Evidence from the Conflict Research Programme:submission to the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy

This paper summarises research from four years of the DFID-funded and LSE-led Conflict Research Programme, which provides comparative research on the drivers of conflict and ‘what works’ to reduce violence in five of the world’s most affected countries: Syria, Iraq, Somalia, South Sudan and the DRC. The findings are relevant for other conflicts, for example, Afghanistan, Yemen or the Sahel. The paper is written to inform the UK Integrated Review and the creation of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The paper argues that the UK can only reduce global conflict unilaterally by working with partners, including through the multilateral system. This requires a decade-long, joined-up strategic approach focused on reducing conflict by applying the best diplomatic, development and defence resources available. Adopting such an approach would enable policymakers to continuously assess how UK and partner interventions interact with conflict at regional, national and local levels and to adapt them accordingly.