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1. Civil Society Groups And Political Parties: Supporting Constructive Relationships

Publication Date:
03-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Agency for International Development
Abstract:
Many of us working in the United States on democracy assistance tend to consider civil society organizations (CSOs) and political parties, and support for them, separately. But reality remains much more complex, and the nature of existing relationships in the countries we work in and the effects of democracy assistance on those relationships matter for our larger democracy and governance (DG) goals. They, therefore, deserve explicit examination. This paper deals with two broad sets of questions. First, what do we think we should be aiming for at the systemic level, in terms of the relationship between civil society and political parties? Second, in a given setting, what kinds of relationships, at the micro level (among individual organizations), can contribute to democratization?
Topic:
Civil Society, Democratization, Education, and Politics
Political Geography:
United States

2. Approaching Education from a Good Governance Perspective: USAID Resource Guide for Joint DG/Education Programs

Publication Date:
08-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Agency for International Development
Abstract:
This resource guide is a joint effort of USAID's Office of Democracy and Governance and Office of Education, responding to the need to promote greater policy and program linkages between the Agency's democracy and governance (DG) and education sectors. The specific goals of this DG and education resource guide are to raise awareness among education sector professionals at USAID about the role of the DG sector in shaping education policies and programs; to raise awareness among USAID DG professionals about education as an important DG issue; and to provide frameworks and best practice examples to help guide joint programming among USAID education and DG staff.
Topic:
Civil Society, Democratization, Education, and Government

3. Achievements in Building and Maintaining the Rule of Law:MSI's Studies in LAC, E, AFR, and ANE

Publication Date:
11-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Agency for International Development
Abstract:
Over the past two decades the Latin America and Caribbean region (LAC) has undergone a major political transformation. All countries in the region now have elected civilian governments, with the sole exception of Cuba. With this political opening have come economic liberalization and increased opportunities for citizen participation. The region has moved beyond the formality of elections and is now confronting the more difficult challenge of reforming its other political, economic, and legal institutions.
Topic:
International Relations, Civil Society, Diplomacy, and International Law
Political Geography:
Cuba, Latin America, and Caribbean

4. The Enabling Environment for Free and Independant Media: Contribution to Transparent and Accountable Governance

Publication Date:
01-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Agency for International Development
Abstract:
Throughout the world, there is a vast remapping of media laws and policies. This important moment for building more democratic media is attributable to rapid-fire geo-political changes. These include a growing zest for information, the general move towards democratization, numberous pressures from the international community, and the inexorable impact of new media technologies. Whatever the mix in any specific state, media law and policy is increasingly a subject of intense debate.
Topic:
Civil Society, Democratization, Education, and Politics

5. The Role Of Transition Assistance: The Case Of Nigeria

Author:
Glenn Slocum and Arthur E. Dewey
Publication Date:
01-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Agency for International Development
Abstract:
The Center for Development Information and Evaluation (CDIE) has responsibility for conducting Agency-wide evaluations on USAID assistance topics of interest to USAID managers. In 2000 USAID evaluated transition assistance, with a specific emphasis on the role and activities of the Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) located in the Bureau of Humanitarian Response (BHR). Transition assistance, as used here, refers to the OTI-administered programs providing flexible, short-term responses to help advance peaceful, democratic change. The assistance is usually provided during the two-year critical period after a crisis when countries are most vulnerable to renewed conflict or instability.
Topic:
Civil Society and Development
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria

6. Linking Democracy and Development: An Idea for the Times

Author:
Lynda DeWitt
Publication Date:
12-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Agency for International Development
Abstract:
GOVERNMENT DOWNSIZING, new thinking about development, conducive host-country situations, and strong mission leadership are some of the most important factors prompting USAID staff to link democracy and governance (DG) activities with those of the Agency's other strategic goals. As a result, democratic principles such as participation, accountability, transparency, and responsiveness are now being incorporated into USAID's environmental, health, education, and economic growth efforts.
Topic:
Civil Society, Democratization, Economics, Government, and Politics

7. Complex Emergencies And USAID's Humanitarian Response

Author:
Lynda DeWitt
Publication Date:
07-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Agency for International Development
Abstract:
In 1998 some 32 million people needed humanitarian assistance because they were caught up in complex emergencies (armed conflicts or civil wars). That same year, the United States spent $898 million on humanitarian assistance. This amount represented 10.2 percent of official development assistance and was more than triple the amount spent on humanitarian assistance in 1990.
Topic:
Civil Society, Development, Economics, and Politics
Political Geography:
United States

8. Aftermath: Women's Organizations In Postconflict El Salvador

Author:
Shelley Sperry
Publication Date:
04-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Agency for International Development
Abstract:
WOMEN'S ORGANIZATIONS proliferated during and after the civil war that ravaged El Salvador from 1979 through 1991. By war's end, more than a hundred different women's organizations existed in El Salvador, each generating local and regional projects and frequently working in the national political arena as well. Unlike women's movements in other Latin American nations, the women's movement in El Salvador has grown stronger in the post conflict period of emerging democracy. The two movements—democracy and women's rights—appear to be mutually supportive. The case of El Salvador suggests that helping women's groups establish autonomy and stability during, rather than following, a conflict may be crucial to ensuring future women's activism and a vital democratic civil society.
Topic:
Civil Society, Development, Gender Issues, and Politics
Political Geography:
Latin America, Central America, and El Salvador

9. Aftermath: Internally Displaced Women and Women's Organizations in Postconflict Georgia

Author:
Pat McNees
Publication Date:
04-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Agency for International Development
Abstract:
ALL POST-SOVIET STATES underwent difficult political and economic transitions in the years after the breakup of the Soviet Union, but Georgia's was especially traumatic. Ethnic conflict broke out in Georgia virtually as soon as the Soviet Union collapsed. By 1992, Georgia's central authority had been diminished to near anarchy, the economy was in complete disarray, and the country had plunged into civil war that tore its fabric.
Topic:
Civil Society, Economics, Education, Gender Issues, and Migration
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe and Georgia

10. Aftermath: Women and Women's Organizations In Postgenocide Rwanda

Author:
Michael Hopps
Publication Date:
12-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Agency for International Development
Abstract:
IN A 100-DAY PERIOD during 1994, more than 500,000 people in the central African nation of Rwanda were massacred. The killings were carried out not by a foreign power and not with weapons of mass destruction. Rather, 1 of every 15 Rwandans was murdered—by other Rwandans. The killers used bullets, machetes, and clubs.
Topic:
Civil Society, Education, Gender Issues, Genocide, Human Welfare, and Politics
Political Geography:
Africa