http://www.gsdrc.org Academic and policy-relevant publications on governance and international development. en-uk Copyright © 2012 Governance and Social Development Resource Centre Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:00:13 GMT Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:00:13 GMT http://www.gsdrc.org/rss/open george@gsdrc.org george@gsdrc.org http://www.gsdrc.org/images/logos/logo_gsdrc.gif http://www.gsdrc.org 205 90 GSDRC logo Philip N. Howard and Muzammil M. Hussain What has the 'Arab Spring' taught us about the role of digital media in political uprisings and democratisation? What are the implications of these events for our understanding of how democratisation works today? This study argues that social media have become a significant tool for civil society. New information technologies give activists information networks not easily controlled by the state and coordination tools that are already embedded in trusted networks of family and friends. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4222&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4222&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT Jonathan Friedman What can be learned from the South African government's introduction of a service delivery monitoring system? This study examines the efforts of the Ministry of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation established by Jacob Zuma in 2009. The study shows that the chief ministers succeeded in encouraging departments to set measurable performance targets, but as political support waned, the sustainability of the system was put in doubt. Nevertheless, some officials believe that the system has changed the culture of planning, monitoring and evaluation of policies in South Africa to embrace data-based processes. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4221&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4221&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT Nauja Kleist There is a growing trend in Ghana of appointing traditional authorities with an international migrant background. This study shows that Ghanaian chiefs who have lived abroad are expected to draw on transnational networks and experiences to bring development and innovation to their areas. Some collaborate with international development agencies, NGOs, and migrants, and tour European and North American countries. 'Return chiefs' must balance 'the modern' and 'the traditional', and their practices in negotiating this tension are both local and global. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4214&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4214&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT Joseph Siegle et al. This paper suggests that the Arab Spring is a trigger for further democratic reforms in Africa, rather than a driver. There are few linear relationships linking events in North Africa to specific shifts in democratisation on the continent. However, the frustration propelling the protests in North Africa resonates with many Africans. The Arab Spring is instigating changes in the expectations that African citizens have of their governments. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4212&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4212&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT Kwesi Aning and Andrews Atta-Asamoah What are the links between demographic factors, economic and environmental pressures, and conflict in West Africa? This paper examines West African conflicts, focusing on the 1990s, and argues that demographic, economic and environmental factors need to be given greater consideration in attempts to promote peace. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4208&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4208&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT Claire L. Adida Why do some minority groups involved in South-South migration integrate into their host societies, whereas others face exclusion and hostility? Why, for example, are Nigerian Hausas integrated into Ghanaian society in Accra but rejected in Niamey (Niger)? This study draws on surveys of Nigerian Hausa and Yoruba immigrants and host populations in urban Ghana, Benin and Niger. Its findings suggest that cultural similarities may worsen, not improve, immigrant-host relations in sub-Saharan Africa: cultural similarities seem to motivate immigrant community leaders to preserve their group identities by highlighting group boundaries. In addition, host societies seem to reject groups that can easily blend in because those groups can access indigenous benefits in the competition for scarce resources. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4207&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4207&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT Achim Maas and Alexander Carius This paper reviews the options available for small island states to adapt to global environmental change, particularly climate change. Climate change may create new pressures for small island states (such as severe ocean acidification) and intensify others (such as sea-level changes) in a comparatively short, yet unpredictable, amount of time. Internal relocation and migration is a tested adaptation practice for such states, which already have well-established migration links. However, with greater access to financial resources – by increasing the extent to which island states profit from fishing or mining concessions, for example – and by investing in people and knowledge, states can reduce the need for future relocation. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4205&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4205&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT Carolyn Logan This examination of 2008-9 Afrobarometer survey data finds intense support for traditional authority across 19 African countries and all socio-demographic groups: large majorities believe that the institution should still play a significant role in local governance. Africans place considerable value on chiefs' role in managing and resolving conflict, their leadership qualities and their accessibility. Traditional leaders also seem to play an essential symbolic role as representatives of community identity, unity, continuity and stability: they seem to derive their support at least as much from who they are as from what they do. As long as chiefs continue to produce (especially intrinsic) benefits for their communities, they will continue to be perceived as important players who must remain active in local governance if it is to function effectively. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4197&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4197&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT Wilson Prichard How can tax reform enhance citizen-state relations? This report examines the role of taxation in building more responsive and accountable government, and in expanding state capacity. It finds that the specific character of tax systems and of tax reform is very important to strengthening connections between taxation and broader governance gains. Governments and donors can strengthen tax-governance links through three types of actions: 1) specific measures to enhance and re-orient the dominant tax reform agenda; 2) support for civil society actors to engage in debates about tax issues; 3) managing the provision of aid in ways that maximise positive revenue-raising incentives and local accountability. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4196&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4196&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT Samuel Hickey There have been growing calls to reframe social protection in terms of extending the 'social contract' to the poorest groups. This is often understood as relocating social protection within a broader project politics of rights and justice as opposed to patronage. However, it is important to consider the significant differences within social contract theory and between their related forms of social protection. 'Contracts' are not unproblematically progressive, and it seems unlikely that international development agencies could promote progressive social contracts around social protection without significant shifts in practice. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4190&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4190&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT Carl Jackson et al. In what ways can social protection programming with its investments in human capital (through education, health and nutrition) stop the intergenerational transfer of poverty? This study examines social protection programmes in Kenya, Zambia and Mongolia to understand the factors (design and implementation) that account for success. It also assesses how research can be used to improve good practice within a multilateral organisation such as UNICEF. It argues that agencies need to ensure that ground-level good practice is effectively brought into policy and programming. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4189&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4189&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT Rachel Marcus and Paola Pereznieto et al This study maps child-sensitive social protection initiatives in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), where children are typically overrepresented among the poor. It also considers the main actors involved in social protection provision, their strategies and programme limitations, and provides recommendations for improved child social protection. Challenges to more effective and child-sensitive social protection in the region include financial barriers, the fragmentation of provision, local-level difficulties in obtaining the correct documentation to obtain benefits, and citizens’ lack of knowledge of their entitlements. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4188&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4188&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT Katherine Casey, Rachel Glennerster and Edward Miguel 'Community driven development' (CDD) has become a popular donor strategy in seeking to improve local institutions in developing countries. This study evaluates a CDD project in Sierra Leone that combined block grants for local public goods with intensive training and requirements for minority inclusion designed to catalyse collective action and empowerment. The study finds positive short-term effects on local public goods provision and economic outcomes, but no sustained impacts on collective action, decision-making processes, or the involvement of marginalised groups in local affairs. It also indicates the value of a pre-analysis plan in avoiding distorted results. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4182&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4182&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT Odd-Helge Fjeldstad Why have many anti-corruption reforms in customs in sub-Saharan Africa apparently not succeeded? This paper argues that the reforms have been too focused on formal institutions, and have paid too little attention to political economy issues and the role of informal institutions. Customs officers are often torn between compliance with abstract bureaucratic norms and the concrete expectations of their networks of social belonging. Accordingly, policy initiatives should focus more on reducing the possibility or attraction of favouritism versus acting in the public interest. This calls for anti-corruption efforts based on thorough political economy analysis. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4181&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4181&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT Tim Kelsall Is it possible to boost poverty-reducing economic investment and growth in Africa by working with, rather than against, neo-patrimonial politics? This study of seven 'middle African' countries shows that neo-patrimonialism can be harnessed for developmental ends – if pro-market, pro-rural policies and an institutional system for centralising and distributing economic rents with a long-term view are in place. However, problems associated with developmental patrimonial systems include: a potential loss of civil liberties; lack of sustainability; and inapplicability in some country contexts. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4180&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4180&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT Huma Haider This article suggests that transitional justice could contribute more positively to the process of reconciliation, one of its core aims, by: 1) supporting and working alongside coexistence initiatives; and 2) incorporating coexistence frameworks within its own processes and mechanisms. Coexistence initiatives – such as dialogue facilitation, intergroup projects aimed at achieving shared goals, and media campaigns designed to reframe the 'other' – are essential to restoring trust, transforming perceptions and rebuilding relationships in divided societies. Unless people's lived realities are transformed, members of identify groups are likely to continue to focus on 'data' that confirm their existing beliefs. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4178&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4178&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT Roger Duthie How does transitional justice fit within broader responses to the problem of displacement? Conflict-induced displacement is an important factor in contexts in which transitional justice operates, yet displacement has received little attention in the literature and practice of transitional justice. This article argues that transitional justice can and should address displacement, but in doing so needs to take account of and establish links with other relevant actors. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4174&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4174&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT Michael Bratton, Ravi Bhavnani and Tse-Hsin Chen This study finds that economic interests play a larger role in people's voting intentions in African elections than previously recognised. More would-be voters in Africa consider policy performance, especially the government’s perceived handling of unemployment, inflation, and income distribution, than they do ethnic considerations. In addition, people tend to vote for established ruling parties because they expect them to win: they wish to gain access to patronage benefits and to avoid retribution after the election. These dynamics are most evident in countries where dominant parties restrict electoral choice. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4171&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4171&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT Alexander Ramsbotham and I. William Zartman This article reviews peacebuilding strategies in Asia, Europe, the Caucasus, Africa, Central America and the Middle East. It shows that country-based analysis can produce flawed conflict responses. Instead, policy based on conflict systems can shape more flexible and comprehensive responses. It can identify actors and dynamics that exist outside state borders, such as narcotic networks that support insurgent groups, and incorporate these into peacebuilding interventions. Thus, cross-border peacebuliding needs to 'think outside the state' – both beyond it, through regional engagement, and below it, through sub-state cross-border community or trade networks. To work effectively, supra- and sub-state initiatives need to be strategically linked. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4168&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4168&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT Grace Maina How effectively have the needs of women and girls been addressed during rehabilitation, reintegration and post-conflict reconstruction in Uganda? This study looks the reintegration experience of women and girls after the long war between the Ugandan government and the Lord's Resistance Army. The study analyses the situation in the context of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, which calls on all actors to address the special needs of women and girls during rehabilitation, reintegration and post-conflict reconstruction. The study concludes that, since the female populations in northern Uganda still struggle with deprivation, want and exclusion, it is difficult speak of meaningful and durable peace. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4167&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4167&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT