Policy Review: International and Dutch policies in the field of socio-economic development in fragile settings

The IS Academy ‘human security in fragile states’ started in 2009 with the aim to better understand processes of socio-economic recovery and the roles of formal and informal institutions under conditions of state fragility. This report analyses international policy trends relevant to this topic.

Anette Hoffmann (Conflict Research Unit, Clingendael) finds that policies geared to economic development in fragile settings on the one hand, and peacebuilding policies on the other, are increasingly converging, yet continue to show major differences in the ways problems are framed and solutions are proposed.

The convergences and differences in policies are exemplified in this report with an analysis of how policies deal with livelihoods, jobs and resilience; with the roles of local entrepreneurs and external economic actors; and with the ways in which institutions and elite pacts shape socio-economic development. These three issues have been prominent in IS Academy research and the current report provides us with many insights that allow us to position our theoretical and empirical work in relation to policy.

The policy review brings out the potential gains of systematically dovetailing policies in the peacebuilding and economic development domains, in order to develop policy that is well-grounded in the social, political and economic realities in fragile settings. As such, it provides an important contribution to the broader discussion on peacebuilding and economic development.

Based on a review of key documents and interviews with policy stakeholders, Anette Hoffmann identifies major trends and issues, and brings out the potential gains of systematically dovetailing policies in the peacebuilding and economic development domains, in order to develop policy that is well-grounded in the social, political and economic realities in fragile settings.