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Global food security governance is fraught with fragmentation, overlap and complexity. While calls for coordination and coherence abound, establishing an inter-organizational order at this level seems to remain difficult. While the emphasis in the literature has so far been on the global level, we know less about dynamics of inter-organizational relations in food security governance at the country level, and empirical studies are lacking. It is this research gap the article seeks to address by posing the following research question: In how far does inter-organizational order develop in the organizational field of food security governance at the country level? Theoretically and conceptually, the article draws on sociological institutionalism, and on work on inter-organizational relations. Empirically, the article conducts an exploratory case study of the organizational field of food security governance in Côte d'Ivoire, building on a qualitative content analysis of organizational documents covering a period from 2003 to 2016 and semi-structured interviews with staff of international organizations from 2016. The article demonstrates that not all of the developments attributed to food security governance at the global level play out in the same way at the country level. Rather, in the case of Côte d'Ivoire there are signs for a certain degree of coherence between IOs in the field of food security governance and even for an – albeit limited – division of labour. However, this only holds for specific dimensions of the inter-organizational order and appears to be subject to continuous contestation and reinterpretation under the surface.

International organizations (IOs) are confronted with a twin challenge in areas of limited statehood (ALS). On the one hand, IOs are governmental organizations qua mandate. Their usual approach – providing a range of services to their members and working with or for a given state – may, however, either be blocked or prove unsustainable in ALS. On the other, ALS present numerous challenges to IO governance, ranging from insecurity to a lack of meta-governance. Yet, we know surprisingly little about how IOs operate in these contexts, and, in particular, which modes of governance they choose for which purposes. How can IOs attain the twin objectives of acting in accordance with their mandate, which gives primacy to governments, and responding to ALS-specific challenges in order to effectively provide food security? This paper addresses IOs' choice of distinct modes of governance, ranging from bargaining to persuasion. It investigates how different types of IOs use and combine these modes in light of varying ALS-challenges. The empirical observations presented in this paper stem from interviews with IOs (ECHO, FAO, IDB, WFP, and the World Bank) at the level of headquarters and country offices (in Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, Haiti, Niger, and Sierra Leone), as well as from organizational documents.

The continued lack of gender equality is an urgent global challenge. Against this backdrop, the German Federal Government announced in 2021 that it would include a feminist foreign policy in its coalition agreement. The aim of this policy is to strengthen the rights, representation and resources of women and marginalised groups and to promote the recognition of diversity. However, a feminist orientation in foreign and development policy meets with diverging views in political debate and provides cause for discussion in the (social) media. But what is the attitude of the general public? Aiming to answer this question, DEval examined public opinion on feminist development policy as part of its Opinion Monitor for Development Policy 2022. This Policy Brief summarises the results of the representative survey.

Human rights are a "guiding principle" and "quality criterion" of the work of Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). This strategy is based on a human rights-based approach (HRBA) that has been comprehensively assessed for the first time in this evaluation. The second part of the evaluation looks at the mainstreaming of human rights standards and principles in bilateral projects of German development cooperation and at the effectiveness of these efforts in partner countries in terms of human rights.

German development cooperation has set itself the goal of contributing worldwide to gender equality, the management of conflicts, and peaceful and inclusive societies. This evaluation examines the extent to which the processes of German bilateral official development cooperation are suited to the purpose of supporting gender equality in post-conflict contexts. To this end, alongside other types of data collection, case studies were conducted in Colombia, Liberia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The evaluation finds that the procedures for gender mainstreaming are essentially adequate for anchoring the promotion of gender equality in post-conflict contexts. However, in practice the methods and analytical tools are rarely used in a way that systematically anchors the gender-conflict nexus in the projects. This means that some of the potential for generating effects conducive to gender equality is being forfeited. The evaluation therefore develops concrete recommendations on how the BMZ's steering and the
work of the state implementing organisations can be improved, how the structures and processes of official development cooperation can be refined, and how the necessary knowledge and the relevant competence can be consolidated and strengthened.

In order to strengthen human rights in development cooperation (DC) partner countries, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has adopted a human rights-based approach that requires all bilateral DC projects to mainstream human rights standards and principles. DEval analysed how successfully do DC Projects implement these requirements in practice in the second part of the evaluation "Human Rights in German Development Policy". The analysis focussed on projects from the intervention area "Private sector and financial system development". This policy brief summarises the key findings of this evaluation.

Global supply chains - especially in the textile sector - face many social and environmental challenges to sustainability. The public has become increasingly aware of these challenges in the wake of disasters such as the fire in the Ali Enterprises textile factory in Pakistan in 2012 and the collapse of the Rana Plaza textile factory in Bangladesh in 2013. The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has stated its intention to promote fair and sustainable global textile supply chains. For this reason, the German Institute for Development Evaluation (DEval) examined the interaction between the instruments and measures deployed in German development cooperation (DC) to promote sustainable global supply chains in the textile sector. This policy brief presents key findings and recommendations of the evaluation.

German development cooperation is pursuing the objective of reducing negative social and environmental effects in global (textile) supply chains and thus, in the long term, contributing to designing them more sustainably. This evaluation examines, in particular, the interaction between various development cooperation instruments and measures to promote sustainable global supply chains in the textile sector.