Donors and the peace-security-development nexus

In the budget request for humanitarian and development assistance to be disbursed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in 2020, the US government mentions as the USAID’s first goal “protect[ing] America’s security at home and abroad” (USAID, 2019). The document goes on to explain that this will be achieved by helping to secure the US border through stemming illicit human, drug, and money flows and by promoting accountable, citizen-responsive, and democratic governance in other countries, with the specific mention of Venezuela. These statements are a good example of the peace-security-development nexus, commonly also labelled as the “securitisation” of development, that has affected the discourse of most donors from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) over the last two decades, albeit to different degrees. This chapter outlines the historical context within which the peace-security-development nexus emerged, reviews academic literature on the topic, and highlights the main on-going relevant debates within first the academic and second the donor community. The chapter concludes by looking more closely at three issues likely to shape the peace-security-development debate in the future – the role of non-OECD donors, the rising support for populism, and the escalating climate crisis.