The UK’s approaches to peacebuilding

Our approach

Using a case study approach, the purpose of this review was to examine how relevant, coherent and effective cross-government investment in peacebuilding has been. In addition, for each case study, we considered the extent to which the Women, Peace and Security agenda and promoting global gender equality was pursued, as this is a key government priority. We also considered how well the UK engages with those expected to benefit from its programmes, and how the UK incorporates their needs and priorities into its programme designs.

Because the UK’s multilateral contributions are a substantial part of its aid spending, one of our case studies is the Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding Programme, and the UK’s multilateral engagement that led to the launch of this programme. In addition, we conducted two country visits and one country desk study.

The review’s use of the term ‘peacebuilding’ covers longstanding UK aid and diplomatic efforts to address drivers of conflict, with the aim of helping to prevent and resolve conflict and consolidate post-conflict peace.

Review questions

We sought to answer the following review questions:

1. How well has the UK government responded to different contexts in its peacebuilding approaches?
2. How internally and externally coherent are the UK’s peacebuilding approaches?
3. Effectiveness: How well has the UK contributed to peacebuilding objectives in areas in which it operates?