The Global Institute for Strategic Research (GISR) is a multidisciplinary think tank

The label and language of state fragility has become a prominent feature of contemporary international development assistance and multilateral interventions. This paper will provide an overview of the different elements that have gone into the concept of fragility, its meaning, use, and measurement. There are three key points for reflection on the future use of a fragility framework for policy-making and programming: it should be nuanced, context-specific, and not overgeneralized.

While peace agreements are frequently symbolized by handshakes, their implementation and the broader goal of sustaining peace present formidable challenges. Despite the extensive efforts and substantial time invested in negotiations, violence often persists, and peace agreements routinely struggle to be put into action. In these contexts, sustaining peace can seem remote and, at times, insurmountable. This White Paper, associated with this summary by the Global Institute for Strategic Research (GISR) in Qatar, critically examines the reasons why peace agreements falter and explores the role of design, capacity, and political will. It highlights the importance of understanding the wider environments that characterize and shape peace processes and reflects on implementation mechanisms and wider cross- cutting issue areas, where promising practices are evolving to address the shifting landscapes of peace agreement implementation, its aftermath and sustainability.

Arab countries have made great progress in planning large hydrogen projects. The last meeting of the UN Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP27) in Egypt and the preparation of the coming one in Abu Dhabi (COP28) have had a highly stimulating effect: Egypt is now ranked as the largest destination for foreign direct investment in hydrogen mega projects, and Abu Dhabi has tripled its plans in the field of renewable energy in the run-up to COP28. The planned hydrogen projects in Arab countries have reached a volume comparable to those in OECD countries. Qatar is moving in a somewhat different direction as it concentrates on prolonging its success with LNG exports.