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111. El desarrollo económico local y la consolidación de la paz en contextos de ilegalidad

Author:
Gonzalo Vargas
Publication Date:
10-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centro Interdisciplinario de Estudios sobre Desarrollo (CIDER), Universidad de los Andes
Abstract:
Consolidar trayectorias de desarrollo económico local incluyente y sostenible en los munici-pios más afectados por el conflicto es una tarea crucial para consolidar la paz en Colombia. Sin embargo, sus economías alojan un amplio espectro de actividades ilegales que afectan la sa-lud y destruyen el ambiente. En algunos municipios dichas actividades tienen una importancia marginal, pero en otros son esenciales para la economía local. La literatura internacional reco-noce que uno de los retos de la consolidación de la paz es la persistencia de economías ilegales y ofrece algunos lineamientos generales de política para enfrentarlas, por ejemplo, la impor-tancia de promover trayectorias de desarrollo que generen empleo para la mano de obra menos calificada en las zonas donde prosperan economías ilegales. En Colombia se han propuesto en-foques adaptados al contexto local, los cuales no siempre han dado frutos. Sin embargo, para formular recomendaciones basadas en evidencia es necesaria una comprensión más detallada de la relación entre economías legales e ilegales y un análisis comparado de las economías loca-les que han transitado desde economías basadas en la violencia y la ilegalidad hacia economías locales incluyentes y sostenibles.
Topic:
Local, Peace, Economic Development, Sustainability, Legal Sector, and Municipalities
Political Geography:
Colombia

112. El desarrollo económico local y la consolidación de la paz en contextos de ilegalidad

Author:
Gonzalo Vargas
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centro Interdisciplinario de Estudios sobre Desarrollo (CIDER), Universidad de los Andes
Abstract:
Impulsar trayectorias de desarrollo económico local incluyente y sostenible en un contexto de posconflicto es una tarea tan necesaria como compleja. Necesaria porque para construir una paz duradera se requieren unas ciertas condiciones económicas (que se discuten más adelante en este documento). Y compleja porque, si bien esas trayectorias son imposibles en medio de la violencia e incertidumbre del conflicto armado, la terminación de las hostilidades deja al descubierto otras condiciones igualmente retadoras como la desigualdad, la exclusión y la corrupción en un contexto de globalización y cambio técnico acelerado. La terminación del conflicto armado tampoco desactiva las economías ilegales que, si bien pudieron crecer a su sombra, tienen el vigor para sobrevivir y florecer en tiempos de paz e incluso para colonizar al Estado (Kurtenbach & Rettberg 2018).
Topic:
Peacekeeping, Economic Growth, Local, Peace, Economic Development, and Territory
Political Geography:
Colombia

113. Desarrollo económico local en clave de género

Author:
Diana Gómez Correal and Javier Pineda
Publication Date:
10-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centro Interdisciplinario de Estudios sobre Desarrollo (CIDER), Universidad de los Andes
Abstract:
Es casi inexistente la literatura nacional e internacional que aborda el desarrollo económico local (DEL) desde una perspectiva de género de manera directa. Un elemento ausente en la literatura sobre DEL ha sido el establecimiento de un diálogo con el pensamiento feminista o con los estudios de género. No obstante, existe una amplia literatura sobre género que aborda múltiples aspectos del desarrollo, y una literatura académica y de movimientos sociales y experiencias de política pública, que tratan un sinnúmero de problemáticas que enfrentan las mujeres en su diario vivir. Esta literatura se caracteriza por partir de experiencias locales y de conocimientos situados.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Social Movement, Local, and Economic Development
Political Geography:
Colombia

114. Local Governance in Benin: A Guarantee of Sustainable Development?

Author:
Romaric Samson and Richard Houessou
Publication Date:
03-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Afrobarometer
Abstract:
Faced with the disappointing performance of centralized systems, many African states opted for decentralization in the 1990s in a bid to ensure that their citizens receive quality services (Anago, 2009). In theory, decentralization involves withdrawing some powers from the central state and transferring them to elected bodies at the local level. This introduced the concept of local governance, whose practical implementation supposes that all actors understand the institutional framework within which they function as well as their roles, responsibilities, and room for maneuver. In Benin, since the installation of the first communal and municipal councils in February 2003, decentralization has become one of the pillars of development, making better governance in local matters a fundamental element of the process. Municipal councils have taken on a number of responsibilities once left to the central state, such as maintaining local marketplaces and community hygiene, issuing bicycle licenses, and collecting some taxes. In order to manage and monitor financial resources allocated to local bodies, the central state established the Communal Development Support Fund (Fond d'Appui au Développement des Communes) in 2008. Despite good intentions and political decisions in favor of the decentralization process, good governance in our communities faces significant hurdles. Local populations express dissatisfaction with local councillors, and the transfer of powers and financial resources from the central state to local bodies is still not completely effective. Fifteen years after the first steps toward local governance in our municipalities, what lessons should be learned? How do Beninese citizens assess this governance process, and what roles do they play in its implementation? Has decentralization impacted the most vulnerable, i.e. the poorest? What are the interactions between local councillors and their constituents? Afrobarometer data from Benin make it possible to examine citizen perceptions of local governance. Our analyses reveal that popular assessments of local government performance are largely negative and haver worsened over time. We find a link between the level of popular trust in the municipal council and the perceived quality of local governance, as well as between communal development and perceptions of the local authority's activities.
Topic:
Development, Governance, Local, and Sustainability
Political Geography:
Africa and Benin

115. Countering Iraq’s Anti-Shelter Policy in the Islamic State Era

Author:
Lisa Davis
Publication Date:
03-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of International Affairs
Institution:
School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
Abstract:
Moments of catastrophe that destroy communities often provide opportunities to rebuild them to be more resilient to preexisting harms. The challenge lies in spotting and seizing those opportunities. With the re-takeover of Mosul and other cities formerly controlled by the Islamic State, the rapidly growing demand for shelter in Iraq continues unabated. Yet the dearth of supportive services in many affected communities continues. One obstacle is an Iraqi policy that effectively forbids local organizations from providing shelter. The potential solution lies in international allies partnering with local organizations in a new way: by supporting their policy initiatives. In Iraq, local activists know that changing the anti-shelter policy in a time of massive humanitarian crisis would broaden the safety net for women fleeing all forms of violence while also helping to dismantle long-term structural violence. This is the paradox of crisis. One local organization, the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI), is stepping up to meet the needs of survivors of gender-based violence by providing much-needed shelter, albeit clandestinely. Together with international partners, OWFI is challenging Iraq’s anti-shelter policy and creating the conditions for structural change.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Islamic State, Local, and Shelters
Political Geography:
Iraq and Middle East

116. Fear Triumphs: On the Nonparticipation of Eastern Jerusalem Arabs in Municipal Elections

Author:
David Koren
Publication Date:
11-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS)
Abstract:
Despite the desire of Arabs in eastern Jerusalem for greater integration in Israeli life, their fear of the Palestinian Authority and its agents kept them away from the polls in October. And while seeking pragmatic and constructive integration in Jerusalem, they still adhere to the Palestinian side of the identity axis. Once again, 38% of the capital city’s residents remain outside its political arena.
Topic:
Territorial Disputes, Minorities, Elections, Discrimination, Local, and Palestinian Authority
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and Jerusalem

117. Does More Choice Lead to Reduced Racially Polarized Voting? Assessing the Impact of Ranked-Choice Voting in Mayoral Elections

Author:
Jason McDaniel
Publication Date:
12-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
California Journal of Politics and Policy
Institution:
Institute of Governmental Studies, UC Berkeley
Abstract:
Politics in American cities is largely driven by racial group cleavages, and voting in urban elections is polarized along racial lines. Several cities have implemented a relatively new reform to urban elections called ranked-choice voting (RCV), which eliminates the plurality run-off election by giving voters the option to rank-order several vote preferences. This article examines whether the expanded preference choices associated with ranked-choice voting reduce the level of racially polarized voting in mayoral elections. In the first stage of analysis, precinct-level election results from Oakland, CA, and San Francisco, CA, are used to explore variation in racially polarized voting before and after the implementation of RCV. The second stage of analysis uses a difference-in-differences design to analyze racially polarized voting in RCV cities compared to non-RCV cities. The results indicate that racially polarized voting did not decrease due to the implementation of RCV. Rather, the results show that RCV contributed to higher levels of racially polarized voting between white and Asian voters.
Topic:
Politics, Governance, Elections, and Local
Political Geography:
United States and California

118. WHY DOES COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION AROUSE OUR INTEREST? AN APPROACH TO THE ORGANIZATIONAL MODES DEVELOPED BY RINGUELET SETTLEMENT NEIGHBORS DURING THEIR RELOCATION

Author:
Sofia Bernat
Publication Date:
12-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The New School Graduate Program in International Affairs
Abstract:
This first version of our essay is part of the doctoral dissertation “Socio-urban transformations and everyday life: relocation of Ringuelet’s settlement (2013-2017). Inhabiting (after) the flood”. Its aim is to analyze -from a qualitative and ethnographic perspective- a relocation process (in a settlement located in Ringuelet, La Plata, Argentina) to thoroughly understand the modes in which socio-urban transformations can modify structures of meanings and, thus, produce shared meanings as well as stressed meanings, as far as modes of inhabiting the territory are concerned. The neighborhood chosen is located on the banks of the El Gato stream and, after the flooding disaster which stroke the city of La Plata on April 2nd 2013, a relocation project began to take shape as it was deemed necessary to implement major hydraulic works at said site location so as to prevent another similar catastrophe from happening again. It should be emphasized that in this essay we will address the modes of organization and participation of the inhabitants of Ringuelet settlement before their move as we consider community intervention fundamental – though often disregarded – for implementing urban public policies as well as having a strong influence upon results; we also consider that processes are as important as products and that space appropriation depends, to a large extent, on this. Therefore, the question from which we start is: How do these neighbors participate in building their territories and commit themselves to belonging (or rather not to cease belonging) to the city? In the end, we will also explore the type of subject and the type of society we promote -and we long for- to constitute in such processes.
Topic:
Social Stratification, Urbanization, Local, and Settlements
Political Geography:
Argentina, South America, La Plata, and El Gato

119. Strengthening Stakeholder Participation In Decentralized Planning Systems In Ghana

Author:
Franklin Oduro and Paul Osei-Kuffour
Publication Date:
02-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Ghana Center for Democratic Development
Abstract:
A major feature of Ghana's decentralization and devolution process is the increased involvement of local communities, the citizenry, either by themselves as individuals or through association, such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs), peoples' organizations (POs), civil society organizations (CSOs), the private sector, businesses, among others. Indeed, the design of Ghana's decentralization program, with associated structures, such as the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), and the prescribed mode of functioning, present various opportunities for popular participation.
Topic:
Civil Society, Democracy, Citizenship, NGOs, and Local
Political Geography:
Africa and Ghana

120. A Tale of Diversity, Disparity, and Discrimination: The State of Racial Justice for Asian American Chicagoans

Author:
William Scarborough, Amanda E. Lewis, and Ivan Arenas
Publication Date:
04-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy (IRRPP), University of Illinois at Chicago
Abstract:
Relatively little attention has been directed to documenting the experiences of racial discrimination and inequities for Asian Americans in Chicago. In this report, we examine the state of racial justice for Asian Americans in Chicago. The data in this report illustrate the diverse and often divergent experiences of Asian Chicagoans who have to navigate the complexity and contradiction of model minority and forever foreigner stereotypes. Asian Americans are both imagined as hard working and high achieving, and at the same time are often treated as permanent outsiders. A central finding of this report is that while diversity is a defining characteristic of this pan-ethnic group, racial inequities affect the opportunities and life experiences of all Asian American Chicagoans.
Topic:
Race, Minorities, Discrimination, and Local
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America