U.S. Department of State

Conflict Prevention | 2023

How might we develop a framework for assessing the effectiveness of conflict prevention initiatives designed by the US government through its implementation of the Global Fragility Act?

David Campos || United States

David Campos earned his BA with highest distinction in public policy and history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2021. As recipient of the Matthew and Michael L. Boyatt Award, David studied Korean political relations at Korea University. He also received the Kathy Arnold Taft Award for Leadership in Education Policy, which recognized his contribution to discussions regarding universal access to a sound basic education within the United States schooling system.
David has extensive experience in the nonprofit sector and has worked with several organizations including Children’s Aid, North Carolina Early Education Coalition, and Immersion for Spanish Language Acquisition – North Carolina. Campos’s work has impacted the types of resources children from high-need neighborhoods are exposed to and has encouraged hundreds of minority students to pursue a higher education. He also has helped facilitate conversations among experts across the nation to produce better ways to accommodate English language learners, an issue that affected him personally as a child of Colombian and Costa Rican descent. As a master of global affairs student, he is the recipient of a Pulte Family Fellowship.

Fernando Ixpanel Cruz || Guatemala

Fernando Ixpanel Cruz graduated in 2020 with the distinction of best graduation project in the international relations program at Rafael Landívar University in Guatemala. He has worked as a researcher and a political consultant for the Association for Research and Social Studies, a Guatemalan think tank, on topics including Guatemala’s electoral and party systems, public policies, and governance. Before joining the Keough School, Fernando also provided technical advice to several Guatemalan institutions including the national electoral body, the electoral affairs commission, and the national chapter of the Open Government Partnership.
Fernando is primarily interested in studying governance models, anti-corruption efforts, and international cooperation. As a master of global affairs student, he is the recipient of a Riberas Orjales Family Fellowship.

Olfa Jelassi || Tunisia

Olfa Jelassi graduated from the National Engineering School of Tunis with a hydro-meteorological engineer diploma and has been working in the international cooperation and development sector. Most recently she served as projects manager under the supervision of the head of German cooperation at the German Embassy in Tunisia. Olfa is a board and steering committee member of GenderCC – Women for Climate Justice, a global network of organizations, experts and activists working for gender equality, women’s rights, and climate justice. She’s also a member of the Women and Gender Constituency of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and she acts as regional liaison for the Middle East and North Africa Education, Communication, and Outreach Stakeholder Community of the UNFCCC.
Olfa is an international expert, advocate, trainer, and lecturer on gender, women’s rights, and climate policies, with many years of UNFCCC experience. She also co-founded an organization that leads local environmental initiatives and projects, and she was named Young Environmental Leader by the Joke Waller-Hunter Initiative. As a master of global affairs student, she is the recipient of a Keough Family Fellowship.

Abdyrakham Sulaimanov || Kyrgyzstan

Abdyrakhman Sulaimanov holds a bachelor’s in international relations from Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University and a master’s in politics and security from the OSCE Academy. Upon graduation, he joined the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs in Oslo as a research fellow and was involved in several projects on sustainable development, climate change, energy security, natural resources, and international politics and economics in Central Asia. Most recently, he worked for the Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation as a project officer for the Public Service Improvement Project in Kyrgyzstan. Besides his native Kyrgyz language, he speaks Russian, Turkish, English, and has also studied Chinese.
As a master of global affairs student, Abdyrakhman is passionate about applying interdisciplinary approaches, new methods and statistics, the mobilization of big data, and data science to the study of sustainable development. He hopes to pursue a career with international organizations focused on sustainability. Abdyrakhman is the recipient of a Carrianne and Lance McCormack Global Affairs Fellowship.

Overview

Fragile states cultivate an environment where continuous conflict is experienced among local populations, causing millions of people to endure the consequences of poor governance. In 2019, the U.S. government passed the Global Fragility Act to address and prevent the root causes of violence and fragility in prioritized countries through a ten-year-long strategy. Considering previous efforts, the U.S. Department of State will lead the strategy and implement a whole-of-government approach, requiring coordination between U.S. government agencies, international organizations, local officials, and other stakeholders. Considering the goals of the GFA, the U.S. Department of State must identify and implement a robust and flexible long-term strategic plan for conflict prevention and stabilization initiatives. The need for this project is to answer the following: What are the best practices for long-term (ten-year) strategic planning in the context of conflict prevention and stabilization, and how do we apply these to U.S. government processes with respect to the GFA? Through key informant interviews and focus groups, our team will aim to pinpoint and outline these best practices in a comprehensive report, highlighting processes that will improve the U.S. government’s effectiveness in fragile states and the future institutionalization of such strategies.

Key Research Questions

How might we develop a framework for assessing the effectiveness of conflict prevention initiatives designed by the US government through its implementation of the Global Fragility Act?

These questions can be answered in the context of one of the selected locations for GFA implementation.

Definition of Success

At the conclusion of this project the team will present evidence-based research and concrete policy recommendations to the US Department of State to inform the agency’s efforts to implement the Global Fragility Act.

Required Team Skills

Interests/Background: Knowledge in the areas of conflict prevention, drivers of fragility, stabilization and capacity building, and related topics; General understanding of U.S. foreign policy stakeholders
Skills/Methodologies: Quantitative and qualitative data analysis; Impact assessments informing policy; Monitoring, evaluation, and learning approaches and techniques; Statistical analysis (e.g., logic modeling, evaluation matrices, outcome analysis);
Language(s): French; Portuguese; Language ability is preferred, but the requirement can be met through translators if necessary
Characteristics: Strong written and verbal communication skills

Partner Liaisons

Bruce Hemmer, Senior Conflict Prevention Officer, Bureau of Conflict & Stabilization Operations at U.S. Department of State
Victoria Ellis, Foreign Affairs Officer, Bureau of Conflict & Stabilization Operations at U.S. Department of State
State Department GFA Country leads from Bureau of Conflict & Stabilization Operations at U.S. Department of State will be engaged when locations for field work are confirmed.

Possible Locations

Mozambique
Coastal West Africa Region (Benin, Togo, Ghana, Côte D’Ivoire, Guinea)
Papua New Guinea
USA (Washington, DC)

Organization

The Department of State's Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations (CSO) is charged with leading the formulation and implementation of U.S. conflict prevention and stabilization strategies, policies, and programs. It provides the secretariat for the U.S. government’s multi-agency Atrocity Prevention Task Force and is the State Department’s lead implementer of the U.S. Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability.