Donor Coherence in Fragile States: Within and Among Governments

To improve policy coherence and effectiveness, individual donor governments have begun restructuring the way they coordinate policy planning and conduct operations in fragile countries. In effect, they are bringing together their defense, diplomacy, development, aid, trade and intelligence communities to minimize fragmentation and duplication and maximize complementarities and common purpose. The first stage of this research project is a comparative research project, Confronting Weak and Failing States: Comparative Experiences in Joined-Up Government Responses, which will analyze efforts among key capitals to reorganize government to address the challenges posed by weak and failing states. The countries of focus in this study will include at least Australia, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Sweden and Germany. The aim is to gain a greater understanding of: motivations and assumptions behind this conceptual and strategic reorientation; challenges in reconciling mandates and creating effective coordination mechanisms; the resources and instruments used to manage the new joined-up government approach; and efforts to harmonize approaches among the donor community. Subsequent stages may examine country specific cases in partner/recipient states and policy coherence across the donor community, including both bilateral and multilateral partners.