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The Fragmentation of Aid pp 247–260Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

The United Nations in Development: Confronting Fragmentation?

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Part of the book series: Rethinking International Development series ((RID))

Abstract

Quantitative measures of the United Nations’ engagement in development point toward a complex web of entities with many small interventions. The historical legacy of functionalism, a decentralized funding mechanism relying on earmarked funding, as well as incoherent governance by member states are main drivers of fragmentation. Common measures of the extent of fragmentation favour particular roles and activities that do not necessarily correspond to the multifaceted UN interventions centred on capacity building and policy advice. Whilst initiatives such as ‘Delivering as One’ have made some progress to curb fragmentation, there are concerns a fragmentation-centred reform agenda may not be sufficiently future-oriented. The paper suggests that the sustainable development agenda will be a fundamental impulse for change within the UN Development System, including for the fragmentation debate.

The views expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations and/or the United Nations Joint Inspection Unit. No unpublished or proprietary material of the United Nations was used for this paper.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geneva, Switzerland

    Timo Mahn

Authors
  1. Timo Mahn
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE), Bonn, Germany

    Stephan Klingebiel

  2. German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik, Bonn, Germany

    Timo Mahn

  3. The World Bank German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE), Bonn, USA

    Mario Negre

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Mahn, T. (2016). The United Nations in Development: Confronting Fragmentation?. In: Klingebiel, S., Mahn, T., Negre, M. (eds) The Fragmentation of Aid. Rethinking International Development series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-55357-7_17

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