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1452. Beyond good governance
- Author:
- Jenny Hayward-Jones
- Publication Date:
- 09-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Lowy Institute for International Policy
- Abstract:
- The Pacific Islands region is not on track to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, the internationally agreed targets for improving human development by 2015. The Melanesian countries, which have the largest population, face the most significant challenges in attempting to meet the goals. In the Port Moresby Declaration of 6 March 2008, the Australian government promised to work jointly with Pacific Island countries to meet the goals in the context of new Pacific Partnerships for Development. While the Millennium Development Goals may not be the fairest measurement of the success of inputs from the Australian aid program, they provide a valuable universal mechanism of measuring development outcomes.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Development, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Australia/Pacific
1453. Multi-Stakeholder Cooperation in Global Governance
- Author:
- Mikael Wigell
- Publication Date:
- 11-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Finnish Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Over the past few decades, new forms of international cooperation have emerged that go beyond traditional intergovernmental multilateralism. In this new mode of global governance, “global public-private partnerships”, “multi-sectoral networks”, “multi-stakeholder arrangements”, “plurilateral coalitions”, and “global public policy networks” bring multiple stakeholders – public, private and not-for-profit – together in common forums to engage in consensus-oriented problem-solving. Today, such multi-stakeholder cooperation can be identified in a variety of issue-areas across global, regional and local levels, involving a broad set of actors ranging from governments and international organizations to NGOs and transnational corporations. As such, these are initiatives that try to respond to the new challenges of governance in the age of globalization.
- Topic:
- Development, Globalization, Government, International Cooperation, Non-Governmental Organization, and Governance
1454. Depoliticizing Zimbabwe's Economy: Solutions for Two Million Percent
- Author:
- Raymond Gilpin
- Publication Date:
- 08-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- Although Zimbabwe's deep-seated economic malaise has robbed citizens of their savings, rendered incomes practically worthless and undermined domestic productivity, experts believe that a resolution of the political impasse could trigger much-needed policy reform and economic revitalization. This USIPeace Briefing reviews policy options and recommendations proffered at a USIP roundtable discussion on August 12, 2008. The panelists were: Keith Campbell, Managing Director at the Executive Research Associates; Bernard Harborne, Lead Conflict Specialist at the World Bank; Frank Young, Vice President of Abt Associates; Callisto Madavo, visiting professor at the African Studies Program at Georgetown University. USIP's Raymond Gilpin moderated the event.
- Topic:
- Corruption, Economics, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Zimbabwe
1455. Special Report No. 216: The Treasury Approach to State-Building and Institution-Strengthening Assistance: Experience in Iraq and Broader Implications
- Author:
- Jeremiah S. Pam
- Publication Date:
- 10-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- The U.S. Treasury Department's approach to helping states build and strengthen their public institutions responsible for financial management is worth studying both because of the intrinsic importance of these institutions to an adequately functioning government and because it illustrates some key dynamics underlying state-building assistance more generally. A key premise of Treasury's approach is a primary orientation toward assisting local government institutions on mutually agreed-upon reform programs, based on a thorough understanding of the local administrative systems to be reformed. This orientation is reinforced by the fact that Treasury's contribution is typically only a small number of policy officials and embedded technical advisors, rather than large U.S.-funded programs. In the conventional case where state-building and institution-strengthening are pursued as part of a long-term development strategy, Treasury provides assistance through two activities that are organizationally and functionally distinct: advisors fielded by Treasury's Office of Technical Assistance (OTA), who are technical experts and usually based within local institutions at the request of host governments, and financial attachés, who act as financial policy officials/diplomats and are based at the U.S. embassies in a smaller group of countries. extraordinary situations where state-building follows an intervention (as in Iraq), deployed technical experts need to be partnered with a senior policy official (such as the Treasury attaché) who can create space for local institution–oriented work by shaping (and, where necessary, resisting) the many “centrifugal” external forces— from Washington, the military, and other civilian and international agencies—pulling in other directions. Improving interagency coordination mechanisms in Washington might do relatively little to enhance effectiveness by itself. Indeed, tighter Washington interagency “alignment” could end up strengthening Washington coordinating bodies at the expense of knowledgeable field officials and experts. It may be better to create the conditions for more effective interagency coordination in the field by deploying senior policy champions who both understand the importance of a local institution-oriented approach and possess sufficient delegated authority to tame the centrifugal forces necessary to make space for it. An expeditionary corps of technical experts by itself is insufficient to deal with the unconventional challenges presented by post-intervention state-building operations because the centrifugal forces present in such an environment are strong enough to undermine even the most sound assistance program absent the support of appropriately oriented policy champions.
- Topic:
- Government
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iraq, Washington, and Middle East
1456. Elections in the DRC: The Bemba Surprise
- Author:
- Tatiana Carayannis
- Publication Date:
- 02-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- The surprising showing of Jean-Pierre Bemba in the 2006 presidential elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has its roots in the histories of both the candidate and his party in the conflict in the DRC. However, the space for opposition politics in the DRC is rapidly closing. With weak political institutions in place, the government increasingly relies on strong-handedness at home even as it is looking abroad for financing and infrastructure development. The violence in eastern DRC poses great challenges for the new government but also opportunities for external actors to support peacebuilding efforts by working multilaterally. Should President Joseph Kabila's progressive weakening continue and a leadership vacuum emerge, Bemba would be a strong candidate to fill it.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution and Government
- Political Geography:
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
1457. Conflict-Sensitive Approach to Infrastructure Development
- Author:
- Merriam Mashatt, Major General Daniel Long, and James Crum
- Publication Date:
- 01-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- Infrastructure development is the foundation of a sustainable economy and a means to achieving broader nation-building goals. Providing basic services is critical to security, governance, economic development, and social well-being. U.S. military forces have improved planning and coordination mechanisms and have created doctrine, planning processes, and training exercises that are shared by all branches of the military. This type and level of coordination mechanism is necessary for civilian and military coordination, as well, and progress is starting to be made in this important area. The complexity of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) often results in missed opportunities to act quickly in restoring essential services. Contracting officers are often reluctant to take chances in expediting infrastructure contracts due to concerns about violating the FAR. Simplified contracting, use of smaller projects, and reach - back support are three ways to ensure fleeting opportunities are not lost. In conflict-sensitive environments, the condition of infrastructure is often a barometer of whether a society will slip further into violence or make a peaceful transition out of the conflict cycle. The rapid restoration of essential services, such as water, sanitation, and electricity, assists in the perception of a return to normalcy and contributes to the peace process. According to James I. Wasserstrom, head of the Office for Oversight of Publicly- Owned Enterprises (utilities) in the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, infrastructure adds “arms and legs” to strategies aimed at winning “hearts and minds.” Infrastructure is fundamental to moving popular support away from prewar or during-conflict loyalties and to moving spoilers in favor of postwar political objectives. This U.S. Institute of Peace Special Report presents a model that links the infrastructure cycle with conflict analysis. This model is helpful to focus the attention of the infrastructure program planners and implementers on the conflict cycle. In many instances, infrastructure experts approach problems from an engineering perspective. While this view is important, it must be married with an appreciation of the conflict dynamic. Indeed, traditional engineering concerns, such as efficiency, are secondary in a conflict-sensitive approach.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Development, and Government
- Political Geography:
- United States and Kosovo
1458. The Children of Antifascism: Exploring Young Historians Clubs in the GDR
- Author:
- Catherine Plum
- Publication Date:
- 03-2008
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- German Politics and Society
- Institution:
- German Politics and Society Journal
- Abstract:
- In 1982, a ninth grader named Anna from Eberswalde-Finow composed an essay in which she recounted one of the most influential moments in her life. One might have expected a description of a triumphant victory at a swim meet or gymnastics competition. Instead, Anna described a day four years earlier when she was formally inducted into a special club at her school. The initiation ceremony took place at an historical site laden with a disturbing legacy, the former concentration camp of Ravensbrück. Anna remembered the moment when she became a card-carrying member of the young military historians:
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Education, Government, and Political Theory
1459. The "Going" of the Third Reich: Recivilizing Germans through Political Education
- Author:
- Dieter K. Buse
- Publication Date:
- 03-2008
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- German Politics and Society
- Institution:
- German Politics and Society Journal
- Abstract:
- Historians and political sciences have begun to discuss how and when postwar Germany overcame its authoritarian past and reestablished democracy and a tolerant civil society. This article argues that the national and regional Offices for Political Education have contributed significantly to the recivilizing process. The article provides the first preliminary academic attempt to outline the offices' historical background, their changing institutional structure, and their place in the civic education context since the mid 1950s. A series of case studies examine the historical literature disseminated by specific offices to illustrate the process of overcoming a problematic past and constructing new identities. In turn, the historical role models promoted by the offices, the manner in which federalism was presented, the timing of and fashion in which the Holocaust became a significant theme and the way in which regional identities were understood and fostered, are examined. These cases illustrate how historical information was employed, at first in fairly simple and propagandistic fashion, but always to inculcate democratic and civil norms. The question of the impact of the offices' work is left open, since research on reception has yet to be undertaken, but some evidence about their important contributions to reshaping German values is provided.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Education, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Germany
1460. Transport Infrastructure in Shrinking (East) Germany
- Author:
- Weert Canzler
- Publication Date:
- 06-2008
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- German Politics and Society
- Institution:
- German Politics and Society Journal
- Abstract:
- Policy on transport infrastructure in Germany will come under increasing pressure thanks to considerable changes in basic conditions. Demographic change, shifts in economic and regional structures, continued social individualization, and the chronic budget crisis in the public sphere are forcing a readjustment of government action. At root, the impact of the changes in demographics and economic structures touches on what Germans themselves think their postwar democracy stands for. Highly consensual underlying assumptions about Germany as a model are being shaken. The doctrine that development of infrastructure is tantamount to growth and prosperity no longer holds. The experience in eastern Germany shows that more and better infrastructure does not automatically lead to more growth. Moreover, uniform government regulation is hitting limits. If the differences between boom regions and depopulated zones remain as large as they are, then it makes no sense to have the same regulatory maze apply to both cases. In transportation policy, that shift would mean recasting the legal foundations of public transport.
- Topic:
- Demographics, Development, Economics, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Germany