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1461. Pakistan\'s Roller-Coaster Economy: Tax Evasion Stifles Growth

Author:
S. Akbar Zaidi
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
Over the last sixty years, Pakistan\'s economy has seen severe ups and downs. Once considered a model for other developing nations, Pakistan has been unable to sustain solid growth. Furthermore, a third of its population now lives below the poverty line, and its literacy rate is abysmally low. Pakistan\'s economic instability stems in large part from low government revenue resulting from the elite\'s use of tax evasions, loopholes, and exemptions. Fewer than three million of Pakistan\'s 175 million citizens pay any income taxes, and the country\'s tax-to-GDP ratio is only 9 percent. Tax evasion means fewer resources are available for essential social services. Pakistan spends too much on defense and too little on development: It has spent twice as much on defense during peacetime as it has on education and health combined. The government knows how to increase its revenue through tax reform, but the rich and powerful have resisted such measures for fear of lowering their own incomes. Without sufficient revenue the government will continue to be burdened with an unsustainable debt. It needs to end tax exemptions for the wealthy and develop broader, long-term economic plans for sustain able growth. In the past, the United States and other Western nations have come to Pakistan\'s rescue by paying off debts and funding development initiatives. Pakistan\'s elite has no reason to support reform as long as these bailouts come with no conditions attached.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Monetary Policy
Political Geography:
Pakistan and United States

1462. Many Shuras Do Not a Government Make: International Community Engagement with Local Councils in Afghanistan

Author:
Noah Coburn and Shahmahmood Miakhel
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
The need to engage local Afghan leaders and support community decision making has recently been promoted as a key element of both development and counterinsurgency strategies in Afghanistan. The resulting proliferation of community councils—commonly called shuras or jirgas— sponsored by different actors within the Afghan government and international community has decreased the effectiveness of local governance and rule of law in many places. Traditional Afghan dispute resolution and governance bodies are most effective when they are formed by local residents and genuinely reflect the interests of the community. Their legitimacy decreases if international or government sponsors create shuras or jirgas to promote their own interests. This paradox creates a dilemma for programs designed to foster good governance: how to promote community self-rule that reflects traditional values and mechanisms and that develop locally, while adhering to rigid counterinsurgency and development timelines and strategies. These so-called 'traditional' political structures have an important place in local governance in Afghanistan, but the international community should not assume that such bodies fairly represent their respective communities. Rather, sound understanding of local dynamics and in-depth consultation with local government actors and community leaders are necessary to help ensure that such bodies are represented and thus, legitimate within the community. A more coherent, sustainable vision of long-term local governance and coordinated strategies between the Afghan government and international forces is necessary to bring both stability and development to Afghanistan. In particular, this Peace Brief supports the attempts to create a coherent long-term goal of local governance based on legitimate local actors, most likely selected through elections.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Development, War, and Counterinsurgency
Political Geography:
Afghanistan

1463. President José Manuel Ramos-Horta of Timor-Leste

Author:
José Manuel Ramos-Horta
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Columbia University World Leaders Forum
Abstract:
"From Conflict to Peace and Sustainable Development: Timor-Leste experience" An address by President José Manuel Ramos-Horta of Timor-Leste followed by a question and answer session with the audience.
Topic:
Development and Foreign Aid
Political Geography:
Asia and Southeast Asia

1464. Human Rights, Democracy and Development

Author:
Maria Otero
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
Since taking office nearly a year ago as Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs (“G”), I have worked to support the Administration's effort to advance democracy and development, including strengthening institutions that encourage the type of civil society necessary for human rights and democracy to flourish. As the United States looks ahead to 2011, we will continue to build on a policy that supports democratic development of civil society and integrates development into our human rights and democracy agenda.
Topic:
Civil Society, Development, and Human Rights
Political Geography:
United States

1465. Sufian: Healing the Land and the Nation: Malaria and the Zionist Project in Palestine, 1920-1947

Author:
Philippe Bourmaud
Publication Date:
03-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
Healing the Land and the Nation: Malaria and the Zionist Project in Palestine, 1920–1947, by Sandra M. Sufian. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 2007. xx + 348 pages. Bibliography to p. 372. Index to p. 385. $40.00 cloth. Philippe Bourmaud is a professor of modern and contemporary history at Lyon 3 University, France, and a fellow at the Laboratoire de Recherche Historique Rhône-Alpes (Lyon).
Topic:
Development and Governance
Political Geography:
Palestine and Arabia

1466. Dependency and Complacency in the Energy Sector: Implications for Human Security

Publication Date:
10-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS)
Abstract:
The need for higher levels of economic growth and development – in both developing and developed countries – has only served to increase the world's appetite for energy. The persistent dependence on traditional sources of energy in the form of fossil fuels such as oil and coal relegates the plan to develop renewable sources of energy to a long-term goal despite the desire for sustainable development and a low-carbon economy. Such dependency on these energy sources has sometimes come with a degree of complacency. Complacency sets in when profit-driven firms fail to take into account the socioeconomic and environmental implications of the development of traditional energy sources; these could indirectly affect production and operational processes as well as the firms' overall image. This complacency is reflected in ineffective management which can and has posed threats to human security.
Topic:
Security, Development, Economics, and Energy Policy

1467. The Pentagon, Information Operations, and Media Development

Author:
Peter Cary
Publication Date:
10-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
National Endowment for Democracy
Abstract:
A core principle of the United States is that a free and independent press is vital to the formation and maintenance of democracies. During the Cold War, the State Department's media outreach into the former Soviet Union and other Communist- leaning nations was largely limited to the broadcasts of the U.S. Information Agency (USIA). With the fall of the Berlin Wall, the effort broadened: USAID began to encourage and develop independent media in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. In the early 1990s, when the Balkans erupted in conflict, that region became the focus of assistance for media development.
Topic:
International Relations, Cold War, Development, Mass Media, and Foreign Aid
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, Europe, and Berlin

1468. External democracy promotion in Ukraine and Moldova: The impact of the European Union

Author:
Maria Ruxandra Lupu
Publication Date:
10-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
After the European Union's eastward enlargement, the new eastern neighbours are now among others, Ukraine and Moldova. They have been torn between adopting a pro-Western course and staying loyal to the traditional alliance with Russia. This dilemma has shaped the path to domestic socio-political reforms in these countries. This Working Paper by Maria Ruxandra Lupu looks at the role of the EU in supporting the political transformation of Moldova and Ukraine after independence in 1991 and at the domestic context which is of crucial importance if democracy promotion efforts are to be successful. It argues that, so far, the EU has failed to tailor its offerings to fit into the prevailing Ukrainian and Moldovan context and that an agreement with more specific advantages but also more specific demands would probably stimulate more reforms. The unstable domestic developments in the two countries has also had an important role concerning the impact of the EU's neighbourhood policy.
Topic:
Democratization and Development
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Ukraine, and Moldova

1469. Ensuring Urban Food Security in ASEAN

Author:
Mely Caballero-Anthony, Paul Teng, Margarita Escaler, and Pau Khan Khup Hangzo
Publication Date:
08-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS)
Abstract:
This synthesis provides the main findings of the Food Security Expert Group Meeting which was convened by the RSIS Centre for Non-Traditional Security (NTS) Studies in Singapore on 4–5 August 2010. The Meeting brought together experts from multilateral and bilateral agencies, international and regional organisations, universities, agribusiness firms and relevant Singapore government agencies. The Meeting aimed to examine the context of urban food security relative to global food security and rural food security; explore the development of an ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Food Security Management Information System; assist in developing a research agenda on urban food security; and identify possible roles for Singapore in the global food system.
Topic:
Security, Agriculture, Development, and Food
Political Geography:
Singapore and Southeast Asia

1470. Can Donors Be Flexible within Restrictive Budget Systems? Options for Innovative Financing Mechanisms

Author:
Benjamin Leo
Publication Date:
10-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
This paper focuses on how budgetary scorekeeping systems affect governments' ability or willingness to support innovative development finance initiatives and explores several options to overcome the restrictions the systems often impose. As a starting point, it assumes that donor governments, such as the United States, will not reform their budgetary system regulations to accommodate innovative development finance commitments due to political and budget policy concerns. In general, each option outlined entails important financial, political, and bureaucratic challenges and tradeoffs. In other words, there are no silver bullets. However, there are possible approaches that may merit further exploration by donor governments that want to support specific innovative development finance initiatives but are constrained by existing budgetary systems.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Foreign Aid
Political Geography:
United States