Number of results to display per page
Search Results
302. Repositioning but Where – Is the UNDS Fit for Middle-Income Countries?
- Author:
- Nils-Sjard Schulz
- Publication Date:
- 06-2018
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- German Development Institute (DIE)
- Abstract:
- After intense negotiations, the United Nations General Assembly has endorsed the reform of the United Nations Development System (UNDS). Most players in New York, including Secretary-General António Guterres and ambassadors to the United Nations, are optimistic that the UNDS will now take the multi-adjective route requested by the General Assembly (“more strategic, accountable, effective, transparent, collaborative, efficient, effective and result-oriented”).
- Topic:
- International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
303. Unfinished Business: An Appraisal of the Latest UNDS Reform Resolution
- Author:
- Max Otto Baumann and Silke Weinlich
- Publication Date:
- 06-2018
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- German Development Institute (DIE)
- Abstract:
- Can the United Nations Development System (UNDS) become a resourceful, well-organised partner for member states in implementing the 2030 Agenda? The UNDS is the biggest multilateral development actor, accounting for $18.4 billion, or 33 per cent, of multilateral aid in 2015. Its functions range from providing a forum for dialogue, decision-making and norm-setting, to research, advocacy, technical assistance and humanitarian aid. Numerous governments, including those of high-income countries, are counting on the UN’s assistance for advancing their development in a sustainable way. More than any other development organisation, the UNDS needs to adjust in order to fulfil these expectations. In May 2018, UN member states set the course for reforming the UNDS by agreeing on a draft resolution. The resolution contains five potentially transformative decisions that will bring the UNDS a step closer to being “fit for purpose”, the term under which the reform process was initiated more than three years ago. The global structures of the UNDS are to be strengthened, making the system more strategic and accountable; Resident Coordinators are to coordinate more effectively and objectively; their funding will be guaranteed by a new 1 per cent levy on tightly earmarked contributions; common business operations are to be advanced, with potential efficiency gains of $380 million per year; and the UN’s vast network of country offices is to be consolidated for more efficiency and effectiveness.
- Topic:
- International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
304. Data for Development: An Agenda for German Development Cooperation
- Author:
- Claudia Schwegmann and Sarah Holzapfel
- Publication Date:
- 06-2018
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- German Development Institute (DIE)
- Abstract:
- Data is a central but underestimated prerequisite for the realisation of the 2030 Agenda. Although technical innovations such as smartphones or the internet of things have led to a data explosion in recent years, there are still considerable gaps in the availability and use of data in developing countries and development cooperation (DC) in particular. So far it is not possible to report regularly on the majority of the 230 indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- Topic:
- International Affairs and International Development
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
305. Do Trade Deals Encourage Environmental Cooperation?
- Author:
- Jean-Frédéric Morin, Vera Chaudhuri, and Mathilde Gauquelin
- Publication Date:
- 06-2018
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- German Development Institute (DIE)
- Abstract:
- Trade agreements have mixed effects on the environment. On the one hand, trade generates additional pollution by raising production levels. Trade rules can also restrict the capacity of governments to adopt environmental regulations. On the other hand, trade agreements can favour the diffusion of green technologies, make production more efficient and foster environmental cooperation. Whether the overall effect is positive or negative partly depends on the content of the trade agreement itself. Recent studies have found that trade agreements with detailed environmental provisions, in contrast to agreements without such provisions, are associated with reduced levels of CO2 emission and suspended particulate matter (Baghdadi et al., 2013; Zhou, 2017). It remains unclear, however, which specific provisions have a positive environmental impact and how they are actually implemented.
- Topic:
- International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
306. From Damage Control to Sustainable Development: European Development Policy under the Next EU Budget
- Author:
- Svea Koch, Niels Keijzer, Christine Hackenesch, and Julian Bergmann
- Publication Date:
- 06-2018
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- German Development Institute (DIE)
- Abstract:
- The EU is one of the leading global players in international development, trade, peace and security. Therefore, a key part of the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) is the one reserved for action beyond EU’s borders. This budget heading is called ‘Global Europe’ (also referred to as Heading IV). Under the current budget for the period of 2014 to 2020, including the inter-governmental European Development Fund (EDF), over 90 billion euros are available for the EU’s external action. The lion’s share of this is reserved for development cooperation. In previous years, the EU has dealt with new challenges in external action mostly by creating specific initiatives and new financial instruments. At the start of the negotiations on the next MFF, Heading IV thus appears to be rather complex and fragmented compared to other headings.
- Topic:
- International Affairs and International Development
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
307. How to Identify National Dimensions of Poverty? The Constitutional Approach
- Author:
- Francesco Burchi
- Publication Date:
- 06-2018
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- German Development Institute (DIE)
- Abstract:
- With the signing of the 2030 Agenda, the international community has committed to ending poverty in all its forms. This first Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) recognises poverty as a multidimensional phenomenon that goes beyond the simple lack of a sufficient amount of income. However, the way the SDG 1 and, in particular, Target 1.2 – “reduce … poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions” – are formulated poses challenges for its operationalisation. Which specific dimensions of poverty should a country focus on? How can we identify them? Is it possible to agree on a universal set of dimensions with which to compare poverty across several countries?
- Topic:
- International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
308. Data Governance in the Digital Age
- Author:
- CIGI
- Publication Date:
- 05-2018
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- Data has been hailed by some as “the new oil,” an analogy that captures the excitement and high expectations surrounding the data-driven economy. The success of the world’s most valuable companies (Apple, Google, Facebook and Microsoft) is now underpinned by a sophisticated capacity to collect, organize, control and commercialize stores of data and intellectual property. Big data and its application in artificial intelligence, for example, promises to transform the way we live and work — and will generate considerable wealth in the process. But data’s transformative nature also raises important questions around how the benefits are shared, privacy, public security, openness and democracy, and the institutions that will govern the data revolution. The recent Cambridge Analytica scandal has exposed the vulnerability of democracies to data strategies deployed on platforms such as Facebook to influence the outcomes of the Brexit referendum and the 2016 US presidential race. Any national data strategy will have to address both the economic and non-economic dimensions of harnessing big data. Balances will have to be struck between numerous goals. The essays in this collection, first published online in spring 2018, by leading scholars and practitioners, are grouped into five blocks: the rationale of a data strategy; the role of a data strategy for Canadian industries; balancing privacy and commercial values; domestic policy for data governance; and international policy considerations. An epilogue concludes with some key questions to consider around data governance in the digital age.
- Topic:
- International Affairs and Basic Data
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
309. Transforming the Global Refugee System: Solidarity, Humanity and Accountability
- Author:
- CIGI
- Publication Date:
- 04-2018
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- The World Refugee Council (WRC) was created to build on the momentum generated by UN meetings in New York in September 2016, which saw the unanimous adoption of the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, and to develop bold approaches to transform the current refugee system, focusing on the issues of accountability, responsibility sharing and governance, and finance. The WRC offers this interim report, and other discussion and research papers, to raise awareness of these issues and to stimulate ideas for reform that will transform lives.
- Topic:
- International Organization and International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
310. Governing Cyber Security in Canada, Australia and the United States
- Author:
- Stephanie Maclellan and Christian Leuprecht
- Publication Date:
- 04-2018
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- By virtue of the constitutional division of powers into federal and provincial jurisdictions, the governance of the provision of cyber security in Canada — and in comparable federal systems with constitutionally distinct levels of government, such as the United States and Australia — raises a host of policy-making challenges. This special report’s authors ponder the division of authority and responsibility — for cyber, in general, and cyber security, in particular — between public and private actors and different levels of government. Drawing on expertise and insights from business, law, policy and academia, they posit normative models of cyber security governance and gauge the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches. Their contributions illuminate some preliminary lessons for policy makers striving to improve governance outcomes across the cyber domain in Canada.
- Topic:
- International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus