Search

Begin New Search Topic Development

1311. Diversity, Unity, and Nation Building in South Sudan

Author:
Jok Madut Jok
Publication Date:
09-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
The government of South Sudan and its development partners appear to be heavily focused on state building and less so on nation building: the question of how to turn the young state into a nation in which all South Sudanese can see themselves represented. Whatever projects a new country conceives, it has to view nation and state as inseparable components of the same project, not focusing too much on one without investing in the other. Most South Sudanese interviewed for this project assert that the most obvious impediment to national cohesion is exclusion from the national platform, especially exclusion along ethnic lines. Corruption, nepotism, and exclusion from access to government jobs were also raised as issues that the government will need to address directly for citizens to have pride in their nation. There is a widespread sense of worry about the viability of South Sudan as a nation due to insecurity, especially insecurity rooted in the current ethnic conflicts occurring in seven out of the ten states. Both political leaders and ordinary citizens recognize the importance of national unity and the equitable display and celebration of cultural diversity as a national asset; representation of all ethnic nationalities and creation of a broad-based government is central to South Sudan's transition to nationhood. The immediate challenge involves creating programs that promote citizenship in the nation over ethnic citizenship. The opaque climate of the transitional constitutional review process has not earned the government much trust from all sectors of society, and this has made for a bad start toward national consensus. As a multiethnic society, South Sudan also is confronted with the question of a language policy. To speed up the process of nation building, the government will need to transform current discussions on language into practical decisions regarding the development of a national language. Identifying five national languages that represent the three greater regions of the country would be one way to approach it. Ultimately, a viable South Sudan has to stand on four strong pillars: political unity, a disciplined military, quick and equitable service delivery, and a vibrant civil society.
Topic:
Corruption, Development, Governance, and Self Determination
Political Geography:
Africa and South Sudan

1312. Fostering Growth and Development in Small States through Disruptive Change: A Case Study of the Caribbean

Author:
Avinash D. Persaud
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
The desks of civil servants in small states are stacked with yellowing consultancy reports from multilateral agencies on the need to generate sustainable jobs and growth, attract investment, bolster infrastructure and institutions, and improve the efficiency and reduce the expense of government. The real question is not what, but why? Why, in spite of everything we know, are many small states, especially those in the Caribbean, trapped in a zone of low growth, stagnation or relative decline? Policy makers face physical and financial constraints and implementation deficiencies, but the overriding constraint, even more so than in other countries, is political economy.
Topic:
Development, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Poverty, and Maritime Commerce
Political Geography:
Caribbean

1313. CIGI'11 - An Unfinished House: Filling the Gaps in Global Goverenance

Author:
Paul Heinbecker, Barry Carin, David Runnalls, and Paul Jenkins
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
CIGI has been building a network of former and serving officials from foreign ministries, central banks, finance departments and international organizations, and with researchers at prestigious think tanks and universities from around the world. The defining objective of the network of individuals, working in independent institutions, is the cooperative development of innovative proposals for global governance to support the policy development work of the G20. The CIGI conference "An Unfinished House: Filling the Gaps in International Governance" is the initial stage in this CIGI-led G20 think tank network's cooperative effort. The background paper for the conference provides a useful collection of facts and observations about the universe of global governance arrangements. It offers a preliminary description of the critical gaps and inadequacies - to assist in thinking about the principal dilemmas and research priorities.
Topic:
Development, International Cooperation, and Governance

1314. The Forgotten Villages - Land Reform in Tanzania

Author:
Rasmus Hundsbæk Pedersen
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Successful implementation of t anzania's land reform is being held back by a scarcity of resources and a lack of coherence within the land administration system. ordinary men and women in the villages are losing out, not experiencing any improvement in tenure security. Urgent support is needed to enable village authorities to carry out their task.
Topic:
Agriculture, Development, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
Africa and Tanzania

1315. Research Capacity Development for Environmental Management in Cambodia: Outlining a Multi-Sector Approach

Author:
Kei Otsuki and Shimako Takahashi
Publication Date:
02-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Research capacity development at the higher education level in order to improve environmental planning and management has been considered invaluable in ensuring the sustainable development of developing countries. In least developed countries (LDCs), such as Cambodia, people are especially vulnerable to environmental changes and advanced knowledge is urgently needed to enhance their socio-ecological resilience; however, governments lack both the financial and human resources needed to ensure adequate academic infrastructure for knowledge generation and dissemination. Furthermore, the international aid community has rarely placed emphasis on investing in higher education in developing countries; instead, producing basically skilled labourers through primary and secondary education was considered more effective in bringing return on investment and enhancing economic development. Neither national nor international development agendas have so far resulted in a substantial commitment to research capacity development of academic institutions in LDCs.
Topic:
Development, Education, and Environment
Political Geography:
Cambodia and Southeast Asia

1316. Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries

Author:
Wim Naudé, Adam Szirmai, and Micheline Goedhuys
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Nobody can be left in any doubt as to the importance of innovation for prosperity upon reading that “people living in the first decade of the twentieth century did not know modern dental and medical equipment, penicillin, bypass operations, safe births, control of genetically transmitted diseases, personal computers, compact discs, television sets, automobiles, opportunities for fast and cheap worldwide travel, affordable universities, central heating, air conditioning . . . technological change has transformed the quality of our lives.”
Topic:
Development, Economics, Globalization, and Markets

1317. Reasoning about a distributed probabilistic system

Author:
J.W. Sanders and Ukachukwu Ndukwu
Publication Date:
08-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Reasoning about a distributed system that exhibits a combination of probabilistic and temporal behaviour does not seem to be easy with current techniques. The reason is the interaction between probability and abstraction, made worse by remote synchronisation. In this paper the recently proposed language ptsc (for probability, time and shared-variable concurrency) is extended by constructs for interleaving and local block. Both enhance a designer's ability to modularise a design; the latter also permits a design to be compared with its more abstract specification, by concealing appropriately chosen design variables. Laws of the extended language are studied and applied in a case study consisting of a faulty register-transfer-level design.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, International Organization, United Nations, and Political Theory
Political Geography:
United States

1318. Brave New World: A Literature Review of Emerging Donors and the Changing Nature of Foreign Assistance

Author:
Vijaya Ramachandran and Julie Walz
Publication Date:
11-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
In this paper, we look at the scale and scope of emerging donors, many of which are developing economies themselves. On the basis of a survey of the literature, we find that estimates of annual aid flows from new donors (so-called non-DAC donors) vary greatly and are somewhere between $11 billion and $41.7 billion, or 8 and 31 percent of global gross ODA. We find that new donors are not a monolithic group but instead represent three distinct models of aid delivery, which we describe as the DAC Model, the Arab Model and the Southern Model.
Topic:
Development, Poverty, International Affairs, and Foreign Aid
Political Geography:
Arabia

1319. Publishing Construction Contracts as a Tool for Efficiency and Good Governance

Author:
Charles Kenny
Publication Date:
11-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
Construction is a $1.7 trillion industry worldwide, much of which is linked to publicly financed projects. Outcomes from this financing are frequently suboptimal. Cost and time escalation, as well as poor quality, are linked to weak governance and corruption, which are endemic in the sector. There is considerable evidence that transparency and oversight are potentially powerful tools to reduce the development impact of corruption. One comparatively cheap and potentially powerful tool to improve outcomes in public procurement is the regular publication of contract and implementation details. In particular, the publication of government contracts would considerably improve transparency. Publication would also provide a large stock of public intellectual capital which should (i) reduce legal costs of contracting; and (ii) help spread best practices and ease the process of learning lessons from failed approaches. The approach is feasible: some jurisdictions have already introduced it.
Topic:
Corruption, Development, Political Economy, and Infrastructure

1320. Global Health and the New Bottom Billion: What Do Shifts in Global Poverty and the Global Disease Burden Mean for GAVI and the Global Fund?

Author:
Amanda Glassman, Andy Sumner, and Denizhan Duran
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
After a decade of rapid growth in average incomes, many countries have attained middle-income country (MIC) status. At the same time, the total number of poor people hasn't fallen as much as one might expect and, as a result, most of the world's poor now live in MICs. In fact, there are up to a billion poor people or a 'new bottom billion' living not in the world's poorest countries but in MICs. Not only has the global distribution of poverty shifted to MICs, so has the global disease burden. This paper examines the implications of this 'new bottom billion' for global health efforts and recommends a tailored middle-income strategy for the Global Fund and GAVI. The paper describes trends in the global distribution of poverty, preventable infectious diseases, and health aid response to date; revisits the rationale for health aid through agencies like GAVI and the Global Fund; and proposes a new MIC strategy and components, concluding with recommendations.
Topic:
Development, Globalization, Health, and Poverty