The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is a classic example of the paradox of plenty, since the country is extremely rich in natural resources while its population is extremely poor. It is the largest country in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) with a total surface area of about 234 million hectares...

Weakness is a quality frequently ascribed to Latin American states. This diagnosis proves faulty since it is possible to find resistant structures inside those states that perpetuate such weaknesses. This article shows that this is the case in regards to the police force of the province of...

Civil society organizations (CSOs) play a prominent role in conflict-affected and fragile states. In the absence of capable or credible public institutions due to conflict or weak policy environments, CSOs tend to substitute for public institutions and become primary providers of basic social...

Identifies weaknesses in current financing arrangements for postconflict countries and fragile states, with a focus on official development assistance (ODA). Tensions persist between business-as-usual development policies and policies responsive to the demands of peacebuilding. The preferential...

Focuses on four challenges for fragile states: (1) isomorphic mimicry from evolutionary theory (that animals sometimes use deception to look more dangerous than they are to enhance survival) ; (2) wishful thinking; (3) pre-mature load bearing; and (4) a middle way advocating for a 'good enough'...

In this brief, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia, shares lessons learned from her experience in leading a post-conflict country. She emphasizes the importance of taking a broader view of the national leadership system while building national leadership capacities and...

In 1999, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) introduced poverty reduction strategy papers (PRSPs) as a condition for highly indebted countries to receive debt relief under the HIPC initiative. Since then, PRSPs have become a condition for aid to International Development...