Clingendael expert Erwin van Veen featured in a panel discussion at the World Bank’s 2016 Fragility Forum. How do donors influence domestic politics in fragile societies? And how can donors encourage greater inclusivity and more development-focus? 

The often exclusionary and self-interested nature of such politics is a leading cause of conflict. However, their complexity is hard to understand and it is even harder for donors to encourage greater inclusivity and more development-focus.

Integrating better political-economy analysis into donor programming
The key research finding that donors generally do not manage to understand the political dynamics of fragile contexts points to the need of more political-economy analysis that is better integrated with donor programming;  a product that the Conflict Research Unit (CRU) of Clingendael has been developing for several years. The final research paper by Erwin van Veen and Jort Hemmer with the Berghof Foundation is expected in April 2016.

At the World Bank’s 2016 Fragility Forum Anette Hoffmann, Megan Price and Diana Goff moreover contributed to several cutting-edge discussions on private sector development, security and justice based on recent CRU-work on Burundi and Mali.

The World Bank’s Fragility Forum is an annual event. This year over 600 experts discussed what they collectively know about conflict and fragility, and what this means for developmental practice.