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The number of international migrants has grown by 49% since 2000, according to United Nations statistics, and incoming migrants often move to cities, which house 54% of the world’s population. Multilateral deliberations on migration policy tend to focus on the national level, although it is municipal leadership that often bears the brunt of providing services and facilitating integration for migrants. Developing appropriate and effective policy on migration requires perspective from the ground to be shared with national and international actors.

In October 2016, the UN General Assembly Adopted the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, which created an international commitment to future negotiations, an international conference, and the adoption of a global compact for safe, orderly, and regular migration in 2018 (GCM). On May 9th, IPI held a meeting to discuss how the compact’s policies can be more comprehensive and effectively put into place.

The event, hosted in collaboration with the Global Policy Initiative, Columbia University, the University of Ottawa, and The Open Society Foundations, was conducted under the Chatham House Rule of non-attribution, and brought together key stakeholders in the compact’s implementation. Included were international mayors, UN representatives, and members of civil society.

Among the speakers were Penny Abeywardena, New York City Commissioner for International Affairs; Bitta Mostofi, Acting Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs in New York; Majid Batambuze, Mayor of Jinja, Uganda, and Chairman of the Urban Authority of Uganda; Cosimo Palazzo, Director of the Social Policy Department of Milan, Italy; Veronique Lamontagne, Director of the Bureau of Integration, Montreal, Canada; David Barclay, the Mayor’s Adviser on Inclusion in Bristol, UK; Eloisa Arruda, Human Rights Secretary in São Paulo, Brazil; Juan José Gómez Camacho, Permanent Representative of Mexico to the UN; Griet Seurs, Permanent Representative of Belgium to the UN; Jürg Lauber, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the UN; Colleen Thouez, Division Director of Welcoming and Integrated Societies at the Open Society Foundations–International Migration Initiative; Gregory Maniatis, OSF Initiative’s Director; Eva Åkerman Börje, Senior Policy Adviser, Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for International Migration; and Suzanne Sheldon, Senior Policy Adviser of the Global Compact for Migration at IOM. Speaking for IPI was Vice President Adam Lupel, who moderated the discussion.

Speakers in the session noted that there is a common misunderstanding of the distinction between refugees and migrants, as well as documented and undocumented migrants, and migrants often face prejudice upon entering a country. City leadership does not determine who enters the country, but, speakers noted, it can be responsible for the treatment of migrants when they enter city parameters.

Participants asserted that city leaders could design meaningful migration programs, not because they are more creative or well-resourced, but because they operate at a more human scale. In a much commented upon statement, one speaker said, “People belong to a local community before they belong to a nation.”

The conversation stressed that integration does not stop just across the border, and neither should policy. For this reason, to ensure safe and orderly migration, cities should not only share principles of policy reform with their national governments, but they should also share insights among other cities worldwide.

However, participants noted, member states negotiate on behalf of the nation. Speakers encouraged city leaders to strengthen conversation with their representatives at the state level and ensure their advocacy is representative of the population.

Of concern to many speakers was a lack of information sharing between members of the municipal and federal governments, since records of immigration are often housed at the national level. Participants cited examples where the central government did not share migration data with the cities where migrants lived. A lack of data and regularly updated statistics of migrations as well as a lack of migration management systems make it difficult to monitor the exact impact of migration. In order to do so, comprehensive indicators need to be developed, and all migrants need to be documented.

Speakers in the session noted that a link could be made between improving migration policy and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Rather than intergovernmental organizations prescribing a solution to migration, participants declared, the best outcome is a policy that grows organically from the steps that city officials take, separate from institutions like the IOM and UN.

This article aims at offering a critical overview of the major institutional initiatives in the field of employment protection legislation (EPL) during the recent economic adjustment programs in Greece (2010-2017).

Furthermore, in the context of the European debate about the role and impact of employment protection legislation, the article investigates if these reforms constitute a well defined change of labour protection model in Greece as well as its direction.

The Working Paper is available here (in Greek only)

On May 18th, IPI together with Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders are cohosting a policy forum event on “Bridging the Emergency Gap: What Will It Take?”

During their acute phase, contemporary conflicts present a number of challenges for humanitarian actors. Insecurity, growing needs, and the obstruction, denial, or politicization of humanitarian assistance create an environment unfavorable to neutral, independent, and impartial humanitarian action. Even though the humanitarian sector has become increasingly professionalized and well-funded, MSF’s Emergency Gap Project reveals that the first few months of acute crises are often marked by a failure to provide lifesaving assistance and protection to those affected by violence. Beyond the external challenges of the operational environment, MSF also identifies a series of challenges within the humanitarian system itself that they perceive as contributing to this gap in emergency response.

This policy forum provided an opportunity to bring together different perspectives to explore concrete ways to reinforce the emergency response capacity of the humanitarian sector in complex, acute crises and to ensure that humanitarian actors adequately respond to both emergencies and more protracted crises.

Speakers:
Ms. Teresa Sancristóval, Director of Operations, Médecins Sans Frontières
Mr. John Ging, Director of Operations, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
Mr. Bob Kitchen, Vice-President of Emergencies, International Rescue Committee

Moderator:
Dr. Adam Lupel, Vice President, IPI

*If you are not logged into Facebook, times are shown in PST.

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The Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) invites pre-applications from scholars who wish to spend 12-24 months at ELIAMEP, as part of the “Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship” Programme (MSCA-IF-2018), funded by the European Commission.

Applicants can be of any nationality but they must not have spent more than 12 months in the last 3 years in Greece (mobility rule).

ELIAMEP welcomes project proposals from doctorate holders, interested in submitting a proposal in the area of social sciences and humanities. However, priority will be given to those projects that fit best with ELIAMEP’s existing research interests and orientations and gain the support of at least one ELIAMEP senior researcher.

Fellowships take form of European Fellowships or Global Fellowships.

– European Fellowships are open to researchers either coming to Europe from any country in the world or moving within Europe. The researcher must comply with the rules of mobility.

– Global Fellowships are based on a secondment to a third country and a mandatory 12 month return period to a European host. The researcher must comply with the rules of mobility in the country where the Global Fellowship secondment takes place, not for the country of the return phase.

Researchers receiving an Individual Fellowship may opt to include a secondment phase in Europe, notably in the non-academic sector, within the overall duration of their fellowship.

ELIAMEP has an extensive and prestigious record of hosting international doctoral and postdoctoral fellows. Over the last years, it was host organisation in three Intra-European Marie Curie fellows, all of whom have made significant advances in their careers. Currently, ELIAMEP hosts the REPLICIAS project (Architectural replicas in the scramble for the past: Politics of identity in Istanbul, Athens, Skopje), funded by the 2016 call of the “Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship” Programme.

Researchers who wish to cooperate with ELIAMEP for the submission of a proposal should check that they fulfill the respective eligibility criteria and then send an expression of interest, consisting of a short CV and a two-page summary presentation of their research proposal, to development@eliamep.gr . Expressions of interest may be submitted up to 30 June 2018.

Proposals will be pre-selected on the basis of internal evaluation and the availability of suitable supervision. Candidates will be informed of the results of the pre-selection well before the call deadline.

Further information on the call “Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions- Individual Fellowships” :

https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/opportunities/h2020/topics/msca-if-2018.html

Zusammenfassung:

Wer sind die sechs Prozent der Kinder im Alter von drei bis sechs Jahren, die keine Kita besuchen? DIW-Studie zeigt, dass Nicht-Kita-Kinder beispielsweise häufiger einen Migrationshintergrund haben, das trifft aber längst nicht auf alle zu – Kita-Pflicht hätte vermutlich nur einen äußerst geringen Nutzen – Besser wäre eine gezieltere Förderung, beispielsweise von Kindern mit Sprachförderbedarf

Kinder, die im Alter ab drei Jahren bis zur Einschulung nicht in eine Kindertageseinrichtung gehen, kommen – anders, als vor allem BefürworterInnen einer Kita-Pflicht häufig annehmen – keinesfalls nur aus sozioökonomisch benachteiligten Haushalten. Zwar haben Nicht-Kita-Kinder – im Altersbereich von drei bis sechs Jahren handelt es sich um sechs Prozent aller Kinder – tatsächlich häufiger einen Migrationshintergrund und kommen eher aus Haushalten, die in die untere Hälfte der Einkommensverteilung fallen. Das trifft aber längst nicht auf alle Kinder zu, wie eine aktuelle Studie des Deutschen Instituts für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW Berlin) zeigt. Demnach gibt es über alle Einkommens- und Bildungsgruppen hinweg Familien, die ihr Kind nicht in einer Kita betreuen lassen.

Frau Spieß, Sie haben sich in einer Studie mit Kindern auseinandergesetzt, die nicht in eine Kita gehen. Was ist der Fokus Ihrer Untersuchung?

Es geht dabei um die Kinder im sogenannten Kindergartenalter, also im Alter von drei Jahren bis zum Schuleintritt, und die Frage, welche Kinder heutzutage keine Kindertageseinrichtung besuchen. Wir wissen aus der amtlichen Statistik, dass das sehr wenige Kinder sind. Lediglich sechs Prozent dieser Altersgruppe besuchen keine Kindertageseinrichtung. Hintergrund unserer Untersuchung war, dass in Deutschland immer wieder darüber diskutiert wird, ob wir eine Kita-Pflicht brauchen, also eine Pflicht, dass auch noch die letzten sechs Prozent eine Kita besuchen. Allerdings hatten wir bisher kaum systematische, detaillierte und neuere Erkenntnisse darüber, wer eigentlich diese sechs Prozent sind. [...]

Das Interview mit C. Katharina Spiess wurde im DIW Wochenbericht 19/2018 veröffentlicht. Hier gibt es das Interview als PDF-Dokument und als Podcast.

Am 2. Mai hat Haushaltskommissar Günther Oettinger die Vorstellungen der Europäischen Kommission für den Mehrjährigen Finanzrahmen der Europäischen Union (EU) in den Jahren 2021 bis 2027 vorgelegt. Dies ist das erste Zahlenwerk für eine Zeit nach dem Ausscheiden des Nettozahlers Großbritannien. Es ist zudem die erste Planung für eine Periode, in der sich die EU internationalen Herausforderungen stellen muss, bei denen es nicht nur um eine gemeinsame Handelspolitik in Zeiten zunehmenden Protektionismus geht, sondern auch um eine gemeinsame Sicherheitspolitik vor dem Hintergrund zunehmender militärischer Konflikte und um eine gemeinsame Migrationspolitik angesichts vermehrt auftretender wirtschaftlicher und humaner Katastrophen. Und es ist der erste Finanzrahmen für eine Zeit, in der dringend notwendige Reformen – insbesondere für den Euroraum – umgesetzt werden müssen, auch um endlich anderthalb Jahrzehnte nach Ausbruch der Staatsschuldenkrise mit dieser abschließen zu können. Kurz: Es geht um nicht mehr, als die EU zukunftsgerichtet aufzustellen. [...]

Der vollständige Kommentar von Kristina van Deuverden aus dem DIW Wochenbericht 19/2018

Ende April verstarb Wolfgang Zapf kurz nach seinem 81. Geburtstag. Die Längsschnittstudie SOEP verliert einen langjährigen Förderer und stets verlässlicher Unterstützer.

Wolfgang Zapf hat das SOEP in den frühen 80er Jahren gemeinsam mit seinen Kolleginnen und Kollegen aus der Soziologie und Ökonomie aus der Taufe gehoben und auf dessen Messkonzepte nachhaltig eingewirkt. Wolfgang Zapf prägte mit dem von ihm propagierten Lebensqualitätskonzept ganz wesentlich die Inhalte der Langzeitstudie SOEP. Nach dem Weggang von Hans-Jürgen Krupp im Jahr 1988 aus dem DIW Berlin stand Wolfgang Zapf wie selbstverständlich für rund ein Jahr -  trotz seiner vielfältigen Verpflichtungen als Präsident des WZB - als wissenschaftlicher Interimsleiter solidarisch hinter der am DIW angesiedelten damaligen SOEP-Projektgruppe. Als langjähriges SOEP-Beiratsmitglied konnten wir stets auf seinen Rat und Expertise zählen.

Zusammenfassung:

Von Renke Schmacker

Hoher Zuckerkonsum wird mit Adipositas, Diabetes Typ II und Herz-Kreislauf-Erkrankungen in Verbindung gebracht. Viele Menschen leiden an diesen Krankheiten, die hohe Kosten für die Gesundheitssysteme verursachen. Daher wird immer häufiger die Forderung nach einer Zuckersteuer laut, auch in Deutschland. Einige Länder haben bereits eine Steuer auf zuckerhaltige Getränke eingeführt und daraus lassen sich einige Lehren ziehen. Der Konsum der besteuerten Getränke ging in den betroffenen Ländern merklich zurück, jedoch wurde teilweise auf andere ungesunde Produkte ausgewichen – sogenannte Substitutionseffekte. Die Tatsache, dass eine solche Steuer niedrige Einkommen proportional stärker belastet als hohe, wiegt weniger schwer, wenn man progressive Gesundheitseffekte berücksichtigt. Insgesamt scheint eine proportionale Steuer auf den Zuckergehalt gut geeignet, da sie den Produzenten Anreize gibt, den Zuckergehalt in ihren Produkten zu reduzieren.

In Tunisia, Morocco and other North African countries, en¬vironmental problems increasingly lead to political protest. Industrial pollution and a lack of clean drinking water adversely impact the living conditions and income op¬portunities of already marginalised groups and trigger unrest. Environmental governance in the region is often highly centralised, and takes no consideration of the needs of the citizens in the use of natural resources. In a political context that remains unstable following the 2011 uprisings, the double challenge of mounting environmental problems and related social unrest calls for new approaches. Reinforcing accountable environmental governance could help, not only by addressing environmental problems and needs, but by contributing to the overall transformation of societal relationships towards more democratic (i.e. transparent, accountable and participative) governance in the longer term.
Access to environmental information plays a crucial role in this regard: only if citizens know about availability, quality and use of natural resources, can they make informed choices and claim their rights. When public institutions address these rights, they can increase sustainable wealth for present and future generations. Institutions charged with strengthening accountability can also include citizens in their monitoring exercises, and help to hold public and private actors legally responsible for their decisions and behaviour. Related international standards can inform such reforms: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Rio Declaration and the Aarhus Convention confirm the importance of access to environmental information. At national levels, environmental charters and Morocco’s and Tunisia’s new constitutions stress the need for participatory and accountable governance.
As recent assessments in Morocco and Tunisia reveal, governments and development partners can support access to environmental information and thereby accountable governance.
First, they can do this by strengthening accountable environmental governance and access to environmental information across sectors. This includes engaging democratic institutions in environmental issues and building up related capacities and know-how, supporting accountability organisations and rules, and improving citizens’ and the administrations’ understanding of new rights. It also entails empowering communities and forging new cross-sectoral coalitions, besides integrating the countries into international initiatives for accountable governance.
Second, governments and development cooperation can support accountability in the environmental sector, including by taking advantage of international initiatives, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Climate mitigation and adaptation policies also provide opportunities for strengthening accountable environmental governance. Moreover, policy-makers need to be more aware of the links between environmental governance and its potential impact on human rights and political stability. Access to environmental information, related legal frameworks and institutional capacities also need further backing, including support to articulate related claims. Finally, comprehensive and transparent environmental and social impact assessments of public and private projects, and engaging protest movements in constructive dialogues with the administration and the private sector can help in preventing and addressing related social unrest.

Migration was an important issue at the November African Union (AU)-European Union (EU) summit. While the tone of discussion was somewhat improved on that of recent years, divisions between the two continents remain great. Europe and Africa still have fundamentally different positions in relation to migration, with the EU and many European member states prioritising prevention and return, while African governments focus more on remittances and legal migration opportunities. However, Europe’s current approach does not acknowledge these differing interests and instead seeks to impose its own agenda in ways that threaten to undermine important African ambitions.
In recent years, the EU has launched initiatives aimed at curbing migration from Africa that have caused significant controversy, notably the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF) and the Migration Partnership Framework (MPF). These initiatives suffer from a number of weaknesses. The EUTF is based on the flawed premise that development assistance can prevent migration. It diverts aid to migration goals, and its projects often do not comply with development principles such as transparency, ownership and alignment. Meanwhile, the MPF seeks to use positive and negative incentives across a range of external action areas to encourage partners to cooperate with the EU’s migration goals – primarily on prevention and return. So far, results have been limited and it has soured relations with some partner countries.
The case of Ethiopia illustrates the limitations of the EU’s current approach. The country is an important regional player on migration and refugee issues and has been largely constructive in multilateral migration processes, such as Khartoum and Valetta. While Ethiopia is an MPF priority country and a recipient of large amounts of EUTF funding, the goals of the EU and Ethiopia on migration have not been aligned. The EU is frustrated that Ethiopia has not cooperated on returns, while Ethiopia is disappointed that the EU has offered little in terms of legal migration and that EUTF funding has led to multiple, uncoordinated projects that are disconnected from local priorities and are implemented by outsiders.
It is clear that the EU needs to change its approach to migration in Africa, beginning with the recognition that Europe will need African migration in years to come. The EU should explore how Africa and Europe can work together to foster intra-African movement that supports Africa’s economic growth, to ensure protection for refugees and vulnerable migrants, and to allow both continents to benefit from safe and orderly African labour migration to Europe. It should also move from attempting to address “root causes” of migration with short-term development funds, to examining how Europe could readjust its trade and investment policy in Africa to create more decent jobs and opportunities. Importantly, the EU must continue to press African governments to live up to their responsibilities to provide a decent life for citizens so they do not have to migrate in such large numbers and insecure circumstances.
Critically, the EU must be honest about conflicting interests and positions among its own member states and work towards effective common migration and asylum systems. However, such a change in approach requires European leaders to shift the current political discourse around migration to a more constructive one.

Amelie Schiprowski, who is a member of the DIW Graduate Center, has successfully defended her dissertation at the University of Potsdam.

The dissertation with the title "Four Empirical Essays on the Economics of Job Search" was supervised by Prof. Dr. Marco Caliendo (University of Potsdam) and Prof. Dr. Peter Haan (DIW Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin).

We congratulate Amelie on her success and wish her all the best for her future career!

Nils May, who works at the department of Climate Policy, has successfully defended his dissertation at the Technische Universität Berlin.

The dissertation with the title "The Economics of Financing and Integrating Renewable Energies" was supervised by Prof. Karsten Neuhoff, Ph.D. (DIW Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin) and Prof. Dr. Rolf Wüstenhagen (University of St.Gallen).

We congratulate Nils on his success and wish him all the best for his future career!

Wie viel Umverteilung Bürgerinnen und Bürger in der Gesellschaft möchten, hängt von sozioökonomischen Faktoren und ihren Ansichten über Gerechtigkeit ab. Diese Studie, basierend auf einer in Schweden durchgeführten, repräsentativen Umfrage, bestätigt frühere Ergebnisse: Demnach nimmt der Wunsch nach Umverteilung mit steigendem Einkommen ab, bevorzugen Frauen im Durchschnitt mehr Umverteilung als Männer, und wünschen ältere Menschen sich mehr Umverteilung als jüngere. Ansichten zu Gerechtigkeit und Altruismus spielen ebenfalls eine Rolle. Die Studie zeigt zusätzlich und zum ersten Mal, dass auch individuelle Unterschiede in der Bereitschaft, Risiko einzugehen, mit Präferenzen für Umverteilung korrelieren. Menschen, die Risiko scheuen, wünschen sich demnach mehr Umverteilung als risikofreudigere Menschen. Die Ergebnisse helfen zu verstehen, welche Politik von welchen Bevölkerungsgruppen unterstützt wird.

Der vollständige Bericht von Manja Gärtner und Johanna Mollerstrom im DIW Wochenbericht 18/2018

Frau Gärtner, Sie haben untersucht, wovon es abhängt, ob Menschen der staatlichen Umverteilung eher positiv oder negativ gegenüberstehen. Intuitiv würde man annehmen, dass Wohlhabende und Vielverdiener, der Umverteilung eher ablehnend gegenüberstehen. Bestätigen das Ihre Ergebnisse?

Ja, Menschen die ein höheres Einkommen haben, wollen weniger Umverteilung. Das ist vielleicht keine Überraschung. Allerdings können wir zeigen, dass nicht nur Eigeninteresse eine Rolle spielt, sondern zum Beispiel auch Ideen von Gerechtigkeit. [...]

Das Interview mit Manja Gärtner wurde im DIW Wochenbericht 18/2018 veröffentlicht. Hier gibt es das Interview als PDF-Dokument und als Podcast

Die Große Koalition will das Rentenniveau bei 48 Prozent und den Beitragssatz dabei zugleich bei 20 Prozent fixieren – und prompt tobt mal wieder ein heftiger Streit um die Finanzierbarkeit der Rente. Der Regierungsvorschlag sei „unbezahlbar“ und führe zu Mehrkosten von geschätzt 125 Milliarden Euro im Jahr 2048, so eine kürzlich erschienene Studie. Um das aus Steuermitteln zu finanzieren, müsste beispielsweise die Mehrwertsteuer auf 26 Prozent angehoben werden. Schreck! [...]

Der vollständige Kommentar von Johannes Geyer aus dem DIW Wochenbericht 18/2018

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IPI Senior Visiting Fellow Alexandra Novosseloff told an IPI policy forum that aviation assets, the United Nations’ second biggest expenditure after personnel, were chronically shortchanged in mission planning, making them the “Achilles heel” of UN peacekeeping. “Ultimately it’s not UN rules that are the problem, it’s the persistent lack of needed assets and capabilities combined with the reluctance to use them that causes problems,” said Dr. Novosseloff, author of an IPI report on how UN missions’ air assets are organized, generated, managed, tasked, controlled, and commanded.

“As these expensive assets are scarce, relative to the large size of the territories covered, and often lack all the required capabilities, there is a chronic shortage of military air assets and, in particular, helicopters, in peacekeeping operations,” she said. “The financial pressure has already led some missions to further ‘rationalize’–meaning ‘reduce’–the use of their air assets, and the effect is that missions are less mobile and more constrained.”

She spoke at a May 1st IPI policy forum to launch the report, co-sponsored by the Permanent Missions of Bangladesh and Norway to the UN. Tareq Md. Ariful Islam, Bangladesh’s Deputy Permanent Representative, opened the meeting by noting the importance of aviation in gathering peacekeeping intelligence, protecting civilians, and assuring the security of peacekeepers. But, he added, “The deployment of air assets is fraught with a number of challenges, both practical and procedural.”

May-Elin Stener, the Deputy Permanent Representative of Norway, singled out three specific problems. She said that the Secretariat should play a greater role in matchmaking for multinational rotation contributions, that cost-saving decisions to travel over land rather than by air should be reconsidered, given the increasing number of attacks on patrols and logistical convoys, and that air threat assessments by UN missions ought to be strengthened and better aligned with the judgments of the troop-contributing countries (TCCs).

One reform Dr. Novosseloff suggested was using national or regional aviation capacity for logistical tasks through partnerships with national companies in addition to subcontracting to international companies who have less local knowledge. Arguing for a more efficient approach to making the assets more applicable to the task at hand, she cited a negative example. “Why equip helicopters with night vision when they are not allowed to fly at night by the host nation?” she asked. “Requirements should be more realistic regarding the capacities of contributing countries.”

Air Commodore Muhammad Mafidur Rahman of the Bangladesh Air Force suggested that troop contributing countries be included in the original preparation and drafting of mandates to improve operational coordination so that there is a “realistic” assessment beforehand of their ability to contribute assets. This would set a “more congenial” atmosphere and create needed “mutual trust and respect,” he said.

Gregory Pece, chief of the Air Transport Section, Logistics Support Division of the UN Department of Field Support (DFS), related that his challenge in enhancing the cost effectiveness and efficiency of UN aviation was not about “doing more with less or the same with less but doing less with less—this is the financial environment in which we live.”

He enumerated a series of cost saving measures to meet military requirements, determine the capabilities of aircraft, crew and equipment, and track the movement of people and cargo. Getting them approved and installed would depend in part on getting the most reliable data possible, he said. “We need to come up with consistent, presentable, clear modes of presenting data so we can look at utilization.”

Jorge Jackson, chief of air operations at the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), said air operations in Africa had improved in the five years he has been with UNMISS but that improvisation was always necessary given the state of infrastructure on the continent. “Aviation is an interesting tool, but aviation is not the problem solver,” he said. “We have to realize that what we see here from the headquarters, when you go to the ground, it is something else.”

Patrick Cammaert, a retired Dutch Major General with command experience in UN peacekeeping missions in Africa and Eastern Europe, told of past experiences where UN missions lacked the means to do the assigned job. “We all know that criteria for success for a peacekeeping mission is an achievable mandate and the resources to match,” he said.

IPI Vice President Adam Lupel moderated the discussion and in a concluding comment acknowledged that air assets for UN operations are too often “taken for granted. But,” he said, “if you dig a little bit below the surface–or above the surface as the case may be–you see that this is a topic with broad consequences, not just for UN peacekeeping, but for UN strategic effectiveness at large.”

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A broad-based mediation plan in South Sudan to try to forge peace after violence devastated the country between 2013 and 2015 unraveled in a year, plunging the country back into conflict. On April 30th, IPI and the Permanent Mission of Finland to the United Nations held a policy forum to discuss the subject and launch a new report A Poisoned Well: Lessons in Mediation from South Sudan’s Troubled Peace Process that assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the mediation architecture and the role played by the individuals and institutions that tried with little success to put it in place.

Reviewing the lapsed process, Jouni Laaksonen, the Deputy Permanent Representative of Finland, said his country put a high premium on making it more inclusive. “The inclusive approach to peacebuilding is necessary for the achievement of permanent results, and sustaining peace requires the involvement of all actors, from different parts of society,” he said.

The report focused on the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the eight-nation bloc of African countries that led the mediation effort, along with other national and international actors. This network of regional interests, while welcome in principle, frequently broke down in practice, said the author of the report, Zach Vertin, Visiting Lecturer at Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

“Mediators were not sufficiently empowered by their own bosses,” he said, “so when the process stalled, which was often, it would require the heads of state from the entire region to convene. This ate up huge amounts of time and resources and slowed the process at critical moments. Now this sustained commitment from high-level actors was important in a theoretical sense but at the same time had effectively undercut the mediators in the eyes of the parties.”

Two other critical roadblocks, Mr. Vertin said, were a failure to achieve consensus on the scope and nature of the problem and an absence of political will among the various sides in the struggle. He explained, “The parties themselves and South Sudan’s warring combatants not only lacked the will to make peace, there were often a number of them very hostile to the very idea of a negotiated settlement.” He said it raised the question of “how do outside actors compel a mediated resolution of a conflict between two parties bent on war?”

One specific failure he identified was not imposing an arms embargo on the fighters, in effect fueling more violence at the same time that peacemakers were trying to quell it.

Mr. Vertin spent the years 2013 to 2016 in South Sudan and Sudan, both as a US diplomat and an adviser to IGAD, and he said the experience left him pondering a larger question. “Is there a formula that couples regional players and their comparative advantage with other mediation expertise?”

Jok Madut Jok, Executive Director of The Sudd Institute and a resident of South Sudan, wondered if putting so much authority in the hands of outsiders and experts didn’t end up producing a “peace agreement, but no peace and stability in the real lives of people.” He also questioned how effectively they prioritized the needs of the local people over their own national ambitions.

He asked, “How can regional leaders who are mediating the situation in South Sudan be prevented from looking at South Sudan purely from the point of view of their own view, political interests? …How is it going to be possible to prevent them from only looking at the conflict from the point of view of how it affects them, and not necessarily from the perspective of what the South Sudanese need that peace agreement to look like?”

He added that he was skeptical of the value of global engagement in general in South Sudan because too often the South Sudanese exploited international assistance and took no action on their own to resolve conflict, assured that “the outside world would always bail them out.”

François Grignon, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations team leader for South Sudan since 2011, said the mediation process there had exposed the weakness of too much reliance on “textbook” remedies rather than ones developed to suit the realities of the country. “Unless we succeed to adapt our instruments to have leverage on the actors of the violence,” he said, “we will continue to struggle with mediation or with the peace process, which will miss the point, because it follows textbooks, or because it follows templates, which…may not be necessarily relevant and efficient and effective in addressing the specifics of this situation.”

“So,” he said, “maybe there’s another way to do it–civil engagement, civil activity. South Sudanese are so divided that they are afraid of each other. That if they are ever going to have a say in who rules them, then rebuilding those ethnic relations across the board is going to be the only way they can actually speak about removing a president and installing a transitional government up to the time when you will have elections.”

IPI Research Fellow Sarah Taylor was the moderator.