Publications

This report is based on a research project in collaboration with the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and the School of International Development at the University of East Anglia. The research analyses the links between environmental stress, climate change, human security, conflict and adaptation at different scales and localities along the Niger River. The third longest river in Africa, the Niger River and its tributaries are a key source of water for the estimated 100 million people living in the basin, especially for the drier regions within the western Sahel zone. Drawing on the study’s findings, this report offers key policy guidelines for resilience building, adaptation and reducing conflict.

This note explains the importance of using a conflict-sensitive approach to responding to climate change in South Asia. It offers guidelines and emerging principles on how climate change and development policy makers and practitioners can promote peace-positive adaptation actions which can yield the double dividend of building resilience to climate change and conflict. Issues of water, land, energy and food security are highly affected by climate change. At the same time, inappropriate governance of these issues lies at the root of conflicts across the region. The note proposes that engagement in these areas needs to be approached in a comprehensive way which maximises the productive capacity of local communities, while also minimising the risk of instability and conflict.

In March-April 2011, International Alert commissioned a series of portraits of people throughout the conflict-torn region of Nagorno-Karabakh from international award-winning photographer Jonathan Banks. The aim of the project was to capture faces of different people that vividly represent the human side of the conflict, where each individual remains above all a human being with his or her right to be what they are, wherever they live, with dignity and in peace. This brochure collects not only these photos, but also quotes from a group of international experts who travelled with Alert to the conflict region to share their wisdom, experience and passion for peacebuilding with local civil society representatives, government officials, media and our counterparts in the region.

This report analyses the EU’s institutional capacity to carry out conflict early warning, early action, and conflict prevention in two of the most conflict-ridden and war-affected countries in the world: Sudan and South Sudan. It analyses the institutional aspects of EU conflict early warning approaches and assesses the extent to which they are applied in-country and in Brussels to inform policies, strategies and programming processes. It provides a number of recommendations on how the EU can overcome challenges and constraints so that it can better link early warning to effective & timely response to prevent conflict and build peace, under the new Lisbon Treaty architecture. The report concludes by noting that the EU needs to identify its peacebuilding niche in a heavily crowded field of actors. If it decides its niche is related to early warning, conflict prevention and peacebuilding, it needs to prove this through sustained political willingness to engage on the crucial conflict issues discussed above and invest heavily in building up its systems, networks, capacity and tools to be able to play a viable role in both Sudan and South Sudan. The key here would be to develop a coherent approach that is fully grounded in an understanding of the realities of the different conflicts, and developing and mobilising the type of complex political engagement and partnerships that are needed to deliver concrete results in terms of improved stability and security for the Sudanese and South Sudanese people.

International Alert’s new Impact Report uses the metaphor of a marathon to explain our work in 2010. Focusing on four regions that we work in, we show in this report how investing time and effort in understanding the local context, dealing with complex challenges as they arise, remaining flexible to adapt to changing circumstances, and staying focused, ensuring that what we achieve is lasting and meaningful, are four principles that guide the work we do. The regions we focus on in this report to illustrate these principles are: Rwanda, Lebanon, The Philippines and Georgia/Abkhazia.

This publication contains a collection of articles produced by Abkhaz and Georgian experts on the subject of the political and economic dividends – or losses – that could be brought about by regulating economic relations across the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict divide. It is an outcome of an action research process that began in 2009 and evolved more generally from International Alert’s Economy and Conflict work in the South Caucasus on engaging economic actors in peacebuilding. The aim of this publication is to stimulate discussion on the potential political and economic impact of transparent and predictable cross-Ingur/i economic relations. While it does not at this point put forward any concrete models or proposals for regulating cross-Ingur/i economic relations, it attempts to lay the groundwork for further specialised research and policy recommendations. (Русский)

This series of three country “Insights” identifies peacebuilding priorities in Burundi, Liberia and Nepal, and discusses the response of the international institutions operating there. The focus institutions are primarily the World Bank and the UN. The insights provide a brief snapshot and analysis of each country’s particular peacebuilding needs, as well as the dynamics that either facilitate or hinder institutional ability to address these needs. Findings inform a synthesis report entitled ‘Peacebuilding, the World Bank and the United Nations: Debates and Practice in Burundi, Liberia and Nepal’, the summary of which is available here. This work is part of Alert’s International Institutions Programme which seeks through research and engagement to strengthen the peacebuilding impacts of international institutions in fragile and conflict-affected countries.

This series of three country “Insights” identifies peacebuilding priorities in Burundi, Liberia and Nepal, and discusses the response of the international institutions operating there. The focus institutions are primarily the World Bank and the UN. The insights provide a brief snapshot and analysis of each country’s particular peacebuilding needs, as well as the dynamics that either facilitate or hinder institutional ability to address these needs. Findings inform a synthesis report entitled ‘Peacebuilding, the World Bank and the United Nations: Debates and Practice in Burundi, Liberia and Nepal’, the summary of which is available here. This work is part of Alert’s International Institutions Programme which seeks through research and engagement to strengthen the peacebuilding impacts of international institutions in fragile and conflict-affected countries.

This practice note explains the importance of using a conflict-sensitive approach to land policy and land governance in conflict-prone or conflict- affected contexts. It offers guidelines and principles on how economic development planners and practitioners can promote conflict-sensitive land policy reform and implementation. Conflict-sensitivity in this context denotes the consideration by policy-makers and practitioners of the range of issues that may have, or may in future, cause and trigger violence. As issues related to land are at the root of violent conflict in many developing countries, they need to be addressed in a comprehensive way that maximises the productive capacity of people and natural resources while also minimising the risk of violent conflict and instability. Incorporating a conflict-sensitive approach when designing and implementing land policies and land reform is consequently crucial in order to realise increased equity, greater socio-economic development, food security as well as contribute to peace and stability.