The Global Fragility Act (GFA), passed by Congress and signed into law in 2019, requires the State Department, USAID, and other agencies to put in place for the first time a comprehensive strategy to address state fragility, violent conflict, and extremism, relying on best practices that are key to more effective and integrated U.S. policy. In May, June, and July of 2020, the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) convened a series of consultations with experts to produce a report on the implementation of the GFA.
The report, Addressing Fragility in a Global Pandemic: Elements of a Successful U.S. Strategy, focuses on six key themes in the legislation, drawing on the expertise of leading peacebuilding and development experts to help generate practical solutions for advancing the GFA. It assesses the current global strategic environment for preventing internal conflicts and addresses how to promote local ownership and inclusion, ensure accountability, align U.S. activities across diplomacy and development, establish mechanisms for closer international coordination, and measure progress.
The report includes an essay from Dr. Paul Perrin, Director of Evidence and Learning at the Pulte Institute for Global Development and Associate Professor of the Practice within the Keough School of Global Affairs. Dr. Perrin was also a contributor to the Keough School's policy report, Principles and Methodologies for Strategic Monitoring in Fragile States, which summarizes key insights and recommendations from a virtual roundtable discussion with representatives from the US Department of State and Department of Defense, as well as the US Agency for International Development, which are leading the government’s implementation of the GFA.
You can read the full report and learn more about the project on the USIP website.