Timo C. Mahn Livres

How does aid coordination work within the United Nations, and how can it be improved? This study examines the role of resident coordinators – normally the UN’s highest ranking official on the ground – in forging coherence among the three dozen organisations that together form the UN development system. A functioning system of resident coordinators has been deemed key for the functioning of the UN development system overall. The proliferation of actors and the fragmentation of aid are important determinants for the organization of development cooperation, including for the UN development system. Against this background, the study considers the case for aid coordination within the United Nations, examines its institutional setup, historical evolution and differentiation over time. A particular focus concerns the United Nations Development Programme as manager of the resident coordinator system. The study offers relevant lessons on how to mandate, organize and manage aid coordination at the country-level.

The contribution and accountability of development cooperation for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda are not clearly delineated. Going forward, this paper therefore proposes a fundamental rethink of the “mutual accountability” principle towards collective and interlinked accountability.

„The United Nations Secretariat - Bureaucratic Authority in Peacekeeping and Humanitarian Affairs“ explores the capacity of the international bureaucracy of the United Nations Secretariat for bureaucratic authority. The theoretical framework conceptualizes bureaucratic authority along the three dimensions of expertise, rational-legal procedures, and moral appeal. It thereby draws from the classical conceptions by Max Weber, as well as more recent findings. Two empirical in-depths case studies frame the argument. The first addresses the Department for Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), the second the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The findings suggest that through their close involvement in the multilateral decision-making process, both DPKO and OCHA are able to bring to bear their significant informational, material as well as ideational resources. International bureaucracies like the UN Secretariat thus are not only in authority, but have to be seen as authorities in their own right as well.