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2121. International Law under Pressure: Continued relevance in times of hardship

Author:
Katja Creutz
Publication Date:
09-2016
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA)
Abstract:
The present international political environment is marked by multiple crises, which all have a bearing upon how international law is perceived. Whether one refers to the conflict in Ukraine or to the refugee crisis confronting Europe, there is a widespread sentiment that such events embody a crisis of international law more broadly. This is not just because states have violated their international commitments or been unable to live up to them. A deeper discontent with the international legal system seems to be increasingly prevalent among Western states as well, making international law more of an inconvenience for states than a tool for cooperation. This analysis studies challenging developments vis-à-vis the international legal order and the merits of criticism directed against it by national policymakers. Two main criticisms that have been levelled against international law will be looked into: 1) the law’s inability to take account of national interests; and 2) the law’s inability to reflect new realities. The exploration of these claims and international law’s capability to respond to these concerns will inform the final discussion on whether international law is in a real crisis or not. The analysis will conclude with the finding that the main problems are to be found outside of international law itself; holders of political power should not treat international law as a nuisance, but should manifest their continued commitment to it by operating within the realm of the law and by making use of the tools provided by it in order to deal with contemporary concerns. If states choose to act outside of the law, it will not only undermine international law’s authority, it will also increase uncertainty in international relations.
Topic:
Human Rights, International Law, United Nations, Governance, and Multilateralism
Political Geography:
Europe

2122. National Political Dialogue Handbook

Author:
Public International Law Policy Group
Publication Date:
02-2015
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Public International Law Policy Group
Abstract:
Over the past three decades, states emerging from internal conflict have increasingly turned to national political dialogues (NPDs) to achieve durable peace and comprehensive political settlements. NPDs are inclusive and participatory mechanisms for political and social stakeholders to negotiate political transitions. NPDs take various forms because every state, conflict, and peace process involves a unique set of circumstances. NPDs may differ in their mandate, size, level of inclusiveness, and role(s) within a state’s broader political transition. Numerous states around the world have conducted NPDs in various forms, including: Guatemala, East Timor, Nepal, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Niger, Mali, Kenya, Rwanda, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Yemen. Once parties to a conflict have made a commitment to peace, they often agree to resolve the outstanding issues of the political transition through a participatory dialogue process. The design and preparation of a NPD is the crucial first step to carrying out this process. Though the design of a state’s dialogue will differ according to the particular context of a particular state, the most successful dialogues share several key features and objectives, including a strong mandate with well-defined goals, inclusive and participatory processes that are jointly- owned by all major stakeholders, and public buy-in and acceptance of the dialogue process. The most effective way to ensure that a NPD fulfills these characteristics of a successful dialogue is through careful preparation and design. This Handbook explores the various aspects of planning for and carrying out a successful national political dialogue as part of a broader peace process and political settlement effort. Planning a NPD involves focusing on key elements and considerations for during the preparatory stages of a NPD, such as establishing dialogue guarantees, forming a preparatory committee, setting an agenda for discussions, selecting participants, establishing a governance structure, and engaging in public outreach. Conducting a NPD involves key elements of carrying out the dialogue discussions, including the structure of the talks and division of work, seeking support from international actors, managing dialogue logistics, administering internal governance structures, encouraging internal decision- making and consensus building, and finalizing outcomes and recommendations. The Handbook addresses each of these elements to help practitioners design and carry out a dialogue that can lead to the implementation of meaningful outcomes.
Topic:
Governance, Domestic Politics, Peace, and Transition
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Kenya, Africa, Iraq, Middle East, Asia, Yemen, Democratic Republic of the Congo, South America, Nepal, Rwanda, Guatemala, Mali, Niger, and East Timor

2123. How can developing cities provide better water to their residents?

Author:
Benjamin Edwards and Mohammad Hamze
Publication Date:
11-2015
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Urban Institute
Abstract:
The world’s urban population is projected to add 2.5 billion people by 2050, with nearly 90 percent of the increase concentrated in Asia and Africa. The provision of safe, clean drinking water in urban settings is a high priority for international development, and justifiably so. Drinking water that is protected from contamination improves health, education, and economic growth, yet roughly 150 million urban dwellers do not have access, with numbers on the rise. Fortunately, the problem has not gone unrecognized. An expansive body of work explores the causes of water market failures and the policy interventions national governments can use to mitigate them. This body of work, however, has paid less heed to local governments’ role in implementing those policies, a critical link in the chain of service provision.
Topic:
Development, Government, Water, and Cities
Political Geography:
Africa, Asia, and Global Focus

2124. A more comprehensive picture of local public spending in global health and education

Author:
Jameson Boex and Benjamin Edwards
Publication Date:
04-2015
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Urban Institute
Abstract:
As we approach this year’s deadline for achieving the UN’s Millennium Development Goals, the global development community is trying to decide how to make the new targets for 2030 more responsive and appropriate to local needs. An important piece of this debate concerns the role of local governments, and how local spending on public services such as health care and education could promote human welfare. A growing body of research explores this relationship, but so far the focus of most studies has been limited to spending by elected local governments, with the assumption that this type of local spending is the only type that matters. Yet many local entities responsible for service delivery in the developing world are not elected. Excluding resources provided directly by central government ministries or their local administrative arms ignores a rich and complicated story of how different levels of government interact to provide basic services.
Topic:
Development, Education, Government, and Health
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2125. How do urban migrants access land and services in African cities?

Author:
Luke Fuller
Publication Date:
06-2015
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Urban Institute
Abstract:
Africa is on the move. Cities across the continent are continuing to grow, shrink, and transform in response to the demographic and economic pressures that drive urban migration. By conservative estimates, every hour Dar es Salaam, Tanzania is growing by 47 people; Kinshasa, DR Congo by 53 people; and Lagos, Nigeria by 58. Today about 40 percent of Africans are city dwellers, and that number will rise to nearly 60 percent by 2050 as sub-Saharan cities swell with 800 million new residents. This tremendous shift in where people live represents a major opportunity to guide development, but it also raises important questions. In places where land is scarce and expensive, how do urban migrants find a foothold? What opportunities or anchors do people use to establish themselves in the city? How do they buy or rent land for their own use and welfare? And what does this mean for governments?
Topic:
Demographics, Urban, Cities, and Migrant Workers
Political Geography:
Africa

2126. How can we strengthen local government responses to displacement in Africa?

Author:
Caroline Smith and Luke Fuller
Publication Date:
06-2015
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Urban Institute
Abstract:
Of the world’s 10.5 million refugees, just one-third reside in camps. This figure turns on its head the common perception that refugees live in rural camp settings and begs the question: where are the other seven million refugees? The short answer is that many refugees and displaced peoples make their way to cities or other communities in pursuit of better opportunities for employment and education, to join existing ethnic or familial social networks, and to gain some level of security not available to them in settlements. However, host country policies designed to protect and support refugees often apply only to those residing in settlements, implicitly discouraging refugees from moving into urban areas. So if policies largely overlook the existence of urban refugees, how do governments, humanitarian agencies, civil society organizations, and others plan, implement, and coordinate efforts to ensure that this massive segment of the refugee population is cared for?
Topic:
Government, Refugees, and Displacement
Political Geography:
Africa

2127. What defines a “city”?

Author:
Ammar A. Malik and Julia Hagen
Publication Date:
10-2015
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Urban Institute
Abstract:
Readers love lists, especially city rankings. There are lists that rank the world’s leading cities of opportunity, the most sustainable cities, the bike-friendliest cities, the top shopping cities, and even the most competitive cities in the future. What they all share is an attempt to measure cities. But what defines a city? The answer isn’t as clear-cut as it seems. Every year, leading corporations fund the publication of an increasingly large number of benchmarking studies, which generate significant interest in the media. Even the UN has jumped on this bandwagon by adapting, for the first time, an urban goal within the Sustainable Development Goals framework. However, the basic question of what constitutes a city is often defined inconsistently across rankings. This could leave general-interest readers and policymakers, confused, or worse—misled.
Topic:
United Nations, Urbanization, Sustainable Development Goals, and Cities
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2128. Tunisia’s Volatile Transition to Democracy

Author:
Lauren Baker
Publication Date:
11-2015
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Project on Middle East Political Science (POMEPS)
Abstract:
On October 9, the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its work shepherding a peaceful transition of power. This accolade highlighted Tunisia’s success creating compromise and building coalition, while avoiding much of the violence and authoritarian backsliding of its neighbors. What lessons can be learned from its example, and what challenges still await this fledgling democracy? POMEPS Briefing 27 “Tunisia’s Volatile Transition to Democracy” brings together 20 essential articles published by the Project on Middle East Political Science and the Monkey Cage that illuminate this small but important state’s internal politics and regional impact. The National Dialogue came at a pivotal moment for the nascent Tunisian democracy. As trust in its first democratically elected government waned, the nation had to navigate the resignation of the Troika government, without following Egypt’s path to anti-Islamist authoritarianism. The parliamentary and presidential elections of 2014 marked a democratic milestone as the centrist Nidaa Tunis took over from Islamist Ennahda, then — to the frustration of some members in both parties — brought it into a coalition government. The contrast between the fate of Islamists in Tunisia and Egypt on one hand and Turkey on the other is marked. However, despite these notable achievements, the Tunisian democracy has failed to represent a significant portion of the population and overall confidence in the democratic process is slipping. Many of the revolutionaries who initially participated in the uprisings remain disenchanted with their options for representation. Meanwhile, citizens in the interior continue to struggle with staggering levels of unemployment, as elites work the outdated system to their advantage. Though it was the main motivator for the revolution, the economic situation in the country has made little progress. Citizens must also balance their desire for personal freedoms with the need for security, and recent terror attacks have done little to assuage these concerns.
Topic:
Democratization, International Affairs, and Popular Revolt
Political Geography:
Tunisia

2129. Turkey’s Democratic Struggles

Author:
POMEPS
Publication Date:
06-2015
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Project on Middle East Political Science (POMEPS)
Abstract:
Turkey Brief 26 Turkey’s Democratic Struggles POMEPS Briefing 26 — June 17, 2015 On June 7, Turkish voters denied a majority to the long-ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and pushed the Kurdish Democratic People’s Party (HDP) over the electoral threshold for the first time. A number of critical trends in Turkish politics came together in the June 2015 parliamentary election: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s authoritarian ambitions, Kurdish political evolution, an unpopular Syria policy and the stunning break between AKP and the Islamist Gulen movement. POMEPS Briefings 26 “Turkey’s Democratic Struggles” brings together more than a dozen essays published by the Project on Middle East Political Science and the Monkey Cage that help to make sense of the stakes and results of this crucial election.
Topic:
Democratization and Democracy
Political Geography:
Turkey

2130. The Long Road to Tehran: The Iran Nuclear Deal in Perspective

Author:
Bryan R. Gibson
Publication Date:
12-2015
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
LSE IDEAS
Abstract:
After nearly 20 months of near continuous negotiations, in 2015 Iran and the P5+1 reached a deal designed to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons capability in exchange for relief from the sanctions that have been crippling its economy over the course of the past decade. How was this momentous agreement reached? This Strategic Update traces the story of this major diplomatic breakthrough, through the historical context of long term US-Iran relations and the tireless international effort to prevent domestic political crises from derailing the negotiations.
Topic:
International Affairs and Nuclear Power
Political Geography:
Iran