are peer reviewed by external experts.
Public financial management evidence mapping
This paper reviews the extent of evidence for the effect of Public Financial Management (PFM) interventions on outcomes in low and middle income countries. It is based on a database of 197 studies compiled after a rigorous search process. The number of studies in the field was surprisingly low, reflecting a series of challenges in acquiring robust evidence. Studies tended to ...» more
Security and justice evidence mapping
This report identifies empirical evidence on the outcomes of security and justice (S&J) interventions, and provides a visual overview of its findings in an evidence gap map. The evidence gaps appear where outputs and outcomes are less tangible and more difficult to operationalise and measure. The evidence is scarce for a number of justice-specific output and outcome ...» more
Fragility, violence and criminality in the Gulf of Guinea
The Gulf of Guinea is rich in oil and gas, and a major international trade route. While oil wealth in the context of weak governance and under-development is creating tensions leading to criminality and violence, high geostrategic stakes provide the incentives for national, regional and international actors to seek solutions. This rapid literature review analyses the causes, ...» more
Conflict analysis of Kenya
Kenya is a large multi-ethnic country, with over 40 different ethnic groups and many overlapping conflicts. It has high levels of sexual and gender-based violence and of intercommunal violence; low levels of persistent violence; cycles of election-related violence; and increasing numbers of terrorist attacks. The incidence, gravity and intensity of violence have all increased ...» more