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41. Improving Stakeholder Coordination in Refugee Resettlement: A Path to More Effective, Inclusive Programs

Author:
Admir Skodo and Maria Belen Zanzuchi
Publication Date:
06-2023
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
ach year, refugee resettlement programs offer a path to safety for only a tiny share of people forced to flee their country amid persecution, war, or violence. Efforts to expand these programs have largely stalled, in part because they are operating in a context of multiple crises (ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic to large-scale displacement from countries such as Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Venezuela) that have created competing policy demands. But another major factor that has constrained resettlement programs’ growth is the difficulty of effectively coordinating the work of the many stakeholders involved in these systems. This often includes different levels of government, civil-society and community actors, and international organizations, which frequently have different priorities, are involved at different points in the resettlement process, and may not be used to working together. This report explores the diversity of stakeholders involved in refugee resettlement, and the importance of robust coordination at all stages of the process (from program design to predeparture planning and post-arrival support). It also examines what coordination mechanisms exist—or could be created—to organize the work of these many actors. The analysis draws on interviews with local, regional, national, and international stakeholders, primarily from Argentina, Finland, Germany, Spain, Sweden, and the United States.
Topic:
International Cooperation, Governance, Refugees, Resettlement, and Inclusion
Political Geography:
Global Focus

42. Migration and Displacement in Secondary Cities: Insights from Côte d’Ivoire and Uganda

Author:
Samuel Davidoff-Gore and Camille Le Coz
Publication Date:
11-2023
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
The world is becoming increasingly urbanized, driven both by long-standing patterns of rural-urban migration and the growth of new small and mid-sized cities. While sprawling megacities often receive the most policy and public attention, secondary cities are some of the fastest growing in many parts of the world, including sub-Saharan Africa. Migrants and displaced persons, often drawn to small and mid-sized cities by the promise of greater economic opportunities and better access to services than exist in rural areas, can nonetheless face a variety of challenges, as can the communities in which they settle. This study explores these dynamics in Côte d’Ivoire and Uganda. These countries and the studied cities within them are emblematic of urbanization trends in West and East Africa, respectively, and they illustrate a range of migration and displacement experiences and policy approaches that offer lessons for refugee- and migrant-receiving secondary cities. The report examines common challenges to migrants’ socioeconomic inclusion in secondary cities, including the gender dynamics at play beneath broader trends. It also looks at how cities, local representatives of the central government, and civil-society organizations have sought to respond to migration-related challenges and factors that have limited their actions. The report is part of a multiyear research partnership between MPI and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation's Thematic Section Migration and Forced Displacement to support the development of global solutions for migration-related challenges.
Topic:
Migration, Urbanization, Employment, Economy, Displacement, and Inclusion
Political Geography:
Uganda, Africa, and Côte d'Ivoire

43. Will economic growth be sufficient to end global poverty? New projections of the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Author:
Arief Anshory Yusuf, Zuzy Anna, Ahmad Komarulzaman, and Andy Sumner
Publication Date:
10-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
In this paper, we present new projections for a range of global poverty-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically, extreme monetary poverty, undernutrition, stunting, child mortality, maternal mortality, and access to clean water and basic sanitation. Our projections, based on economic growth forecasts, take into account recent global shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the inflation shock. Our findings indicate that economic growth alone will not be sufficient to end global poverty, and the global poverty-related SDGs will not be met by a considerable distance. The implication of this, we argue, is that a stronger focus is needed on inclusive growth (SDG-8), and specifically redistribution with growth at global and national levels. This would mean more emphasis on policies to build productive capacities, and the introduction or expansion of income transfers as well as ensuring public investments are sufficient to meet the SDGs. To this end new international financing needs to be made available through debt relief or other forms of finance to expand developing countries’ fiscal space.
Topic:
Poverty, Sustainable Development Goals, Economic Growth, and Inclusion
Political Geography:
Global Focus

44. Pandemic Responses in the MENA Region: Lessons learned for an inclusive economic recovery

Author:
Salma Jrad, Amine Bouzaine, Nadine Mezher, and Anna Chernova
Publication Date:
05-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing inequalities and poor governance practices in the MENA region and had a disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable people. These persistent and structural issues also threaten a post-COVID inclusive recovery process. Austerity steers from institutions like the IMF risk further inequality and social exclusion, as evidenced by diverse and gendered impacts on the most vulnerable, including through low public spending on health and social protection. Economic and fiscal justice through progressive taxation and inclusive, crisis-resilient public spending are two key policy solutions to prevent future crises impoverishing the most vulnerable in the region. As the world recovers from the pandemic, now is the time for national and global policymakers – including international financial institutions – to take stock and seek policy alternatives that take a rights-based, inclusive, holistic and resilience-focused approach to recovery efforts, resourced through progressive taxation.
Topic:
Governance, Inequality, Finance, COVID-19, Inclusion, and Economic Recovery
Political Geography:
Middle East and North Africa

45. India’s Women Quota Law is a Game Changer for Gender Inclusive Politics

Author:
Niranjan Sahoo and Ambar Kumar Ghosh
Publication Date:
11-2023
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
East Asia Institute (EAI)
Abstract:
In a historic decision, the Indian Parliament in a special session recently passed the long-awaited Women Reservation Bill (officially called the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023). The legislation (106th Constitutional Amendment Act), which received the president’s approval on September 28, establishes a requirement to reserve one-third of the total seats in the Lok Sabha (Lower House of the Parliament), Vidhan Sabha (state legislative assemblies), and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (Pathak and Roy 2023). The law will become effective following the completion of the Census in 2026 and the delineation of constituencies, which will be used as the basis for allocating seats to women (Government of India 2023). As per the new legislation, this reservation will remain in effect for a period of 15 years and can be extended by the Parliament. Furthermore, the allocation of seats set aside for women will undergo rotation after each delineation. The new law, when implemented, will increase women Members of Parliament (Lok Sabha) to 181 seats (from the current 82) and Members of Legislative Assemblies (Vidhan Sabha) to as much as 2000 (currently 740). The passage of the historic women reservation bill is an outcome of 27 years of relentless struggle by women activists and its strong votaries. While the issue of women’s reservation was flagged up in the 1980s, the first serious attempt to get legislation was made in 1996 by the then Congress government. Though unsuccessfully, further attempts were made by a number of governments at the center in 1998, 1999, and in 2008. The most serious attempt to bring legislation was made in 2010 by the then Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. A bill seeking women’s reservation in the Lok Sabha and state legislatures was passed in the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) in 2010, but it failed to get the approval of the Lok Sabha due to strong opposition from the politicians of heartland states (Rajvanshi 2023). Finally, the bill was successfully steered by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government with near consensus from opposition parties. Of course, it has taken a few decades of consensus building and political awareness and sensitization on gender equality to get this important legislation passed in a large country with strong patriarchal norms and rigid social mores (Manoj C G 2023).
Topic:
Gender Issues, Women, Representation, Inclusion, Parliament, and Quota
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

46. Financial Inclusion and Hurdles to Funding Tunisian Female Entrepreneurs

Author:
Philippe Adair and Imène Berguiga
Publication Date:
02-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
IEMed/EuroMeSCo
Abstract:
This paper addresses gender self-selection amongst Tunisian women entrepreneurs in the context of financial inclusion of Tunisian women in the economy. Women entrepreneurs do not apply for loans despite the need for them, and some of them are denied loans despite the fact that their male counterparts do receive them. Availability and equality of opportunities to access financial services is essential for both an inclusive society and a healthy economy, and current financial inclusion policies in Tunisia do not preclude gender-based self-selection, which is an impediment to the socioeconomic empowerment and business development of Tunisian women. Imène Berguiga and Philippe Adair used an inventory of Tunisian data sources, with respect to coverage and gender, tackling the supply side of financial institutions as well as the demand side from both enterprises and households. A sequential model (decision tree) includes descriptive statistics prior to and during the COVID-19 shock. The paper addresses the need to a key vector for supporting financial inclusion in a sustainable way, by both spreading the use of financial technologies (fintech) and promoting the role of Tunisian microfinance institutions (MFIs).
Topic:
Women, Finance, Entrepreneurship, and Inclusion
Political Geography:
North Africa and Tunisia

47. Five Years Lost: Youth Inclusion in the Rohingya Response

Author:
Imrul Islam and Zia Naing
Publication Date:
03-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal on Migration and Human Security
Institution:
Center for Migration Studies of New York
Abstract:
While youth are routinely lauded as “change-makers,” they are often underserved and unsupported in refugee responses. As the Rohingya face protracted displacement in Bangladesh, what is the state of youth inclusion in the response? Do youth and adolescents feel supported, or are they ignored and left behind? To answer these questions, the paper uses: • Literature on youth participation and inclusion in humanitarian programming; • Key informant interviews with practitioners from national and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and UN agencies; • Focus group discussions and key informant interviews with refugee individuals and groups across nine camps for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. It finds that: • Refugee Rohingya youth and adolescents remain firmly on the margins of humanitarian programming, and are largely excluded from decision-making processes; • Approximately 96 percent of surveyed youth between 18 and 24 years of age report being unemployed; • For surveyed women aged 18–24 years, unemployment rates bordered on 99 percent; and • Stress and anxiety are omnipresent amongst the community: an overwhelming majority of respondents reported experiencing disturbing thoughts and resorting to negative coping mechanisms. The paper ends with a series of recommendations to the Strategic Executive Group (SEG) and the Inter-Sector Coordination Group (ISCG), to donors, the international community, and the government of Bangladesh.1
Topic:
Youth, Rohingya, Inclusion, and Humanitarian Response
Political Geography:
Southeast Asia and Myanmar

48. Report on Advancing Peace Through Health in Mali

Author:
The Carter Center
Publication Date:
01-2023
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Carter Center
Abstract:
The Carter Center's Peace Through Health Initiative in central Mali organized a baseline study on security dynamics, levels of inclusion, and trust in government officials in the 19 health areas targeted for the Initiative, or project designed in collaboration with local and regional branches of Mali’s Ministry of Health to use health services as an entry point to long-term peacebuilding. The goal of the study was to measure the impact of activities by collecting and analyzing core indicators on the population's attitudes toward conflict, access to health services, and related issues.
Topic:
Security, Health, Conflict, Public Health, Inclusion, and Peacebuilding
Political Geography:
Africa and Mali

49. National Dialogues x Protest Movements

Author:
Isabel Bramsen
Publication Date:
11-2023
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Berghof Foundation
Abstract:
What are the challenges for organising a National Dialogue process in the context of popular uprisings? What are opportunities for National Dialogues to be successful when active social movements are involved? In this paper, Isabel Bramsen analyses how National Dialogue processes need to be designed, conducted and implemented to allow for inclusive change through the involvement of protest movements.
Topic:
Transitional Justice, Protests, Inclusion, and National Dialogue
Political Geography:
Global Focus

50. Inclusion and Exclusion in International Ordering: An Interview with Glenda Sluga

Author:
Glenda Sluga and Daniel R. Quiroga-Villamarín
Publication Date:
09-2022
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
The Toynbee Prize Foundation
Abstract:
The image of two men, sitting awkwardly across each other in a solemn conference table, suddenly sprouted everywhere in my Twitter feed last winter. As a terrifying war erupted over competing visions of eastern Europe’s place in the international order, this somewhat surreal picture of the rulers of France and Russia conferencing offered little respite. It was precisely at this time that I had the pleasure to converse with the incoming Toynbee Prize Foundation President Glenda Sluga about her most recent monographThe Invention of International Order: Remaking Europe after Napoleon (Princeton University Press). As the so-called international order comes under increasing pressure in Ukraine and beyond, Sluga’s timely book invites us to engage with the “two centuries of multilateral principles, practices, and expectations” to understand the promises and limits of our contemporary arrangements (p. xi). It places the recent meeting between Macron and Putin in the context of the rise and consolidation of “a new professional, procedural, and bureaucratic approach to diplomacy, based on the sociability of men” (p. 6). After all, our modern notions of international “politics” or “society” were forged in the aftermath of a previous European-wide conflagration that had France and Russia at its helm: the Napoleonic wars. Sluga’s account does not aim to blindly celebrate nor to categorically condemn this modern political imaginary of international ordering. Others have dismissed the post-Napoleonic diplomatic constellation as reactionary or have lauded it as protoliberal. Sluga, above all, is interested in questioning it. She invites us to: reflect on for whom this order has been built; push against the ways it narrows our perspective; and grapple with its inner tensions and contradictions (p. 282). At the heart of the book, I would suggest, lies a concern about the paradoxical record of European modernity: a project that “has offered an expansive horizon of political expectations but delivered a voice only for some” (p. 7). By taking women, non-Europeans, and “non-state” actors seriously as political agents, she shows how bankers, Jews, or ambassadrices were ironically crucial in the making of a system that came to exclude them from the historical record. And, unsurprisingly, these exclusions lead to tensions that threaten to upend international order from within and without—from 1821, 1848, or 1853 to 2022. In our conversation, we attempt to make sense of these paradoxes, contradictions, and ambiguities of international ordering.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Politics, History, Exclusion, International Order, and Inclusion
Political Geography:
Europe