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292. Modern Non-proliferation and Disarmament: Denmark and the G8 global partnership
- Author:
- Cindy Vestergaard
- Publication Date:
- 10-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- The Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction was established at the 2002 G8 Summit with a total financial commitment of up to US$20 billion over ten years. Denmark's contributions to the initiative totalled over 18 million EUR, but no new commitments have been announced since 2004. Leading up to the 2010 G8 summit, Denmark has an opportunity to discuss its role in the newly expanded and extended Global Partnership (GP) and raise its international non-proliferation and disarmament profile. This report outlines how the history of non-proliferation and disarmament assistance has developed into its modern form, and the potential for future programming. It lays out the progress made in the GP's five priority project areas, contributions by donors, and the potential for Denmark to contribute to a global effort. The report makes ten recommendations for how Denmark can raise its non-proliferation profile and contribute to an expanded GP by tapping into areas where its unique and already-established expertise can be assembled into an effective niche assistance programme.
- Topic:
- Arms Control and Proliferation, International Cooperation, International Organization, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Political Geography:
- United States, United Kingdom, and Denmark
293. Skilled Migration: Boon or Bane? The Role of Policy Intervention
- Author:
- Ronald Skeldon
- Publication Date:
- 10-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- Often highly skilled migration from developing to Western countries is conceptualized as “brain drain” and as detrimental for development. However, recent research and policy development challenges mainstream assumptions of brain drain, insisting that skilled migration is a more complex phenomenon. In this paper, the evidence for the migration of the skilled either to prejudice or to promote development will be examined. The terms “brain drain” and “brain gain” immediately introduce into the debate value judgements, which are either negative, that migration is bad for countries of origin, or positive, that migration is good and can be used to promote development. The evidence for each is conflicting and the adoption of such judgemental terms obscures factual analyses. The paper argues that rather than focussing on the consequences of the migration, policy should focus more on the causes and particularly on training and education policies.
- Topic:
- Development, Markets, Migration, and Labor Issues
294. State Elites and the New Poverty Agenda in Bangladesh
- Author:
- Neil Webster, Zarina Rahman Khan, Abu Hossain Muhammad Ahsan, Akhter Hussain, and Mahbubur Rahmani
- Publication Date:
- 10-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- The New Poverty Agenda (NPA) refers to policies and approaches that the developing countries pursue for poverty reduction with the financial assistance of the donor countries and seeks to secure ownership of the political and bureaucratic elites. This paper seeks to analyse the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) as part of this process in Bangladesh and to look at role of the state elites in it. The PRSP process in Bangladesh clearly indicates the key role played by the bureaucrats in its formulation and implementation. Civil society though playing a progressively important role in influencing policy agenda mostly backed up the bureaucracy. Introduction of the PRSP replacing the earlier Five Year Plans did not change the approach towards dealing with development rather transformed the way to do things. It ushered in a qualitative change in planning and development policy implementation as a population begins to assert itself upon the politics of the state elites.
- Topic:
- Government, Poverty, and Social Stratification
- Political Geography:
- Bangladesh and South Asia
295. Governing Khat Drugs and Democracy in Somaliland
- Author:
- Peter Hansen
- Publication Date:
- 10-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- This paper examines the role of the mild stimulant khat in the economic and political transformation of the independent, yet internationally unrecognized Republic of Somaliland. Rather than seeing khat as a hindrance for nation-state formation and as a developmental problem, the paper argues that khat has been important to the economic viability of Somaliland and to the formation of political practices and identities. In this sense, khat should be seen not only as a drug contributing to violence, state failure and inadequate development, but also as underpinning economic processes, political identities and societal structures that have been crucial to the formation and political success of Somaliland. The paper adds to our understanding of the links between emerging political and economic orders in a post-conflict society.
- Topic:
- Economics, Peace Studies, Political Economy, Narcotics Trafficking, and Fragile/Failed State
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Somalia
296. Ownership and the Donor-Recipient Relationship
- Author:
- Lindsay Whitfield
- Publication Date:
- 11-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- At the centre of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness is the idea of country ownership. It is meant to change the situation in many aid dependent African countries where donors dominate decision-making over which policies are adopted, how aid is spent, and what conditions are attached to its release. This article assesses the impact of recent aid reforms to put ownership into practice.
- Topic:
- Foreign Exchange, Poverty, Third World, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Africa
297. Institutional development or direct support to the poor
- Author:
- Neil Webster
- Publication Date:
- 11-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- There are two fundamentally different understandings of how to bring about development. One argues that through the right policies it is possible to create an enabling environment for the development of people and societies. The other emphasises that development can only take place if those who are supposed to benefit from it, insist on it themselves. In the second understanding development cannot be created from above or from outside. So-called cash transfer programmes having spread from Latin America to Africa and Asia are based on this understanding as they transfer money to poor people on certain conditions. The question is to what extent these programmes contribute to development.
- Topic:
- Development, Poverty, and Foreign Aid
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Asia, and Latin America
298. The Future of European Development Cooperation: Seeking Global Solutions or Retracing a Niche by 2020?
- Author:
- Sven Grimm and Erik Lundsgaarde
- Publication Date:
- 11-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- This article discusses the future prospects for European Development Cooperation. The authors argue that the way EU policy for global development will look in the future will depend on how the organization manages two key challenges. The first challenge relates to the changing political dynamics within an enlarged EU and the need to accommodate a diverse set of preferences concerning development policy priorities. The second challenge stems from an evolving external environment characterized by an increasing emphasis on global public goods and the multiplication of global development players. While both of these challenges place pressure on the existing European development consensus, they also offer an impetus for strengthened coordination in the development policy sphere at the European level.
- Topic:
- Development and Globalization
- Political Geography:
- Europe
299. Culture, Agency and Power: Theoretical Reflections on Informal Economic Networks and Political Process
- Author:
- Kate Meagher
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- Do network theory really offer a suitable concept for the theorization of informal processes of economic regulation and institutional change? This working paper challenges both essentialist and skeptical attitudes to networks through an examination of the positive and negative effects of network governance in contemporary societies in a range of regional contexts. The analysis focuses on three broad principles of non-state organization – culture, agency and power – and their role in shaping processes of economic and political governance. It will be shown that the effective theorization of informal regulatory processes requires attention to the specific interaction of culture, agency and power in particular social contexts. Emphasizing a grounded theory approach, this article draws on cutting-edge network research from East Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa and Western societies to develop theoretical tools for the comparative study of non-state governance and its impact on wider processes of institutional change.
- Topic:
- Political Theory, Sociology, Governance, and Culture
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Europe, and East Asia
300. From Network to Class? Towards a more complex Conception of Connection and Sociability
- Author:
- France Bourgouin
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- The notion of networks is frequently used by social science scholars in order to explain various forms of social and economic linkages. In this Working Paper, I question why it is that we have replaced older notions of sociality such as culture, community, or group with network, and what the analytical gains are if any. Building upon recent ethnographic fieldwork conducted with foreign African businessmen and women employed in Johannesburg's tertiary sector multinational corporate, I argue that the network approach is too narrow a way for conceiving the linkages and connections between individuals; the processes and institutional channels that connect individuals may not be so apparent and “mappable” but rather much more diffuse and context-based.
- Topic:
- Political Theory, Sociology, and Culture
- Political Geography:
- Africa