The “three D’s” of foreign policy — development, diplomacy and defense — haven’t always been on the same page, but they may be getting there.
Crises and disasters are complex, and the response efforts they demand are often equally complex, thrusting agencies and departments with very different mandates into close cooperation. The U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. Department of Defense, for example, operate in wildly different ways. But when disaster strikes, and a U.S. response has to mobilize, coordination between them is key.
That has worked better in some areas than others, Nancy Lindborg, president of the U.S. Institute of Peace, told Devex in this exclusive #ConflictinContext interview. Mutual understanding between USAID and the DOD has grown up over the last decade when it comes to natural disaster response efforts. The next step will be bringing that sense of cooperation and “common protocol” to the realm of conflict and fragile states.