Tracing the institutional barriers to the integration of the social protection and fragile states agendas within the World Bank

Abstract The share of the extreme poor living in fragile and conflict-affected situations is projected to rise above 50 per cent by 2030. There is consequently an acute need for poverty-reduction mechanisms such as social protection within these contexts, which requires the integration of the discourse and policies on fragility with those on social protection. This paper traces the development of the two agendas in the World Bank, through documentary analysis and 43 interviews with Bank staff. It explores the extent to which social protection is considered within the fragility agenda (and vice versa), to establish whether the building of social protection systems is included within the broader ambition of “state-building” and considers the barriers to further integration of these agendas. The paper concludes that interaction between them has been limited to date and highlights the Bank’s own institutional architecture as a barrier to a more integrated approach.