Security actors are important actors in the international community’s efforts to support peace in fragile contexts. Their activities affect not only the immediate security conditions in fragile contexts, but also the conditions for humanitarian assistance, development co-operation and...

This paper analyses official development assistance (ODA) to the 57 fragile contexts in the 2020 OECD fragility framework. ODA is a crucial, reliable resource for these fragile contexts and an indispensable part of their journey to sustainable development and peace. DAC members spent 63% of...

Diplomats and other diplomatic actors serve as the primary political actors in fragile contexts, both for OECD Development Assistance Committee members and the broader international community. They directly contribute to immediate and long-term peace, and their broad political network and...

Prevention is better than cure. The prevention of violent conflict in fragile contexts is cost-effective, it works and it should matter – to Development Assistance Committee (DAC) members and the broader international community – for sustaining peace. The challenge is in translating recent...

This analysis of the 2020 OECD multidimensional fragility framework is a background paper for States of Fragility 2020. It provides a snapshot of the state of fragility in the world today, paying particular attention to the 57 fragile contexts on the framework. The paper starts by unpacking the...

In 2022, the OECD will add a human capital dimension to its fragility framework in acknowledgement of the ambition set forth in States of Fragility 2018 to “never lose sight of the end goal of delivering hope and better lives for all people in fragile contexts”. The COVID-19 pandemic and its...

Engaging in fragile settings is challenging, but there is much to learn from the work Development Assistance Committee (DAC) members are doing to support fragile contexts on the ground. Drawing on case study research and a secondary literature review assembled as part of the Fit for Fragility...

This working paper examines the reasons why fragile contexts have struggled to generate momentum towards the Sustainable Development Goals and why that matters for policy and practice in a post-COVID-19 world. Drawing on multidimensional analysis and consideration of trends and trajectories of...