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171. The Evolution of India's UID Program: Lessons Learned and Implications for Other Developing Countries

Author:
Frances Zelazny
Publication Date:
08-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
India has embarked on an ambitious new program to provide its citizens and residents a unique, official identity. The UID (Universal ID) program aims to improve the delivery of government services, reduce fraud and corruption, facilitate robust voting processes, and improve security. It is by far the largest application of biometric identification technology to date and will have far-reaching implications for other developing countries that are looking to adopt national ID programs to further social and economic development. This paper discusses the evolution of the UID program, the innovative organization and pathbreaking technology behind it, how it is being rolled out, and how robust ID is beginning to be used.
Topic:
Corruption, Crime, Democratization, Development, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
India

172. Cocaine Cities: Exploring the Relationship between Urban Processes and the Drug Trade in South America

Author:
Ignacio A. Navarro
Publication Date:
03-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
The relationship between the cocaine trade and urban land markets in South America has been overlooked by the mainstream economics and urban studies literature. This paper examines two avenues through which the cocaine trade can have a large impact on urban development in producer countries: (i) through an employment multiplier effect similar to that of other legal exports, and (ii) through money laundering using urban real estate. We test our hypotheses using the Bolivian case and find that urban growth patterns are closely related to fluctuations in cocaine production. Further, even though our estimates suggest that the cocaine trade affects urban growth through the two avenues presented in the paper, we find that formal urban employment generated by the cocaine trade has a modest effect on urban growth and most of the effect seems to be explained by money laundering using real estate and other paths.
Topic:
Corruption, Crime, Narcotics Trafficking, and Urbanization
Political Geography:
South America and Latin America

173. Analyzing Post-Conflict Justice and Islamic Law

Author:
Whitney Parker, Scott Worden, Shani Ross, and Sahar Azar
Publication Date:
03-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
Post-conflict justice mechanisms such as truth commissions, war crimes tribunals and reparations programs have emerged as a fundamental building block of durable peace settlements in Latin America, Africa and Asia. They are relatively rare, however, in Muslim countries recovering from conflict-despite the fact that social and criminal justice is a fundamental principle of Islamic law.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Crime, Islam, War, Law Enforcement, and Law
Political Geography:
Africa, Asia, Arabia, and Latin America

174. Reducing demand for illegal timber: Targeting corruption in customs and procurement

Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Transparency International
Abstract:
Corruption and illegal logging are well-known drivers of deforestation. In 2001 it was estimated that major timber exporting countries - Indonesia, Brazil and Cameroon - had an illegal logging rate of at least half of their total timber production. This illegal timber finds its way into the consumer markets, often unchecked or unidentified by timber importing countries and industries. As a result, it has been estimated that 20 per cent of wood-based products entering the EU are likely to be illegally sourced.
Topic:
Corruption, Crime, International Law, and Natural Resources
Political Geography:
Indonesia, Brazil, and Cameroon

175. Justice Beyond The Hague: Supporting the Prosecution of International Crimes in National Courts

Author:
David A. Kaye
Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
For nearly two decades, the United Nations has created international criminal tribunals to punish those responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Since the early 1990s the United States has strongly supported the UN tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia and hybrid UN/national courts for Sierra Leone and Cambodia. The era of court-building culminated in the 1998 adoption, over U.S. objections, of a treaty to establish a permanent International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. These international courts have brought dozens of perpetrators to justice, and the UN Security Council's requests that the ICC investigate the situations in Sudan (2005) and Libya (2011) show that policymakers across the spectrum, in the United States and abroad, believe that accountability-that is, bringing individuals to justice for committing atrocities-can be an important tool to combat war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Yet as important as these courts are, atrocities occur in places beyond their reach, and even where international courts investigate and prosecute, they lack the capacity to try all but a handful of the thousands of perpetrators of the worst international crimes.
Topic:
Crime, Genocide, International Cooperation, and International Law
Political Geography:
United States, Sudan, Libya, Yugoslavia, and Cambodia

176. Optimizing Africa's Security Force Structures

Author:
Helmoed Heitman
Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Abstract:
There is much happening in Africa that is positive— economically, socially, and politically. But a large share of the continent remains fragile, putting those gains at risk. The most pressing challenges facing many African states are paramilitary threats— threats that are beyond the ability of most police forces and frequently transcend national borders. Organized crime, rural banditry, piracy, local warlords, guerrillas, ethnic and religious violence, and extremist Islamist groups are just a few of an array of such threats.
Topic:
Security, Political Violence, Crime, Ethnic Conflict, Poverty, Insurgency, and Piracy
Political Geography:
Africa

177. Fragile States, Robust Structures: Illegal Police Protection in Buenos Aires

Author:
Matías Dewey
Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Weakness is a quality frequently ascribed to Latin American states. This diagnosis proves faulty since it is possible to find resistant structures inside those states that perpetuate such weaknesses. This article shows that this is the case in regards to the police force of the province of Buenos Aires. Here, I will demonstrate that the police have specialized in selling a service available to criminals and criminal organizations: illegal protection. With information taken from in-depth interviews and official documents, I will show that this protection-contrary to the views of Charles Tilly and Diego Gambetta-is characterized by a temporary suspension of the rule of law.
Topic:
Security, Crime, Fragile/Failed State, Law Enforcement, and Law
Political Geography:
Latin America

178. Security Sector Reform Monitor: Timor-Leste

Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
The third edition of the Security Sector Reform (SSR) Monitor: Timor-Leste acknowledged that the national justice system continues to face major obstacles, even though recent strategic planning and initial efforts to improve access to justice have showed promising signs for future justice system development (see The Centre for International Governance Innovation [CIGI], 2011). Two increasingly serious challenges to the justice system — and also the broader security sector — are the political intervention in the justice system and the lack of accountability for both past crimes and more recent crimes associated with the 2006 internal crisis.
Topic:
Security, Crime, and Law Enforcement
Political Geography:
Southeast Asia

179. Cutting the Link between Crime and Local Politics: Colombia's 2011 Elections

Publication Date:
07-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
Deeply entrenched connections between criminal and political actors are a major obstacle to conflict resolution in Colombia. Illegal armed groups seek to consolidate and expand their holds over local governments in the October 2011 governorship, mayoral, departmental assembly and municipal council elections. The national government appears more willing and better prepared than in the past to curb the influence of illegal actors on the elections, but the challenges remain huge. The high number of killed prospective candidates bodes ill for the campaign, suggesting that the decade-old trend of decreasing electoral violence could be reversed. There are substantial risks that a variety of additional means, including intimidation and illegal money, will be used to influence outcomes. The government must rigorously implement additional measures to protect candidates and shield the electoral process against criminal infiltration, corruption and fraud. Failure to mitigate these risks would mean in many places four more years of poor local governance, high levels of corruption and enduring violence.
Topic:
Political Violence, Corruption, Crime, Democratization, and Governance
Political Geography:
Colombia and Latin America

180. Securing the trade supply chain

Author:
Nazery Khalid
Publication Date:
02-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Maritime Institute of Malaysia
Abstract:
The recent report on the staggering value of cargos stolen in Malaysia may have triggered “Shiver me timbers!” expressions of surprise among many . It seems jarring for a progressive country like Malaysia to be ranked unfavorably in terms of the security of its trade supply chain, the network of resources, information and capital that links importers and exporters.
Topic:
Security, Crime, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
Malaysia