Search

Begin New Search Author Davin O'Regan

1. Donor Assistance in the Transparency and Accountability Movement

Author:
Davin O'Regan
Publication Date:
09-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
Focusing on transparency and anti-corruption issues, this report discusses the findings from a series of participatory workshops and more than seventy interviews with social movement actors and organizations in Kenya, Nigeria, and Ukraine. It looks at the different ways social movement actors in these countries were influenced by foreign financial support and training, including in terms of the goals they set, the tactics and activities they pursue, and whether receiving foreign support compromises their legitimacy with their domestic constituents.
Topic:
Corruption, Social Movement, Accountability, and Transparency
Political Geography:
Kenya, Africa, Europe, Ukraine, and Nigeria

2. Civil Society and Civil War Onset: 
What is the Relationship?

Author:
Davin O'Regan
Publication Date:
12-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM)
Abstract:
U.S. foreign policy increasingly embraces and seeks to empower civil society organizations in developing countries as a critical contributor to stability and security. This paper explores whether there are grounds for these claims, specifically whether variation in civil society can explain the onset of civil wars. It examines two common explanations for the conflict-preventative potential of civil society, namely its ability to increase social capital and citizens’ voice. Four hypotheses are tested by integrating new data on various attributes of civil society from the Varieties of Democracies Initiative into a common model of civil war onset. Little support is found for claims that civil society reduces the probability of civil war onset by improving social capital, but onset may be reduced when a strong advocacy and political orientation is present in civil society. In other words, there appears to be some grounds for U.S. policy claims that a stronger civil society can enhance citizens’ voice and reduce instability and conflict onset. This finding still raises many questions about the precise links between civil society and civil war onset, and introduces potential complications for how policymakers might address conflict onset through support for civil society.
Topic:
Civil Society, Civil War, Democracy, and Political stability
Political Geography:
Global Focus

3. Police-citizen interaction in Africa: An exploration of factors that influence victims’ reporting of crimes

Author:
Davin O'Regan
Publication Date:
04-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Afrobarometer
Abstract:
While personal insecurity in Africa is typically associated with civil wars, crime is actually a far more common threat to the continent’s citizens. Rates of homicide, sexual assault, and property crime in Africa are often far higher than global averages. Despite such threats, many Africans do not report crimes to the police. According to surveys conducted in 32 African countries in 2011, 2012, and 2013, 56% of respondents who had experienced a crime within the previous 12 months did not report it to the police. Common explanations for such inhibited reporting of crimes include a general lack of trust in the police, the politicization of police forces, citizens’ inability to easily access the police, or low community cohesion where victims reside. Using multilevel logistic regression techniques, this study tests these explanations. Findings suggest that neither trust in police nor politicization of police forces displays significant influence on citizens’ likelihood of reporting crimes. Likewise, community cohesion bears no consistent relationship with higher rates of reporting, while access to police does appear positively associated with the likelihood of reporting victimizations. Contrary to findings in many developed countries, women in Africa appear to be less likely than men to report crimes to the police.
Topic:
Violence and Police
Political Geography:
Africa

4. Advancing Stability and Reconciliation in Guinea-Bissau: Lessons from Africa's First Narco-State

Author:
Davin O'Regan and Peter Thompson
Publication Date:
06-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Abstract:
A string of crises stretching back more than a decade has rendered Guinea-Bissau one of the most fragile states in Africa. This recurring cycle of political violence, instability, and incapacitated governance, moreover, has accelerated in recent years, most notably following a military coup in April 2012. Exploiting this volatility, trafficking networks have coopted key political and military leaders and transformed Guinea-Bissau into a hub for illicit commerce, particularly the multibillion dollar international trade in cocaine. This has directly contributed to instability in Senegal, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, and elsewhere in Africa. European and African organized criminal groups have likewise established ties to the Guinea-Bissau trade. Drawn by the lucrative revenues, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and other militant groups in West Africa have also been linked to Guinea-Bissau trafficking. Now commonly referred to as Africa's first narco-state, Guinea-Bissau has become a regional crossroads of instability.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, Development, Economics, Narcotics Trafficking, and Fragile/Failed State
Political Geography:
Africa

5. Cocaine and Instability in Africa: Lessons from Latin America and the Caribbean

Author:
Davin O'Regan
Publication Date:
07-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Abstract:
The dollar value of cocaine trafficked through West Africa has risen rapidly and surpassed all other illicit commodities smuggled in the subregion. Experience from Latin America and the Caribbean demonstrates that cocaine traffic contributes to dra¬matically higher levels of violence and instability. Co-opting key government officials is the preferred modus operandi of Latin American cocaine traf¬fickers. African governments need to act urgently to protect the integrity of their counternarcotics institutions to prevent this threat from developing deeper roots on the continent.
Topic:
Crime and Narcotics Trafficking
Political Geography:
Africa, Latin America, and Caribbean