Giving Compass' Take:

• Brookings discusses recent U.S. policy that attempts to address states on the verge of falling into violence and extremism, with an emphasis on engaging local actors.

• What can funders in the international aid sector do to help build resilience for fragile states? Which programs have shown the most impact on preventing violence?

• Here's why education is a good thing to prioritize in this area.

On November 27, the House of Representatives passed the Global Fragility and Violence Reduction Act of 2018 (H.R. 5273) and brought the United States a step closer to a more focused, high-level policy response to address violence and instability in the world’s toughest places.

The creation of a targeted, rational U.S. approach to fragility rests on the fulfillment of three initiatives. First is the implementation of the administration’s Stabilization Assistance Review and National Security Strategy, both of which recognize the critical importance of addressing conflict and fragility. Second is the expected report in February 2019 of the Task Force on Extremism in Fragile States. The Task Force was requested by Congress and convened by the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP). Third is to advance H.R. 5273, which passed the House with strong bipartisan and leadership support.

The stabilization assistance and national security reviews are high-level policy statements still to be translated into specific implementation policies and programs. More detailed recommendations can be found in both the specific language of the bill and in the Task Force interim report. A helpful summary of the Task Force’s insights so far appears in a December 4 op-ed in “The Hill” by the task force’s co-chairs, former Representative Lee Hamilton and former Governor Tom Kean.

Read the full article about closing in on a coherent approach to fragility by George Ingram at Brookings.