Strengthening UN Partnerships and Institutional Linkages
This component of Coping with Crisis includes a series of analytical and outreach activities designed to:
- help governments and international institutions flesh out proposals for cross-institutional strengthening;
- examine the types of pressures on a wide range of international institutions and assess likely trends for their adaptation and change;
- build networks and relationships that facilitate more efficient policy linkages and partnerships across major global institutions.
Regional Capacities and the UN
Positive references to regional processes pervade the 2005 World Summit outcome document, which includes a strong commitment to develop cooperation between regional organizations (ROs) and the UN. Beyond the rhetoric, however, there are obstacles, both political and technical, to ROs assuming a greater responsibility for international peace and security and discharging their mission in harmony with the UN. Coping with Crisis aims to help fill this gap via a sequence of research and policy support on comparative regional dynamics and on ROs, with a special emphasis on Africa and Asia through IPI’s regional programs. Activities include:
- mapping of regional risk dynamics, patterns of cooperation, and institutional response capacities;
- producing a series of case studies analyzing the role and capacities of regional organizations and their relations with the UN and other international actors in addressing particular crises;
- sequence of researcher-practitioner dialogues about ROs, their inter-linkages, and their relationship with the UN.
Special Focus – Africa
Given the breadth and seriousness of challenges facing Africa, a special focus on the continent – its particular threats, conflicts, and institutional capacities – has been built into the Coping with Crisis program. The goal of the Africa plan of activities is to inform and contribute to efforts to enhance capacities of African continental, sub-regional, and national actors to prevent, as well as manage, current and emerging crises. This will occur through a combination of research, analysis, and policy dialogue, with priority activities including:
- mapping of the strategic landscape, identification of ‘new peace and security’ issues, and analysis of changing actors in peace operations
- African Union capacity-building work
- work with and analysis of Africa’s Regional Economic Communities on functional competencies and best practices.
- partnerships and broader outreach on Africa
New Partnerships – Asia
IPI has begun efforts to engage senior policy makers in Asia, both on global issues and on Asia’s own peace and security challenges, and to explore ways in which the UN could be more relevant to future Asian security. Elements of an increased programmatic focus include Asia regional Working Papers, research on Asia’s experience with terrorism and political violence (jointly with United Nations University), and a paper on Asian perspectives on peacekeeping and peacebuilding.