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Abstract

The United Nations and its member states are currently engaged in extensive discussions about how best to support countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Recognizing the strong interrelationship between humanitarian, development, and peace efforts, they have increasingly emphasized the importance of working at the ‘triple nexus’ where these dimensions intersect. However, to date, there has been significant confusion over what the triple nexus means in both conceptual and practical terms and how this approach concretely contributes to progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. This paper attempts to address this gap. It proposes and schematically presents a conceptual framework that identifies the range of potential nexus relationships that actions can support, including the triple nexus, double nexuses, and nexus-sensitivity. It then illustrates what each of these types of actions looks like in practice, drawing on examples from Afghanistan. Based on the framework and practical examples, it explains how the triple nexus can be used to more effectively support the achievement of the 2030 Agenda, but also highlights the very real risks associated with a simplistic application of the approach. By bringing greater clarity to the critical interrelationship between humanitarian, development and peace issues in both theory and practice, and demonstrating the opportunities and challenges of the triple nexus approach, it is hoped that this paper will support broader efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, especially in countries affected by conflict.