Christoph Zuercher

We Need to Rethink Aid to Fragile Contexts
- Analysis
- February 17, 2023
Fragile countries are those which are most in need of development aid. But to what extent can aid be effective in highly fragile situations? A recent systematic review of 315 individual evaluations of aid to Afghanistan, Mali and South Sudan …
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What Would a Rights-Based Approach to Women’s Peace and Security Entail?
- Analysis
- November 24, 2021
In my previous blog, I wrote that there is no evidence for instrumentalist claims about women and peace. Increasing participation of women in peacekeeping, in formal peace negotiations and in local peacebuilding activities does not make these activities more …
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Adding Women May Not Help Keep the Peace
- Analysis
- November 23, 2021
Instrumentalist claims about the Women Peace and Security (WPS) agenda do not bear out in the first systematic review on the topic.

Since the adoption of UNSC Resolution 1325 in October 2000, the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda …
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Did University of Ottawa Grad Students Just Raise US $37 Million in Aid for Afghanistan?
- Analysis
- May 4, 2020
Ok, that was a clickbait title. But what really happened is not so far off.

In my recent course on “Evaluation” my grad students and I worked on a systematic review of development aid to Afghanistan. Every year …
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China and UN Peacekeeping
- Analysis
- January 14, 2019
For the last year or so, I have been researching China’s contributions to UN peacekeeping. It has been an interesting journey, culminating in a new CIPS report, 30 years of Chinese Peacekeeping, which will be launched on January 24, …
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Canada’s Feminist International Assistance: Can Bad Policy be Well Implemented? (Part 1)
- Analysis
- September 13, 2018
Last summer, the government of Canada launched its “feminist international assistance policy,” a radical rebranding to a “truly feminist approach that supports the economic, political and social empowerment of women and girls, and makes gender equality a priority, …
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Canada’s Feminist International Assistance: Can Bad Policy be Well Implemented? (Part 2)
- Analysis
- September 13, 2018
In Part 1 of this blog post, I ranted about discussed why Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy is likely to fail. However, even a bad policy can be implemented in ways that make failure less likely and create opportunities …
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Tangible Evidence or Wishful Thinking?
- Analysis
- August 20, 2018
“Women’s participation in the peacebuilding process increases by 35% the probability that a peace agreement will last for at least 15 years.” Or does it?

“If you want to make peace sustainable, include women in the peacebuilding process.” Over the …
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DFATD’s Evaluation of Canadian Aid to Afghanistan: A Missed Opportunity
- Analysis
- May 7, 2015
In March 2015, the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development released the Synthesis Report: Summative Evaluation of Canada’s Afghanistan Development Program. On April 14, CIPS and its Fragile States Research Network (FSRN) held a panel to discuss the …
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Peace Talks in Doha: A Reality Check
- Analysis
- July 2, 2013
Last week, White House officials announced that the U.S. and the Taliban would start peace talks in the reopened Doha office of the Taliban. The announcement made headlines around the world, nurturing hopes that the protracted conflict in Afghanistan may …
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We Need to Rethink Aid to Fragile Contexts