The coherence and effectiveness of engagement with the world.s .fragile and conflict-affected states..beyond ethical imperatives and geo-strategic considerations.turns on answers to two vexing questions. First, on what defensible basis is any given countr

After receiving at least US$20 billion in aid for reconstruction and development over the past 60 years, Haiti has been and remains a fragile state, one of the worse globally. The reasons for aid failure are legion but mostly relate to highly dysfunctiona

Supporting its developing member countries (DMCs) affected by fragility and conflict is a high priority for the Asian Development Bank (ADB). This is demonstrated by ADB’s adoption of its 2007 approach, which responds to the special challenges faced by DMCs experiencing conditions that are now...

This publication captures the presentations and discussions of high-ranking government officials and senior representatives from development partners and civil society organizations during the Forum on Building Resilience to Fragility in Asia and the Pacific, held on 6– 7 June 2013 in Manila....

This report reviews Kazakhstan’s progress towards gender equality and women’s empowerment, and focuses particularly on gender issues in the Asian Development Bank’s operations in transport, urban development, and support for entrepreneurship. Since the previous assessment in 2006,...

Using the framework developed by the Country Indicators for Foreign Policy (CIFP) project (www.carleton.ca/cifp), this paper examines state transitions in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. While previous studies have found legitimacy to be a particular concern across the region,...

Poor governance and lack of state capabilities in around 45 countries pose a threat to global security and development. The involvement of the international community is required to help these states break out of their low development– high-conflict traps. Recent years have seen a number...

In fragile states, social protection programmes are often a kaleidoscope of projects financed and implemented by a variety of donors, government agencies and NGOs. Such an environment does not foster a strong sense of ownership by beneficiaries, which weakens the likelihood of sustainability in...

In this note we empirically analyze the link between state capacity and civil conflict via the manufacturing sector, which is the source of wealth for emerging new elite interested in obtaining political representation, and is the outcome of a new political equilibrium more in tune with capital...

The paper suggests a framework for evaluating the relevance of strategies of private sector development in fostering sustained economic turnaround in fragile and post-conflict situations. It highlights how fragility, violence and conflict change economic structures, introducing distortions,...