July 2015

Research this month

Mapping of the EU’s Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace fund

This map reveals the often ignored scale of peace projects around the world, and the cutting-edge role that technology can play in support of peacebuilding.

Peace Direct has launched a unique online map showcasing €2.3 billion of peacebuilding projects supported by the EU’s Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace fund. The new interactive map shows details of 292 peace projects in 80 countries funded by the world’s largest aid donor, including in Iraq, Ukraine and Syria. Projects on the map include small-scale work being implemented by local organisations, as well as larger initiatives run in collaboration with the UN and international NGOs. The projects can be searched by theme, year of operation and EU contract number. The map gives a useful overview of how funds are spent around the world as well as details on individual projects.

Global Peace Index 2015

The 2015 Global Peace Index shows that the world is becoming increasingly divided with some countries enjoying unprecedented levels of peace and prosperity while others spiral further into violence and conflict.

The Global Peace Index, from the Institute from Economics and Peace, is an annual assessment of levels of peace around the world. The 2015 report has been released as both a narrative report and interactive map enabling independent exploration of the data.

Main results of the ‘Broader participation in political negotiation and implementation’ project 2011-2015

[T]he results demonstrate that broader inclusion in itself is not sufficient to achieve positive outcomes. Rather, it is only quality inclusion, i.e. the influence and ability of included actors to make meaningful contributions, which is strongly correlated with positive outcomes.

Broader Participation Project looked at the idea of inclusion and how it impacts the quality and sustainability of peace agreements. The project identified what factors lead to inclusion working effectively. In order to make its recommendations the research looked at 40 examples of peace and political transition agreements to see how inclusion has been worked in practice.

Customary practice and restorative justice in Libya: a hybrid approach

One goal of using a hybrid of customary law and restorative justice is to de-escalate armed conflicts and human rights violations that heavily armed militia groups have perpetrated to undermine traditional leadership since the ousting of Gadhafi

Customary practice and restorative justice in Libya, from USIP, looks at how, in the absence of formal justice mechanisms, customary forms of justice could play an important role in conflict transformation in Libya. The report makes the case for bringing in ideas from restorative justice into customary practice to create a stable and accessible mechanism for resolving conflict at many levels.

The impact of war on Somali men

[T]he majority of men find themselves dispensable, with no meaningful role and no stake in the future. For men (unlike for women, for whom gender transformation is actively being canvassed by the international community) there is no space, other than reformist Islam, to discuss the implications, hence few alternative trajectories for men to achieve manhood.

The impact of war on Somali men, from the Rift Valley Institute, examines how 20 years of war has impacted men and ideas of masculinity in Somalia. Based on a series of interviews with both Somali men and women the report explores how ideas have changed and what this means for the future. According to the report, the findings have important implications for all kinds of peacebuilding and development interventions.

A new climate for peace: taking action on climate and fragility risks

Climate change is simultaneously increasing the complexity of a range of global challenges, including fragility. If strategies to address these challenges fail to take into account the interdependent and systemic nature of these climate-fragility risks, they will fail or, in the worst case, exacerbate the risks they try to address. Interdependent challenges need integrated answers.

A new climate for peace, commissioned by the G7 countries, is an extensive piece of research into how climate change is likely to affect violence, conflict, and instability. The research identifies seven key risks related to climate change, such as increased competition over resources. The report offers recommendations for mitigation and prevent instability related to climate change, one of which is to better support local actors in countries facing the negative effects of climate change.

Regime change for humanitarian aid: How to make relief more accountable

Ever since it began reforming itself, the Humanitarian Club has embraced a compelling vision of the future: one in which the aid system would no longer be owned and operated by the West and would be fully accountable to its beneficiaries.

Regime change for humanitarian aid, an article in Foreign Affairs by Michael Barnett and Peter Walker, presents a humanitarian aid system in which power is too centralised and unable to cope with the increasingly complex emergencies the world faces. The authors argue for radical reform in the system in order to be more accountable and responsive to local needs.

From the blog

An exploration of water cooperation and intra-state violence

By Adan E. Suazo: Does international cooperation over managing water resources lead to more peace on the ground? Read more »