Conclusion

Peace beyond the Absence of War: Three Trends in the Study of Positive Peace

“…One other aspect of peace that is stressed by authors writing about sustaining peace is the idea that peace is not so much the result of deliberate policies or actions, but "emerges" out of a complex web of social interaction among a host of different actors [79]. This idea of peace as an "emergent phenomenon" is the second interesting reconceptualization now taking place [79,[85][86][87]. Drawing on complexity theory, authors working with this concept of peace suggest that peace is best thought of as a stable equilibrium in a complex system.…”

Challenges and strategies for implementers and evaluators working in conflict settings

“…that critical changes may happen rapidly or unexpectedly, as with a “tipping point”). The context may expose new behaviors that are difficult to predict, and actors (including participants, programmers, and evaluators) may adapt and change as the environment is changing or growing even more complex (Frelin, 2016).…”

“…Debates about study design best practices within the fields of international development and humanitarian response have arisen; randomized control trials, often seen to be a gold standard design (Phillips and De Wet, 2017), are not designed for areas of rapid change (Brusset et al, 2016;Stern et al, 2012), and the complexity of a conflict zone means it can be difficult to isolate specific effects to show a linear outcome from an intervention (Makan-Lakha, 2016). This is made even more complicated when accounting for cultural and logistical limitations that evaluators face in trying to collect data.…”

“…Though these guidelines call for a thorough examination of the context and triangulation of data sources, programs funded through these agencies tend to follow a linear style of evaluation, such as logic models (Makan-Lakha, 2016;OECD, 2012;USAID, 2021). While logic models are commonly used and are helpful for selecting indicators and thinking through theories of change (Brusset et al, 2016;Payton et al, 2022), they do not address the logistical or methodological challenges in these dynamic evaluation environments. Many gaps in humanitarian guidance exist, and there are inadequate resources available to address the challenges that evaluators face when working in conflict zones (Bakrania et al, 2021).…”

“…It is estimated that by 2030, two thirds of impoverished families will be located in conflict zones (Corral et al, 2020). Conflict zones-geographical areas with militarized and nonmilitarized violence, widespread political instability, and state-sanctioned intimidation and genocidal violence (Bush and Duggan, 2013)-are rife with logistical and methodological obstacles that impact implementation and evaluation of programs (Brusset et al, 2016;Duggan and Bush, 2014). Conflict zones are complex systems (Duggan and Bush, 2014;Phillips and De Wet, 2017;Ramalingam, 2013) where volatility, insecurity, and resource unpredictability make it difficult to implement humanitarian programs, assess the causality of one or multiple programs to outcome(s), or rely on fixed indicators (Duggan and Bush, 2014;Gates et al, 2021;Ridde et al, 2012).…”