tl;dr: Without genuine empowerment and meaningful local ownership, the promising concept of the Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) nexus risks becoming a façade that reinforces entrenched structures rather than catalysing the transformative change urgently needed in an era of diminishing resources.

In the current context of drastic changes in the international cooperation architecture, it is important for my development colleagues to draw inspiration from transformative initiatives in adjacent sectors in order to increase the impact of the now reduced resources available. The Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) nexus can, in my humble opinion, serve as an inspiration to embark on a path of truly transformative work in this regard.

Coming across an article entitled The Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus - a Compelling Way Forward for Fragile Contexts on the website of a German government-funded evaluation institute, written by a senior government official responsible for development cooperation, one might at first feel encouraged.

A closer look, however, calls for caution. Behind promising headlines, there is often a familiar pattern: a strong emphasis on harmonising government policies; technocratic language, in this case about “improving joint analysis and coordinated planning”; and a new structure established within the vast UN network, a Nexus Academy, now apparently integrated into the Crisis Academy, and the key word “synergies”, with examples of rather heavy coordination mechanisms, such as “joint programming with UN agencies and cooperation in Team Europe Initiatives at the European level”.

So-called ‘local structures’, which are crucial for the real impact of the nexus, are mentioned only once in passing.

I question whether sufficient thought and commitment has really been given to the credible and sustainable empowerment of local actors to promote genuine local ownership - essential for successful HDP nexus work.

Without this focus, the HDP nexus runs the risk of becoming a façade that reinforces existing structures (which may even grow as a result of this coordination impetus) rather than transforming them, which would ultimately cause a valuable and necessary concept to disintegrate under the weight of entrenched interests. #FutureOfCooperation