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71. Child Protection Services

Author:
Mridusmita Bordoloi and Avani Kapur
Publication Date:
02-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:
Child Protection Services is Government of India’s (GoI’s) flagship programme to provide preventive and statutory care, and rehabilitation services to children in need of care and protection and those in conflict with the law as defined under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. This brief uses government data to analyse CPS performance along the following parameters: Trends in overall GoI allocations, releases and expenditures; State wise GoI releases and expenditures; Child Care Institutes (CCIs) and beneficiaries; Registered cases of crimes against children.
Topic:
Government, Budget, Children, Legislation, and Justice
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

72. The Legislative Capacity of a Small-State Parliament: An Analysis of the Parliament of Bhutan

Author:
Gerard W. Horgan
Publication Date:
05-2020
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Bhutan Studies
Institution:
Centre for Bhutan & GNH Studies (CBS)
Abstract:
As part of its decades-long transition from absolute- to constitutional- monarchy, the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan in 2008 established a new, bicameral, parliament. Very little analysis has been conducted on this institution; this article begins to fill this lacuna by investigating the legislative potential of the parliament, and placing it in the comparative context of parliaments in other ‘small’ states. Embracing Arter’s distinction among studies of legislative capacity, operation and performance, the article pursues the former, using aspects of Lijphart’s work as an organizational framework. The analysis reveals a first chamber designed along majoritarian lines, and which, due to its small size, cannot be expected to exhibit great legislative capacity. However, it also reveals a second chamber that, while small, is both ‘symmetrical’ and ‘incongruent’, and that therefore greatly enhances the overall legislative capacity of the parliament, and boosts its comparative position among parliaments of small states.
Topic:
Governance, Legislation, and Parliament
Political Geography:
South Asia and Bhutan

73. How Much Can the U.S. Congress Resist Political Money? A Quantitative Assessment

Author:
Thomas Ferguson, Paul Jorgensen, and Jie Chen
Publication Date:
01-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET)
Abstract:
The extent to which governments can resist pressures from organized interest groups, and especially from finance, is a perennial source of controversy. This paper tackles this classic question by analyzing votes in the U.S. House of Representatives on measures to weaken the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill in the years following its passage. To control as many factors as possible that could influence floor voting by individual legislators, the analysis focuses on representatives who originally cast votes in favor of the bill but then subsequently voted to dismantle key provisions of it. This design rules out from the start most factors normally advanced by skeptics to explain vote shifts, since these are the same representatives, belonging to the same political party, representing substantially the same districts. Our panel analysis, which also controls for spatial influences, highlights the importance of time-varying factors, especially political money, in moving representatives to shift their positions on amendments such as the “swaps push out” provision. Our results suggest that the links between campaign contributions from the financial sector and switches to a pro-bank vote were direct and substantial: For every $100,000 that Democratic representatives received from finance, the odds they would break with their party’s majority support for the Dodd-Frank legislation increased by 13.9 percent. Democratic representatives who voted in favor of finance often received $200,000–$300,000 from that sector, which raised the odds of switching by 25–40 percent.
Topic:
Economics, Political Economy, Elections, Democracy, Finance, Legislation, and Money
Political Geography:
United States

74. Could Congress’ latest Syria sanctions bill backfire?

Author:
Aiman Mansour
Publication Date:
01-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS)
Abstract:
The congressional bill will exacerbate the economic situation in Syria and ultimately increase Syria’s dependency on Iran.
Topic:
Economics, Military Strategy, Sanctions, Legislation, and Intervention
Political Geography:
Iran, Middle East, Syria, North America, and United States of America

75. Creating an Accountability Framework that Serves the Global Fragility Act’s Mission

Author:
Susanna Campbell, Dan Hoing, and Sarah Rose
Publication Date:
01-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Global Development (CGD)
Abstract:
In the final days of 2019, Congress passed the Global Fragility Act, an ambitious bill that aims to im- prove how the US government approaches stabilizing conflict-affected states and preventing the es- calation of violence in other fragile contexts. Introduced by a coalition of lawmakers from both sides of the aisle in the House and Senate—led by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Eliot Engel (D- NY) and Senator Chris Coons (D-DE)—a version of the legislation was passed by the House this spring and boasted 26 cosponsors in the Senate. The Global Fragility Act’s final passage, as part of a large FY2020 spending bill, is a testament to bipartisan commitment and cooperation. The Global Fragility Act asks the State Department to create—jointly with USAID, the Department of Defense, and other agencies—a coordinated, coherent strategy to help prevent violence in fragile states and stabilize conflict-affected areas. As overseers of the taxpayer funds that will be used to implement the act, Congress also included several provisions to hold these agencies to account for achieving results. Accountability for results is important, especially when overseers are far removed from implementation. But how accountability is structured matters quite a bit. When accountability frameworks revolve largely around tight controls and reporting against targets, their good intentions can backfire and contribute to ineffective programming, especially in fragile states. To ensure that the Global Fragility Act’s accountability requirements support rather than undermine the act’s laudable goals, the monitoring, evaluation, and learning processes that accompany the act’s implementation must accomplish two linked but fundamentally distinct things. They must be able to satisfy Washington-based overseers’ reporting needs while also providing projects the space needed for locally informed adaptive management and learning (or continuous adjustment aimed at achiev- ing transformative aims in a dynamic context), which is associated with better outcomes in fragile states. The Global Fragility Act offers an opportunity to rethink the tools through which aid agencies pursue accountability. This note explains how tight controls and target-oriented reporting can nega- tively affect outcomes in fragile states and offers some initial recommendations for creating a stron- ger, outcome-oriented accountability framework.
Topic:
Foreign Aid, Leadership, Fragile States, Legislation, and Accountability
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

76. Applying Human Rights Principles to the Liberian Security Sector

Author:
Jean Conte and Aloysius Toe
Publication Date:
06-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
Comprehensive and practical, these guidelines are designed to support Liberian lawmakers in applying human rights principles to their work in security sector reform and governance. In their capacity as the peoples’ representatives, parliamentarians have a critical role to play in promoting respect for human rights. This is even more relevant in Liberia, where security institutions are often reported as the most prominent violators of human rights, notably among vulnerable groups, such as women and LGBTI persons. Therefore, it is essential to reassert that respect for human rights is an obligation deriving from both international instruments and the Liberian Constitution, and to strengthen the security sector’s compliance with these legally binding instruments. Through their core functions of oversight, law-making and representation, Liberian legislators possess an array of tools to help them achieve this objective. However, their lack of basic human rights knowledge and key reform and governance concepts hampers their effective use of these tools. These guidelines aim to bridge this knowledge gap and suggest concrete steps to help Liberian Legislators succeed in this endeavour. Following a brief discussion on why Liberian lawmakers must actively promote respect for human rights in the security sector (Chapter 1), these guidelines lay out what the main international human rights standards and instruments are (Chapters 2 and 3), and make suggestions on how legislators can integrate them in their daily practice (Chapter 4).
Topic:
Security, Human Rights, Governance, Legislation, and Humanitarian Crisis
Political Geography:
Africa and Liberia

77. Global Health Security and Pandemics: How the UK Parliament has adapted to COVID-19

Publication Date:
06-2020
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
In this video, Dr Daniel Gover (Lecturer in British Politics, Queen Mary University of London) discusses COVID-19 and the challenges that it has presented for the UK Parliament. He discusses how both the House of Commons and the House of Lords have adapted to the crisis and offers his thoughts on which reformed elements may continue to be used in the future.
Topic:
Governance, Legislation, Public Health, Pandemic, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

78. How and Why the Myanmar Government Should Publish Petroleum and Mining Contracts

Author:
Sebastian Sahla, Hosana Chay, and Robert Pitman
Publication Date:
05-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Natural Resource Governance Institute
Abstract:
Contract disclosure is a growing global norm. The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) board agreed to require all member governments to disclose the contracts they sign with oil, gas and mining companies beginning in January 2021. Around the world governments, companies and civil society are increasingly advocating for disclosure. In Myanmar, progress has been extremely slow. Despite civil society activists and several major investors supporting reforms, the government has not disclosed any petroleum or mining contracts so far. With new licenses expected to be issued in the petroleum, minerals and gemstone sectors, the Myanmar government should act now to keep pace with a global trend.
Topic:
Corruption, Natural Resources, Regulation, Negotiation, Legislation, Transparency, and Contracts
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Mongolia, Asia, Sierra Leone, Mexico, Myanmar, and Cameroon

79. Managing Expectations About Tanzania’s Uncertain Gas Revenues

Author:
Thomas Scurfield and David Mihalyi
Publication Date:
09-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Natural Resource Governance Institute
Abstract:
With negotiations between the Tanzanian government and a consortium of companies for a game-changing liquefied natural gas (LNG) project continuing, a decision on whether the project will proceed is still some years away. In this brief, the authors update a previous analysis of the possible outcomes for the LNG project and its potential impact on public financial management. This update accounts for new information and changes in company planning.
Topic:
Sovereign Wealth Funds, Gas, Legislation, Commodities, and Revenue Management
Political Geography:
Africa and Tanzania

80. How Tanzania Can Secure a Good Deal for its Offshore Gas

Author:
Thomas Scurfield and David Manley
Publication Date:
09-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Natural Resource Governance Institute
Abstract:
The Tanzanian government and a consortium of companies are negotiating the regulatory terms for a game-changing liquefied natural gas (LNG) project. In this brief, the authors update a previous analysis of some of the key decisions that will be made in the negotiation and their potential impact on whether the LNG project proceeds and the levels of revenues that the project could generate for the government. This update accounts for new information and changes in company planning. There is a reasonable chance that foreign investment in the LNG project will not happen under current conditions. NRGI’s economic model and specific assumptions of the project suggest that a long-term LNG price of USD 11 per mmBtu is needed for investors to earn the return they usually require from LNG projects. Current forecasts by the IMF and World Bank are $7-8 per mmBtu. As the authors discuss in the brief, the chances of investment will shrink further if, during the negotiations, the government increases taxes and requires companies to share a greater portion of the gas with Tanzania’s home market. Government officials could wait and hope that conditions improve, and perhaps then impose stricter terms. However, this would delay the point at which the country would start generating benefits from the project. If officials want to accelerate development, without harming long-term gains for the country, they could: adopt a more progressive tax regime, avoid raising the share of gas to be sold to the home market, and establish a legal framework that both company managers and future generations of Tanzanians will trust.
Topic:
Gas, Regulation, Legislation, Tax Systems, Commodities, and State-Owned Enterprises
Political Geography:
Africa and Tanzania