2024 Theses Master's

How is the peace dimension of the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus implemented in Dadaab refugee camp complex and how could it be conceptualized to address protracted refugee situations?

Wassong, Johanna

The Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus was coined at the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016 as part of the ‘New Way of Working’ in an attempt to address the need for solutions to the increasingly complex and protracted nature of conflicts and crises. Frameworks have been developed that also address protracted refugee situations – such as the New York Declaration for Refugee and Migrants, including the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework and the subsequent Global Compact for Refugees.

This study will identify that the peace dimension of the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus is especially important for protracted refugee situations, given their specific vulnerabilities and challenges - such as encampment policies. Nonetheless, this study finds that there is a research and policy gap in the conceptualisation of the peace dimension. Using findings from semi-structured interviews and policy analysis, this study starts to address this gap. The findings focus on Dadaab refugee camp complex, as Kenya is one of the pilot countries for the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework, and there have been crucial developments in the policies towards socio-economic inclusion of refugees.

This study will argue that the peace dimension should be further disaggregated between ‘small peace’; localised peacebuilding and social cohesion, and ‘big Peace’; including diplomacy and security. Both approaches are useful, and a shift towards a human security framework can help link the two. Emphasising and incorporating ‘small p’ approaches encourages an effective ‘bottom-up’ peace process in Garissa. This study will not only start to grapple with the literature gap in conceptualising the ‘peace’ dimension, it also attempts to address challenges of the ‘Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus,’ including the strict linearity of the timeline of intervention, and the contradictions between peace and the humanitarian principles.