Research by the University of Reading has been instrumental in the development of a new UK policy framework for building stability in fragile and conflict-affected states.

With the steady rise in levels of global conflict over the past decade affecting some of the world’s most vulnerable populations, the UK has committed half its annual aid budget to helping fragile and conflict-affected countries make the long transition to peace and stability.

Such a vast investment calls for an evidence-based framework to guide interventions and to inform relationships with local and international partners. The framework being used by the UK has been shaped by research led by Professor Dominik Zaum at the University of Reading.

Zaum’s research sets out a case for a radical change in the approach taken by donors to rebuilding fragile states. First, it challenges the assumption that strengthening state legitimacy through enhanced delivery of public services leads to stability. It also highlights the importance of engaging with informal political and social structures for state-building, rather than focusing predominantly on formal institutions. Finally, it recognises that some aspects of peace- and state-building conflict, rather than mutually reinforce each other, and require difficult trade-offs.

The framework based on Zaum’s work has been used by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to support stabilisation efforts in countries including Afghanistan, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and a number of African countries. It has also informed the development of training tools for UK Government officials, civilians and military personnel. In doing so, it forms an integral part of the UK’s broader efforts to reduce the terrible consequences of violent conflict and to better support global peace and security.

Find out more
View the full impact case study on the REF 2021 website: Changing UK Policy Approaches to International Peace and Statebuilding

Photo credit: Emergency shelter provided by the UK in Beira, Mozambique. Photo by: WFP / Rein Skullerud / CC BY