Meet Paul
I grew up in Romania in the tumultous years after the fall of communism. As a child, the only way I could tell something big had changed was because cartoons became available on TV and people stopped using the word “comrade.” Talk of politics, economic reform, NATO, and the European Union was all over the news during the 1990s. Those late-night talk shows got me hooked on figuring out what was going on in the world.
So, I came to the U.S. to study first at Macalester College, and then at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. After graduate school, I joined the World Bank in 2010 to work on a conflict analysis of South Sudan. This was my first encounter with the concept of state fragility – and a way to think about why some countries succeed while others fail. Ever since, my work has focused on countries affected by fragility, conflict, and violence such as Rwanda, El Salvador, Mexico, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Sahel. I became particularly focused on bridging the gap between security and development as a way to diminish state fragility.
In 2017, I edited a book on public finance in the security sector which was published by the United Nations and the World Bank. My blogs, reports, and analyses have been published by the Brookings Institution, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the U.S. Institute for Peace, the EU Institute for Security Studies, and National Defense University in Washington, DC. I still love cartoons.
Some stuff I've written
Books and book chapters:
- Paul M. Bisca and Gary J. Milante. “Defense Institution Building: Insights from the Development Sector.” In Michael Miklaucic and Alexandra Kerr (eds). Effective, Legitimate, Secure: Insights for Defense Institution Building (Washington, DC: National Defense University, November 2017).
- Bernard Harborne, William Dorotinsky, and Paul M. Bisca (eds). Securing Development: Public Finance and the Security Sector (Washington, DC: World Bank, May 2017).
Reports, policy notes, commentary:
- Calin Trenkov-Wermuth and Paul M. Bisca. “Global Fragility Act: A Chance to Reshape International Security Assistance?” United States Institute of Peace (January 19, 2021).
- Rebekka Grun, Mira Saidi, and Paul M. Bisca. “Adapting Social Safety Net Operations to Insecurity in the Sahel.” Sahel Adaptive Social Protection Operational & Policy Note Series. Note 2. Washington, DC: World Bank, November 2020.
- Paul M. Bisca and Olivier Lavinal. “From Battlefields to Boardrooms: A Development Approach to Fighting Violent Extremism.” In Erol K. Yayboke and Sundar R. Ramanujam (eds.). Sharpening Our Efforts – The Role of International Development in Countering Violent Extremism (Washington, DC: Center for Strategic and International Studies, June 2019).
- Paul M. Bisca. “Can Peace Become Affordable? Lessons from Security Sector Expenditure Reviews in West Africa.” Policy Brief No.2 (Paris: European Union Institute for Security Studies, March 2019).
Blogs:
- Kristyna Bishop, Paul M. Bisca, and Aly Rahim. “Access denied? Managing security risks for development in fragile states.” World Bank Development for Peace Blog (June 12, 2020).
- Sophie Grumelard and Paul M. Bisca. “Can humanitarians, peacekeepers, and development agencies work together to fight epidemics?” World Bank Development for Peace Blog (April 24, 2020).
- Paul M. Bisca. “Do countries have immune systems? 5 lessons from fragile states to help fight the coronavirus.” Brookings Institution Future Development Blog (March 24, 2020).
- Paul M. Bisca and Rebekka Grun. “Higher Power to Deliver: The Overlooked Nexus between Religion and Development.” Brookings Institution Future Development Blog (February 25, 2020).
- Olivier Lavinal and Paul M. Bisca. “In fragile settings, good country outcomes require good foresight.” World Bank Development for Peace Blog (December 4, 2019).
- Paul M. Bisca and Paul Bance. “Can public works help fight Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo?” Brookings Institution Future Development Blog (July 31, 2019).
- Paul M. Bisca. “To End Poverty, Think Like a Spy.” Brookings Institution Future Development Blog (March 11, 2019).
- Paul M. Bisca. “Financing Stabilization: Achieving a Common Vision for Security and Development.” Official Medium account of the Paris Peace Forum (October 31, 2018).
- Paul M. Bisca. “Development for Security: Lending for Peace?” Brookings Institution Future Development Blog (April 20, 2018).
- Paul M. Bisca. “Stabilizing Iraq: A Job for Soldiers, Diplomats, and Economists.” Brookings Institution Future Development Blog (October 30, 2017).