From Protracted Conflict to Sustainable Peace? The Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus and International Law

Across the globe, the number of protracted armed conflicts is rising, with many societies enduring the consequences of violence and conflict-related socio-economic disruption for decades. These enduring conflicts present complex and evolving challenges—legal, (geo)political, institutional, humanitarian, developmental, and environmental—that demand new approaches.

In response, policy frameworks increasingly advocate for the so-called Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus (the 'Triple Nexus'), which seeks to bridge traditionally siloed agendas in favour of a more integrated response to protracted conflict. Yet, despite growing policy interest, the legal dimensions of protracted conflict and the implications of the Triple Nexus remain under-explored in international law.

From Protracted Conflict to Sustainable Peace? offers the first comprehensive legal and interdisciplinary examination of how international law engages with the realities of protracted conflict. Drawing on a wide range of legal fields—including international humanitarian law, development law, economic law, refugee law, human rights law, criminal law, and peacebuilding law—contributors explore how legal regimes interact, overlap, and at times conflict in these complex settings.

Through a conceptual framework and a series of thematic chapters, the volume addresses the lived impacts of protracted conflict, the role of international institutions and the challenges they face, and the potential of legal frameworks to respond to long-term crises. It provides scholars and practitioners with a vital resource for rethinking legal strategies in the face of enduring violence and for imagining pathways toward sustainable peace.

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Heike Krieger, Professor of Public Law and International Law, Freie Universität Berlin,Giedre Jokubauskaite, Senior Lecturer in International Law, University of Glasgow,Asli Ozcelik, Senior Lecturer in International Law, University of Glasgow,Andreas Buser, Senior Research Associate, Freie Universität Berlin

Heike Krieger is Professor of Public Law and International Law at Freie Universität Berlin. She was Chair of the DFG-funded research group 'The International Rule of Law - Rise or Decline?' and Principal Investigator of the AHRC-DFG-funded project on 'The Law of Protracted Conflicts'. She has held visiting professorships at the Centre for Transnational Legal Studies, London, and at the Universities of Macerata and Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. Professor Krieger is President of the German Society of International Law and a member of the DFG Senate. Her research focuses on general international law, international humanitarian law, and the protection of human rights.

Giedre Jokubauskaite is Senior Lecturer in International Law at the University of Glasgow. She has previously been a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Rosario (Bogotá, Colombia), a Research Fellow at the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law at the University of Cambridge, and a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Durham Law School. She was guest editor of a special issue on the Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) of the World Bank, published by the Leiden Journal of International Law. Her research includes case studies of development projects in Colombia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Asli Özçelik is Senior Lecturer in International Law at the University of Glasgow, where she co-directs the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master in International Law of Global Security, Peace and Development. She was also Co-Investigator of the AHRC-DFG-funded project on 'The Law of Protracted Conflicts'. Previously, she served as Postdoctoral Researcher and Academic Coordinator at the Glasgow Centre for International Law and Security. Her research focuses on international peace and security, with particular emphasis on armed conflict and peacemaking.

Andreas Buser is Senior Research Associate at Freie Universität Berlin and was Co-Investigator of the AHRC-DFG-funded project on 'The Law of Protracted Conflicts'. He has held fellowships with the Berlin Potsdam Research Group 'The International Rule of Law - Rise or Decline?' (funded by the German Research Foundation) and the Jean Monnet Center at New York University (Émile Noël Fellowship). His research interests include international economic law, international environmental law, international humanitarian law, human rights, and German constitutional law. Dr Buser is a fully qualified German lawyer.

1. Conceptualizing Protracted Conflicts and International Law, Andreas Buser, Giedre Jokubauskaite, Heike Krieger, and Asli OzcelikPart I. Protracted Conflicts and the 'Triple Nexus' in Perspective: Deconstructing Established Narratives2. The 'Triple Nexus' and the Risk Management of Conflict, Kathryn Greenman3. Peace or War? On the Logic of the 'Triple Nexus' from the Humanitarian Aid Perspective, Conrad Schetter and Janosch Prinz4. Gender, Protracted Conflicts, and the Triple Nexus: A Feminist Critique, Olga Jurasz, Moa Peldán, and Leena Vastapuu5. A Triple Nexus for Northern Central America? Protection, Development, and Peace under Protracted Criminal Violence, Pablo Kalmanovitz6. Tensions Between Local and International Narratives of Conflict: USAID Discourses on Liberal Peace in Colombia, Johanna del Pilar Cortés Nieto, Andrés Gómez-Rey, Rafael Alberto Tamayo-Álvarez, and Andrés Rodríguez-MoralesPart II. Drivers, Consequences, and Interdependencies of Protracted Conflicts7. International Law on Armed Conflict and Sustainable Food Security, Antonio Coco8. The Human Right to Health in Protracted Conflicts: Duties and Responsibilities to Cooperate towards Building a Democratically Controlled Health System, Amrei Müller9. A (Limited) Role of International Law in Tackling Environmental Degradation During Protracted Conflicts, Britta Sjöstedt10. Terrorism, Counter-Terrorism, and the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus, Ben Saul11. Refugees in Protracted Conflicts: The Lasting Legal Status of Multigenerational Palestinian Refugees, Mutaz M. Qafisheh and Jinan Bastaki12. Potential and Limits of International Law in Addressing Protracted Displacement in the Sahel, Sâ Benjamin TraoréPart III. Creating the Divide? (In)compatible Institutional Frameworks13. Aligning Humanitarian Principles with Peace and Development Objectives, Marc DuBois14. Overcoming Boundaries: Protracted Conflict, Inter-Institutional Cooperation, and the World Bank's Legal Constraints, Ansgar Münichsdorfer15. Inter-Institutional Cooperation, Limited Mandates, and Challenge to Functional Immunities of International Institutions, Héloïse Guichardaz16. The UN and Protracted Conflict, Martin WählischPart IV. Bridging the Divide: A Key Role for Human Rights?17. The Humanitarian-Peace-Development Nexus: What Role for Human Rights?, Andreas Buser18. Protracted Conflicts and the Right to Water, Sofie-Marie Terrey19. Rights-Based Approaches to Land in Protracted Conflicts, Daniëlla Dam de-Jong20. Indigenous Peoples' Land Rights and Peacemaking: The Minoritization of the Lumads in the Bangsamoro Peace Processes, Armi Beatriz E. Bayot21. Peace Agreements: A Foundation for Sustainable Peace and Development?, Amanda Cahill-Ripley22. The Challenging Imperative of Ending the War in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Pascal Sundi Mbambi, Patience Kabamba, and Abhisekh Rodricks23. Conclusion: Towards a Holistic Approach to Armed Conflict, Andreas Buser, Heike Krieger, and Asli Ozcelik