Search

Begin New Search Topic Development

3191. Defusing a Ticking Bomb? Disentangling International Organisations

Author:
Indra Øverland
Publication Date:
05-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
This article examines how various organisations divide and coordinate their conflict prevention and development aid in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region of southern Georgia, and how that coordination might be improved. There have been numerous early warnings of impending violent conflict and calls for conflict prevention in Samtskhe-Javakheti. Counter-claims have, however, been asserted that the region's problem is in fact not one of potential violent ethnic conflict, but rather one of poverty and peripherality, and that exaggerated, uncoordinated early warning might in fact inflate conflicts that were not initially acute. At one point it seemed that the Samtskhe-Javakheti case would provide an example of uncoordinated and one-sided focus on conflict prevention and early warning on the part of international organisations, and its potentially detrimental consequences. An overview of the activities of the organisations, however, shows the contrary. A critical, sensitive and deconstructive perspective is already incorporated into their approach, and their activities are well coordinated. More formalised institutions are nonetheless needed to ensure the inclusion of large multilateral actors such as the World Bank and Council of Europe in the process, and consistent coordination in other regions too.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Development, and International Organization
Political Geography:
Europe, Eastern Europe, and Georgia

3192. The e-government imperative: main findings

Publication Date:
03-2003
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
Since the advent of computers, and more recently the Internet, pressure on governments to perform better has increased, and information and communication technologies (ICTs) have provided them with the capacity to do so via e-government. E-government is here defined as “the use of ICTs, and particularly the Internet, as a tool to achieve better government”. The impact of e-government at the broadest level is simply better government – e-government is more about government than about “e”. It enables better policy outcomes, higher quality services and greater engagement with citizens. Governments and public administrations will, and should, continue to be judged against these established criteria for success.
Topic:
Development, Government, and Science and Technology

3193. Engaging Citizens Online for Better Policy-making

Publication Date:
03-2003
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
Today, all OECD Member countries recognise new information and communication technologies (ICTs) to be powerful tools for enhancing citizen engagement in public policy-making. Despite the limited experience to date, some initial lessons for online citizen engagement in policy-making are emerging: Technology is an enabler not the solution. Integration with traditional, “offline” tools for access to information, consultation and public participation in policy-making is needed to make the most of ICTs.
Topic:
Development and Science and Technology

3194. Disability programmes in need of reform

Publication Date:
02-2003
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
OECD countries spend at least twice as much on disability-related programmes as they spend on unemployment. Disability benefits on average account for more than 10 percent of total social spending. In the Netherlands, Norway and Poland they reach as much as 20 percent.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Government, Human Welfare, and Non-Governmental Organization
Political Geography:
Norway, Poland, and Netherlands

3195. Philosophy and Principles of Community Based Policing

Publication Date:
10-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
South Eastern Europe Clearinghouse for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons
Abstract:
This policy document forms the first part of a process of work that focuses on community-based policing (CBP) and how it can be implemented in conjunction with small arms and light weapons (SALW) initiatives. The document will serve as a framework for the South Eastern Europe Clearinghouse for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SEESAC) to guide the development and implementation of CBP in the region. It will also form part of a set of tools that the UNDP Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR) is producing. The second phase of this work will provide an operational framework for the UNDP Country Office in Albania for implementing CBP in Albania.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Development
Political Geography:
Europe and Albania

3196. Final Evaluation: The OTI Program In East Timor

Author:
Jeffrey Clark, Lia Juliani, and Ann von Briesen Lewis
Publication Date:
02-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Agency for International Development
Abstract:
The report which follows constitutes the final evaluation of the three year Office of Transition Initiatives operation in East Timor. It stems from an independent examination and analysis of OTI's program in that country, as it emerged from the violence of September 1999 and faced the multiple challenges inherent in constructing a new government and in defining a new nation. The evaluation, conducted in October and November of 2002, was undertaken through a big picture approach meant to capture the entirety of OTI's experience in East Timor. The evaluators concentrated on two fundamental questions: Is there evidence that OTI's interventions had impact? Did the interventions deliver on the stated objectives?
Topic:
Development, Economics, Government, and Politics
Political Geography:
Southeast Asia

3197. Establishing a Stable Democratic Constitutional Structure in Iraq: Some Basic Considerations

Publication Date:
05-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Public International Law Policy Group
Abstract:
As the situation in Iraq continues to stabilize, the people of Iraq will turn to the task of reconstituting an Iraqi state. One of the first steps in this process will be to design, agree upon, and implement a new constitutional structure. While drafting a new constitution is a difficult and contentious process for any country, the challenges are substantially magnified for Iraq given its complex mosaic of ethnic and religious identities, the history of repression under Saddam Hussein, the necessary presence of American forces, and Iraq's complex relations with its neighboring states.
Topic:
Democratization, Development, and War
Political Geography:
Iraq, Middle East, and Arabia

3198. Business Combinations Desk Book

Publication Date:
09-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Abstract:
Department of Defense (DoD) research, development, and acquisition policies, funding and program decisions, have a major impact on competition and industry transformation. DoD assessments of proposed business combinations (generally, domestic and foreign firm mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures) must complement such policies and decisions to sustain credible competition in an evolving industrial environment.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Development, Industrial Policy, and Science and Technology

3199. Report of the Defense Science Board Task Force on Joint Experimentation, Phase 1

Publication Date:
09-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Abstract:
The Defense Science Board (DSB) Task Force on Joint Experimentation was established to examine the joint experimentation programs and activities at the Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) and to recommend ways to enhance the contributions of joint experimentation to transformation. The Task Force assessed the goals, process, and substance of JFCOM's experimentation program. The Task Force also provided an external review of the Millennium Challenge 02 (MC02) experiment.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, and Development
Political Geography:
United States

3200. Potential and Limits of the Pact of Stability for South East Europe: Prioritising Objectives

Author:
Plamen Pantev
Publication Date:
02-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Austrian National Defence Academy
Abstract:
The Pact of Stability for South East Europe was “born” after the end of the Kosovo crisis in 1999 as a concept of dealing radically with the Balkan instabilities, but also as a geopolitical compromise of the great power centres, involved in the treatment of the post-Yugoslav conflicts. The ripeness of launching this concept and policy had several dimensions: Most of the countries from South East Europe, especially those in transition to democracy and market economy, had a definite strategy of integrating in both the European Union and in NATO; A certain level of regional cooperation had already been reached in the years that preceded the Kosovo crisis in 1999; Influential external powers had already realised that the Balkans need to be treated in the long-term only in a benign way to overcome historical deficiencies and belated modernisation of the economy, society, politics, technology and infrastructure; The disgusting consequences of four post-Yugoslav wars – a development that did not happen to two other former federal structures in Central and Eastern Europe (the Czechoslovak and the Soviet) necessitated a comprehensive and encompassing approach to deal with the plethora of issues in the Balkans, and the EU gradually evolved to the understanding that an additional strategic instrument needs to be launched to cope with the risks and instabilities in the region of South East Europe on the way of its own expansion and of turning the Balkan Peninsula into an integral part of the Union.
Topic:
Security, NATO, Development, and International Cooperation
Political Geography:
Europe, Eastern Europe, Kosovo, and Balkans