Armed Conflict

 COVID-19  will most likely be a conflict-multiplier as belligerents move to intensify contestation over territories and resources, which will now include an expanded focus on securing access to vital medical supplies. The crisis is an opportunity to reinforce their reputations and consolidate their positions in the process. In other words, COVID-19 will not prompt a rallying call for a lasting peace. It is in conflict-stricken countries where the impact of the pandemic will be the most acute. Political elites, militias, and external powers engaged in proxy wars have fought fiercely over resources and territory. Crisis Response convenes policymakers  to develop policies and analysis that develop conflict mitigation mechanisms.

Good Governance

Engaging local actors, civil-society and humanitarian organisations to secure sustainable development, human security and economic development is central to building inclusive and sustainable governance. Crisis Response is focused on addressing leading causes of economic and social inequality to help communities prosper and bridge the gap between the disenfranchised and decision-makers, particularly the youth and vulnerbale communities, including women and religious minorities. Crisis Response places a focus on building more accountable governing structures that enable pathways for peace-building, reconciliation and security sector reform.

Track II

Working through its Proxy Wars Initiative, Crisis Response convenes Track II dialogues in the Middle East and North Africa. Over the past two-years, it has convened workshops and roundtables in the Middle East, Europe and in the United States, where it has drawn on its expansive network of decision-makers, former officials, scholars and civil-society activists to develop conflict mitigation proposals  and reconciliation frameworks focused on Libya, Iraq, Syria and Yemen, in addition to policy proposals that curtail the potential for conflict relapse and constrain the second order effects of wars to secure lasting stability and sustainable governance.

Climate Change

Climate change will exacerbate the socio-economic, geopolitical and environmental conditions that enable conflicts and violent instability.  According to experts, a quarter of the world’s people face extreme water shortages that are fueling conflict, social unrest and migration. The influence of climate on conflicts will increase more than five times, leaping to a 26% chance of a substantial increase in conflict risk in the near future. Crisis Response develops regional collaboration and confidence-building measures aimed at forestalling climate related conflict and tumult, producing data and analysis that help government and non-government organisations integrate climate-focused policies and ideas into their decision-making processes and policy proposals.