Elite capture is a significant concern. The evidence is clear that 'uncontrolled' CDD will not necessarily benefit women, the poor and other disadvantaged groups. Women's participation is a central problem as they do not usually have the time and/or confidence to contribute to village planning processes. To reach women and other disadvantaged groups, CDD needs to have explicit ...» more
Conflict analysis of Liberia
It is over ten years since Liberia’s final peace agreement was signed in 2003, putting an end to 14 years of violent civil wars. This paper finds that current levels of overt conflict in Liberia are relatively low, and there has been no large-scale violence since the end of the second war. However, it also finds that many of the root causes and grievances that led to the wars ...» more
Transparency and accountability
More and better data is thought to be a necessary but not sufficient condition for increasing citizens’ access to that data. Likewise, increased access to more and better data is seen as a necessary but not sufficient condition for strengthening a government’s political accountability to its citizens. To date, however, there is limited understanding of exactly how, where and ...» more
Cost of elections in fragile states
There is limited literature available on this topic. A lot of the information that is available only provides the cost of certain elements of the election, mainly in relation to voter registration. In addition, there appear to be inconsistencies in the costings provided by the available sources. The most comprehensive source currently available is “CORE: A Global Survey on ...» more
Assessing seismic risk in Ethiopia
There is limited literature available in this area. Abeye (2012) argues that an updated seismic hazard map of Africa is long overdue. In a case study analysis of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, a 1999 UNIDSR report identified as challenges an absence of previous seismic risk assessment, few specialists and limited practice in seismology and earthquake engineering, low ...» more
Gender in Political Economy Analysis
An initial review of the literature indicates that gender is not systematically included in PEA. This was also conveyed by a number of experts consulted for this report, who stated that few if any PEAs to their knowledge had included a gender analysis, with the issue usually treated only in passing. The report nevertheless highlights the existing examples of gender-oriented ...» more
Disability inclusion in social protection
Key Findings: Three types of programmes: i) targeted specifically at people with disabilities; ii) mainstream programmes; and iii) targeted mainstream programmes explicitly including people with disabilities. Targeting: programmes can target all disabled people, or be means tested for a particular level or type of disability, or targeted at children with disabilities. ...» more
State legitimacy in Afghanistan and the role of the international community
The literature identified through this rapid literature review highlighted a number of factors that support or undermine the legitimacy of the Afghan state, including: local governance structures; corruption; service delivery; legitimising ideologies of the Afghan state; accountability deficits; and the 2001 Bonn Agreement. In terms of evidence of international community ...» more
Social transfer evaluation syntheses
This paper includes cash transfers, cash-for-work, asset transfers and pensions. It excludes all other types of social protection, such as microfinance, food-for-work, school feeding, vouchers, and insurance. It lists meta-analyses, systematic reviews, syntheses and meta-evaluations, and excludes single programme evaluations. This report does not include primary research ...» more
Sending messages to reduce violent conflict
Key findings Research for this helpdesk report did not find a specific body of literature focused on sending messages to change attitudes, norms and behaviour about violent conflict. Rather, there is a wide range of literature that covers interventions to address conflict, which include the sending of messages in one form or another, and often as part of a wider strategy. This ...» more
Conflict analysis of Algeria
Local and regional protests about a diverse range of socio-economic issues have been taking place in Algeria since 2011. However, much of the literature suggests that Algeria was not greatly affected by the protests emerging from the 'Arab Spring'. The Algerian government has succeeded in preventing protests from escalating to the levels witnessed in neighbouring countries ...» more
Conflict analysis of Mauritania
Mauritania is a large, mostly desert territory, populated by 3.2 million inhabitants and with a history of military rule and regime change through coup d’états. It has a history of inter-ethnic conflict and politicisation of identity with a notable border dispute in 1989 between Mauritania and Senegal resulting in violence and the deportation of non-Arabic speaking (i.e. black) ...» more
Conflict analysis of Morocco
Since the onset of the Arab Spring, Morocco has experienced protests about a diverse range of economic, political, and social issues. King Mohammed VI responded rapidly to the early protests, implementing a new constitution in 2011. However much of the literature suggests that, to date, these reforms have had a limited impact. Moreover, there have been rising levels of unrest ...» more
Conflict analysis of Tunisia
The revolution in Tunisia in 2011 – the first political upheaval of what became the ‘Arab Spring’ – marked the end of over five decades of authoritarian rule, first by post-colonial leader Habib Bourguiba and then by Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali. The country’s first democratic elections, held in March 2011, produced a coalition government comprising of the dominant Tunisian Islamic ...» more
Libya: border security and regional cooperation
This rapid literature review examines security-related developments that determine Libya’s relationships with its neighbours – Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Niger, Sudan and Tunisia. The report also looks at the incentives for neighbouring countries to maintain or develop regional relationships or cross-border mechanisms with Libya and the main challenges in implementing them. It also ...» more
Preventive diplomacy and conflict prevention
This report provides an overview of the literature on preventive diplomacy and conflict prevention, with particular emphasis on regional approaches to preventive diplomacy. The last few years have seen a renewed interest in both preventive diplomacy and conflict prevention. Regional initiatives are playing an increasingly important role in preventive diplomacy and conflict ...» more
The shadow economy in conflict-affected countries
Approaches which can be used to leverage the positive social function that shadow economies provide to conflict-affected populations include: Using humanitarian aid to complement people’s coping strategies (Goodhand, 2006). Understanding the relationship between different aspects of the economy through stakeholder assessments can reduce the risk that interventions have ...» more
Measuring disaster resilience
Several agencies have developed guidance for measuring disaster resilience. One of the most comprehensive and widely-cited frameworks is Twigg’s (2009) ‘characteristics of resilience’ framework. Based on five dimensions of resilience identified in the Hyogo Framework for Action (governance, risk assessment, knowledge and education, risk management and vulnerability reduction, ...» more
Stakeholder effectiveness in natural resource management
Countries that are rich in natural resources, both renewable resources such as forests and fisheries, and non-renewable resources such as oil and minerals, have not produced more positive development outcomes than non-resource rich countries. To improve development outcomes and avert several types of harmful effects – often grouped together and termed the ‘resource curse’ – ...» more
Peacebuilding and economic growth
This report provides an overview of the literature on the relationship between peacebuilding and economic recovery and growth in fragile and conflict affected states, with particular emphasis on the Asia-Pacific context. The majority of the conflicts occurring in the Asia-Pacific region take place at the sub-national level. There is evidence to suggest that while many of the ...» more
