Localisation Across the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus

Abstract

Whilst the relation between local and global levels has been a long-standing concern of humanitarian, development, and peace efforts, in recent years the term “localisation” has become a major issue in the humanitarian sector whilst peacebuilding scholarship has taken a “local turn.” This article analyses the concept of localisation across the three parts of the triple nexus—humanitarian, development, and peace. It traces the long-standing concern with the local in each of these domains, considering similarities and differences in their engagement with the local and counter-veiling trends towards universalisation, before proceeding to frame four challenges common to localisation across all forms of conflict response: defining the local, valuing local capacity, maintaining political will, and multi-scalar conflict response.