Humanitarian, Development and Peace Nexu

Whilst the global number of people living in poverty has significantly decreased over the last decades, there is an increasing number of severe and protracted humanitarian emergencies, caused by conflict, governance failures, climate change, and man-made disasters. These challenges are compounded by recent changes in geopolitical strategies and policies, which already have profound immediate and will have long-term impact on reducing extreme poverty, resolving conflicts, and making the Sustainable Development Goals increasingly elusive..  

There has been growing acceptance among the international aid community that these problems can only be addressed through a combination of tools – humanitarian, development, and peace initiatives – that require new governance, financing, and coordination mechanisms. This approach emphasizes that for sustainable improvements, temporary solutions must be part of a broader vision that not only saves lives in the short term but also addresses the systemic issues affecting stability and development in the long run. 

The benefits of the Nexus approach include greater coherence among the three sectors and reduced fragmentation among the various actors working in conflict-affected areas. Additionally, it improves effectiveness through coordination across sectors, ensuring that immediate relief efforts transition smoothly into longer-term recovery and peace initiatives. This approach also helps mitigate the risk of renewed crisis and fosters comprehensive disaster risk reduction by addressing not only the symptoms but also to address the root causes of protracted conflicts.

This “search for coherence” is not new and raises important questions about ethics and fundamental principles in humanitarian action, the nature of conflicts and protracted emergencies, and how different spheres of action interact to balance the immediate urgency of humanitarian needs with longer-term development and peace objectives, as well as to navigate complex political environments where external interventions may be met with suspicion and politicized. 

This course provides students with a critical perspective on these issues, looking at core concepts and definitions, historical trends, theoretical debates, and the current policy and practice landscape. The course will also provide a practitioner’s perspective on many of the issues, through case study examples, the participation of guest speakers, and an opportunity for students