There is growing recognition amongst academics and policy makers that de-radicalisation and countering violent extremism programmes can be a more effective way of tackling extremism than purely militaristic approaches. Online and social media are useful in the dissemination of counter narratives in multiple languages, and to reach a broad, geographically diverse audience. The ...» more
Helpdesk Reports
These rapid-response reports provide digests of key research findings, lessons and expert thinking on specific questions from development practitioners and policymakers. If your question is not already covered below, ask us for a report (free for staff of agencies that we have existing arrangements with).
Addressing case delays caused by multiple adjournments
A number of policy studies recommend measures to tackle case delays in developing countries, but relatively few of these recommendations are supported by rigorous empirical evidence. It also appears that data on court performance in developing countries is scarce. The exception to this is a series of World Bank studies, which measures the effectiveness of its justice reform ...» more
Online/social media as a pathway towards violent extremism in East Africa
Findings from a large and growing body of literature consistently highlight the increasingly sophisticated manner in which violent extremist organisations use the Internet and social media. However, there is relatively little empirical research to determine why and how individuals join violent extremist groups such as Al-Shabaab. Evidence is mixed and individual case studies ...» more
Priority gender issues in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine
Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Despite some progress being made towards achieving gender equality in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), gender stereotyping and discrimination against women remain widespread. Key findings include: Awareness and implementation of the Law on Gender Equality (LGE) is weak. Gender stereotypes are prevalent in the media. Few women serve as ...» 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
Religious leaders and the prevention of electoral violence
There is limited literature specifically on the role of religious leaders in countering electoral and political violence, even less on ways in which to engage leaders in taking on such a role. While highlighting particular initiatives involving religious leaders during electoral cycles, this report also draws on literature that discusses the engagement of religious actors more ...» more
Trade promotion of female-owned and/or managed small and medium enterprises
Evidence shows that despite barriers to women’s engagement in export trade, there are multiple approaches and entry points yielding successful results and impacts in promoting female-owned and/or managed small and medium enterprise integration in export markets. Key findings from the literature include: Barriers for women: there is significant consensus in the literature ...» more
Political dynamics and the effectiveness of aid programmes
There is an increasing recognition amongst development scholars and practitioners that the obstacles to effective change in developing countries are not only related to technical or financial issues, but are also bound up with domestic politics and power relationships (DfID 2010a; DfID 2010b; Di John and Putzel, 2009; Leftwich: 2011; Parks and Cole, 2010; DFID 2016). As a ...» more
Humanitarian response in middle-income countries
The literature uncovered by this rapid review indicates that there is very little evidence available about the way in which humanitarian response is carried out in middle income countries in comparison to low income contexts (or an amalgamation of the two). Where there have been evaluations of humanitarian response in middle income countries, they have not really focused on ...» more
Women and girls in forced and protracted displacement
There is general consensus in this grey and academic literature on the vulnerabilities faced by women and girls in forced and protracted displacement, although less is known about the opportunities they may have and the long-term impacts. Much of the recent evidence available focuses on displaced populations in Europe and countries neighbouring Syria. There is more of a focus ...» more
Seasonal vulnerability and risk calendar in Nepal
Nepal faces many seasonal disasters, including floods, landslides, fires, droughts and diseases. Findings of this rapid review indicates that: Most people are killed and injured during July–September which is in the monsoon period. Preparedness activities could take place in anticipation of seasonal disasters. The Tarai is vulnerable to floods, lightening, epidemics and ...» more
National Disaster Management Authorities
This review has found, as did a Brookings literature review by Ferris (2014: 6), that there are few published comparative analyses of NDMAs, either on South Asia or worldwide. This review focuses on three cases from South Asia: Bangladesh, Pakistan and India, while it also includes brief information on Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. The key findings on the DRM institutional ...» 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
Lessons learned from security-related programming in stabilisation and conflict-affected contexts
The challenging environment that ongoing conflict presents means that evidence based analysis of security sector initiatives is hard to find (Ball and Walker, 2015, p. 3) and the evidence base uncovered by this rapid literature review is small. Interviews with experts suggest that there may be more documented cases and lessons which are not publicly available. Security ...» 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
Infomediaries and accountability
The term “infomediaries” – or information intermediaries – is used to refer to actors who “synthesize, translate, simplify and direct information on behalf of others”. There appears to be strong evidence of the link between free media and better governance and government responsiveness on a range of issues (e.g. public spending on education and health). A DFID review on ...» more
Linkages between taxation and stability
Tax reform agendas have traditionally focused on increasing public revenue in an economically efficient manner. However, Prichard (2010) argues that there is a case for linking revenue enhancement more explicitly to broader governance objectives. It should be noted that increased domestic revenue generation will only lead to improved development outcomes if the new revenue is ...» more
Political economy of conflicts in Kyrgyzstan since the 2000s
A fundamental finding, widely shared among authors, is that it is not only the national level that matters, but also regional and local ones, in violent and non-violent conflicts. In recent and older history, local conflicts sometime develop into national ones. Other key findings of the literature review include: The root causes of both conflicts are largely similar and ...» 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
