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111. From Revolution to Reform - Georgia's Struggle with Democratic Institution Building and Security Sector Reform

Author:
Eden Cole and Philipp H. Fluri
Publication Date:
07-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Austrian National Defence Academy
Abstract:
The theme of this book is 'Georgian Security Sector Governance after the 'Rose Revolution''. After the downfall of Shevardnadze's authoritarian regime, apostrophied by many Western observers as 'mild', and therefore worthy of support, there have been definite changes in how security is perceived. 'Good governance' means introducing fundamental political changes according to the principles and practices of democracy. Although the countries that we recognize as democratic do not have completely identical political mechanisms, methods and procedures for governance, it is not difficult to determine whether a political system is democratic or not. For Georgia, as for all transition countries, the first important matter on the reform agenda was setting up the structure of governance, that is, writing constitutions and laws, erecting political institutions, and making them work. External experts who assess how well security sector governance functions in those countries designated as 'new democracies' sometimes neglect to take into account the fact that they indeed are new; that they have not had the many years, even many centuries, that the Western countries have had to develop the ways and means, the habits and customs, of their Executives and Legislatures.
Topic:
Security, Democratization, International Organization, Non-Governmental Organization, and Politics
Political Geography:
Balkans and Georgia

112. Towards a New Profile? Development, Humanitarian and Conflict-Resolution NGOs in the Age of Globalization

Author:
Tobias Debiel and Monika Sticht
Publication Date:
01-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Development and Peace
Abstract:
Both the significance and the profile of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have undergone a fundamental transformation in the past twenty years. In development cooperation new fields such as ecological sustainability and the promotion of democracy have emerged besides 'traditional' issues like poverty reduction. Furthermore, confronted with the realities of war and state decline, developmental NGOs pay increasing attention to crisis prevention and the resolution of conflicts; even a new type of nongovernmental organization has appeared, conflict-resolution NGOs. The change has been particularly dramatic in the area of humanitarian aid: even before the end of the Cold War some NGOs – Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) at the head of all of them – freed themselves from the “straitjacket” of only conducting humanitarian operations with the permission of the (often illegitimate) local government; meanwhile the concept of sovereignty has been substantially redefined. NGOs, however, also con- formed to the imperatives of globalization and commercialization, and formed oligopolies on the market for humanitarian aid. At the same time, they are also confronted with their own “powerlessness” in conflict zones: actors of violence and power-holders successfully attempt to instrumentalize humanitarian aid for their own purposes, and western military forces threaten the independence of humanitarian work by demanding subordination to political and strategic goals.
Topic:
Globalization, Government, Humanitarian Aid, Non-Governmental Organization, Privatization, and Sovereignty

113. Protecting Human Rights: A Comparative Study :- (Appendix B IGOs and INGOs)

Author:
Todd Landman
Publication Date:
09-2005
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Georgetown University Press
Abstract:
The data analysis employed two measures of “organizational” inter- dependence. The first is the number of international governmental organizations (IGOs) of which each country is a member. The second is the number of international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) with a registered office in each country. Both sets of numbers come from the Union of International Associations (UIA), which publishes statistical yearbooks with membership figures. In both cases, the analysis uses the total number of organizations across the different categories. Although the IGO data come from the UIA, Bruce Russet at Yale University kindly provided the tabulated figures by country. The INGO numbers were obtained from the UIA year- books and input into the data set by Gemma Mackman, a researcher at the University of Essex who worked on this study in 2003.
Topic:
Human Rights, International Law, Non-Governmental Organization, and United Nations

114. Enhancing Minority Governance in Romania. The Romanian Draft Law on the Status of National Minorities: Issues of Definition, NGO Status and Cultural Autonomy

Author:
Christopher Decker and Aidan McGarry
Publication Date:
05-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues
Abstract:
ECMI and the DRI organized the second event of the “Improving Inter-ethnic Relations through Enhanced Minority Governance” project on 17–19 March 2005 in Sinaia, Romania. The head and both deputy heads of the DRI attended the roundtable along with national minority members of the Romanian Parliament and representatives of the national minority organizations represented on the Council of National Minorities. There were two fundamental purposes for the meeting. One was to provide the group with background information on the three major issues that will feature in the draft law on the status of national minorities, namely: defining a national minority; the status of national minority organizations under Romanian law; and cultural autonomy. The second purpose was to facilitate dialogue between the national minorities and the government concerning these main issues to be addressed in the draft law, so as to allow the government to hear the concerns and wishes of the national minority groups. It was noted that this was the first time that national minorities have been able to have a forum to discuss a draft law before it was presented to parliament. This report seeks to provide an account of the presentations and discussions that took place during this meeting, including some of the theories and practicalities of differing forms of definition, laws concerning NGOs and political parties, and models of cultural autonomy used in European states.
Topic:
Ethnic Conflict, Human Rights, and Non-Governmental Organization
Political Geography:
Europe

115. The Origins of Global Civil Society and Non-Territorial Governance: Some Empirical Reflections

Author:
William D. Coleman and Sarah Wayland
Publication Date:
02-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute on Globalization and the Human Condition, McMaster University
Abstract:
In contemporary discussions of global governance, many scholars have posited the possibility that networks of new social movements, publicly-oriented non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and other non-state actors have the potential to create pressures for increased transparency and accountability. A more legitimate democratic global politics would follow. Such networks are often seen to be the base of “global civil society”. Understanding the origins of global civil society is important if we are to assess well its possible contribution to addressing the challenge of global democratic governance in an era of globalization. In this paper, we evaluate two different views about the origins of global civil society. The first suggests that global civil society has been developing rationally over a long period of time, continuous with the development of domestic civil society in democracies. The second postulates global civil society to be a relatively new phenomenon, one that has emerged to respond to unprecedented challenges to democracy as a result of globalization.
Topic:
International Relations, Agriculture, Civil Society, Globalization, International Political Economy, Non-Governmental Organization, and Science and Technology

116. HIV/AIDS as a Security Issue in Africa: Lessons from Uganda

Publication Date:
04-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
HIV/AIDS prevention and conflict prevention should go hand in hand. They are the two blades of the scissors required to cut the strangler's cord choking Africa. Some 2.5 million Africans will die of AIDS in 2004. One in four African countries presently suffers from the effects of armed conflict.
Topic:
Security, Human Welfare, Non-Governmental Organization, Poverty, and War
Political Geography:
Uganda and Africa

117. Multiactor Global Funds: New Tools to Address Urgent Global Problems

Author:
Jeremy Heimans
Publication Date:
07-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Multiactor global funds (MGFs) are emerging as important new mechanisms for the financing of development and other global priorities. MGFs like the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria are distinctive because they are administered and financed by multiactor coalitions of governments, international organizations, the private sector and civil society, they operate independently of any one institution and are tied to particular issue or policy areas. This paper considers the desirability of MGFs as instruments for international financial mobilization, resource allocation and as a form of experimentation in global governance. It is argued that MGFs hold considerable promise as focal points for generating additional public and private resources to address urgent global problems and to finance global public goods. They may be more operationally nimble than traditional mechanisms and capture some of the benefits of collaboration among different actors. However, MGFs may also result in a less coherent response to global problems, duplicate existing structures and be weakly democratically accountable.
Topic:
International Relations, Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Non-Governmental Organization

118. Democratizing Globalization? Impacts and Limitations of Transnational Social Movements

Author:
Jackie Smith
Publication Date:
12-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute on Globalization and the Human Condition, McMaster University
Abstract:
This paper examines the organizational foundations for global democracy that have been developed through the efforts of generations of activists who have conceptualized their struggles in transnational or global terms. A broad look at the history of transnational activism shows that the “battle of Seattle” against the World Trade Organization had its origins well before the fall of 1999. It also shows that activists from poor countries have played strong roles in shaping the course of past global activism, and they are likely to play central roles in defining the future course of global struggles for democracy and social justice. Finally, we see that transnational activism has helped cultivate skills, collective identities, and perspectives on global interdependence that affect the possibilities for social movement activism today. At the same time, anti-democratic forces led mainly by the U.S. government have sought to preserve existing relations of domination and exploitation against the latest movement challenges. The current “war on terror” serves to mask a longer-term effort by proponents of economic globalization to restrict public opposition to their agenda. I outline some of the key reactions that the U.S. and other Western governments have taken in response to movement challenges, and I suggest several lessons this analysis uncovers for how activists—primarily those in the U.S. and other Western countries—can work to enhance the struggle for a more democratic global system.
Topic:
Globalization, Government, Human Rights, and Non-Governmental Organization
Political Geography:
United States

119. Russian Foreign Policy Think Tanks in 2002

Author:
Katri Pynnöniemi
Publication Date:
01-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
This report provides a general picture of research institutes working in the areas of foreign and security policy in Moscow and St. Petersburg. In the following, I will briefly discuss changes in research financing and the consequent reorganisation of the research community. After this, major changes in the study of international relations in Russia are also discussed. A list of the most important research institutes in Moscow and St. Petersburg is appended to the report. In addition, information is provided on the forums and publications of most importance in the foreign-policy debate.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Non-Governmental Organization, and Politics
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Asia, and Moscow

120. Policies that increase vulnerability to corruption

Author:
Dwight Ink
Publication Date:
12-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The National Academy of Public Administration
Abstract:
My comments on donor policies that increase vulnerability to corruption grow out of experience of directing the Agency for International Development programs in the Western Hemisphere, as well as assessing USAID missions in Africa, the Near East, and Asia. Following this work, I headed a non-profit organization, the Institute of Public Administration, which has been heavily involved in the transition of countries in Europe and Asia from dictatorships to market economies and democratic societies. I should point out, however, that my background is in management, not banking or economics.
Topic:
Development, Non-Governmental Organization, Poverty, and Third World
Political Geography:
Africa, Europe, and Asia