http://www.gsdrc.org Academic and policy-relevant publications on governance and international development. en-uk Copyright © 2013 Governance and Social Development Resource Centre Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:00:11 GMT Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:00:11 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 Rob Bailey This document is the final report of a Chatham House research project on the barriers that hinder appropriate response to early warning of slow-onset food crises. It finds that famine risk is well understood but badly managed. Famine early warning does not lead to early action, often because of governments' perceptions of political risk: changing the status quo requires that governments anticipate political reward from acting to reduce famine risk and expect to be penalised for failing to do so. The report includes recommendations for operational, institutional and funding reform. It also suggests testing new approaches and enabling vulnerable communities to take early action themselves. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=5303&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=5303&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT Enock Yonazi, Tim Kelly, Naomi Halewood and Colin Blackman (Eds.) This report explores the growing contribution of ICTs to government services, financial services, education, health, climate change adaptation and agriculture. It also examines two cross-cutting themes: regional trade and integration, and ICT competitiveness.This summary focuses on the chapter ‘Modernizing Government through ICT’. The chapter sets out a three-tier framework for ICT-enabled public service delivery, noting the need for a ‘foundational’ institutional structure, ‘enabling’ systems and technologies as well as the service delivery citizen interface. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=5288&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=5288&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT Richard Akresh; Damien de Walque; Harounan Kazianga Do conditions imposed by Conditional Cash Transfers (CCTs) influence the outcomes they seek to improve? This paper presents the results of a randomized experiment in rural Burkina Faso to estimate the impact of conditional and unconditional cash transfers on education. The study of the two-year pilot programme found that unconditional and conditional cash transfers had a similar impact in increasing the school enrolment of children who are traditionally favoured by parents for school participation. However, the conditional transfers were significantly more effective in improving the enrolment of ‘marginal’ children, such as girls, younger children, and lower ability children.In addition, CCTs were estimated to be more cost-effective than unconditional transfers in improving enrolment. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=5282&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=5282&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT Seema Manghee and Alice Poole This reort provides guidance on conducting political economy analysis in the urban water sector, highlighting lessons from case studies. The cases span successful reforms, such as in Chile and Senegal; reforms where the results are still incomplete or have not been replicated, such as Ghana and Panama; and those where reforms are pending, such as Pakistan. The paper identifies a wide range of political economy drivers and factors to consider in seeking to promote reform. The latter include: timing and sequencing; taking a long-term time horizon to build consensus; harnessing a crisis to promote change; improving the performance data available to policymakers and citizens; and building coalitions with non-traditional stakeholders. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=5278&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=5278&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT Williams, R. The security sector reform debate is still in its embryonic stage. Considerable political, practical, conceptual and strategic work still needs to be done on security sector reform before a flexible approach can be developed to most situations. There has been a shift in thinking from donor countries, international financial institutions and development agencies towards security sector reform. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=5168&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=5168&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 GMT Kenny Manara Civil society organisations (CSO) can provide a conduit through which the voices of citizens are able to reach and influence high-level policy dialogue and debate. But is this happening in practice? This study set out to examine how effectively and meaningfully CSO member organisations are participating in two civil society networks in Tanzania, and to assess how effective those networks are at influencing national policies and agendas. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=5065&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=5065&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT David Booth There has been growing recognition in the literature that governance reforms should be guided not by ‘best practices’ based on experience in the West, but by approaches that attain a ‘good fit’ with the needs and possibilities of particular developing countries. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4741&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4741&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT Adedeji Ebo How can we account for the apparent inability of security sector reform (SSR) efforts to make a visible and sustainable impact, particularly in post-conflict African states? What practical challenges face donor support for SSR? This article from the journal Conflict, Security and Development examines the gap between donors’ SSR policies and practice. It argues that this gap can be explained by the tension between donors’ state-centric policy framework and the growing role of non-state security actors. The external origin and orientation of SSR needs to be supplemented by greater local ownership and inclusion in SSR conceptualisation, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4591&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4591&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT Niagalé Bagoyoko, Marie V. Gibert The international community currently favours an approach to development that stresses the triangular linkage between security, good governance and economic development. This approach informs the European Union’s (EU) agenda in Africa. This paper, by the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), argues that this agenda is as much determined by the bureaucratic and national affiliations of the concerned EU actors as it is by African realities and international trends. Specifically, African security triggers a competition between different EU institutions, eager to be the driving force behind additional resources and autonomy. Thus the consistency and credibility of the EU security policy in Africa will depend on the responses provided to these institutional rivalries. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4559&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4559&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT Guy Lamb How effective have international arms embargoes been in reducing the supply of weapons into countries in Africa? What factors determine the success or failure of arms embargoes? This paper from the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) analyses the monitoring and enforcement of United Nations arms embargoes in Africa. Examining international embargoes of nine African countries, it finds that the impact of arms embargoes depends on the commitment of all states to enforce them. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4534&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4534&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT Oxfam, IANSA, Saferworld What is the cost of armed violence? IANSA, Saferworld and Oxfam’s investigation into the cost of armed violence to Africa looks at where the weapons come from which feed this violence, and then highlights an important area where progress is urgently required at both African and international levels. Armed conflict alone has cost Africa around US$300bn since 1990. This is a massive waste of resources – roughly equivalent to all international aid to Africa from major donors during the same period. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4533&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4533&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT Bruce Baker What role does community-based policing have in post-conflict states? In his article, Bruce Baker demonstrates that community-based (non-state) policing in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Rwanda has survived conflict, but that its variable form and function is in part the product of conflict. In a context of limited state police resources, community-based policing is not to be dismissed lightly as a significant security provider for post-war democracies. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4531&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4531&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT Bruce Baker What impact does conflict have on police culture? This chapter examines some aspects of everyday police practices in three African states, along with some of the internal management and external state and donor influences that have sought to (re)shape them. It seeks to track where changes have occurred following conflict, why, and with what consequences. Whilst reform of small state police forces proceeds slowly, the growth of other policing agencies continues. Policing, as it is experienced in Africa, is a multi-choice affair. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4530&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4530&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT Gavin Cawthra, Abillah Omari, Andre du Pisani (eds.) What is the impact of democratic governance on national security in Southern Africa? How does it affect collaboration in regional security? This study, by the Southern African Defence and Security Management Network (SADSEM), looks at the countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) – South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana, Lesotho, Mauritius, Seychelles, Swaziland and Tanzania. Taking both an historical and comparative perspective, it suggests that the relationship between democratisation, national security and security cooperation in the region is still not clear. The relationship depends on the stability of a country, the nature of its democratic transition and the degree of institutionalisation of its democratic governance. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4526&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4526&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT Festus Aboagye The peacekeeping operation in Darfur needs substantive involvement from the UN and a robust mandate that addresses the humanitarian emergency and protection of civilians. The proposed African Union-United Nations (AU-UN) hybrid mission raises fundamental questions regarding authority. This paper from the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) examines the challenges of hybrid command and control arrangements in regard to the peacekeeping operation in Darfur. It argues that difficulties confronting the AU-UN operation result in part from the attempt to portray a conventional joint multinational operation as a hybrid mission. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4521&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4521&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT Theo Neethling What challenges confront the peacebuilding agenda in Africa? To what extent have peacebuilding measures been undertaken in conflict-ridden African states? This article from African Security Review examines the challenges, extent and achievement of peacebuilding in Sierra Leone and assesses the prospects for sustainable peace. The experience of Sierra Leone demonstrates growing international recognition that peacebuilding should be an essential part of any multinational peacekeeping operation in Africa. While many positive developments have strengthened the prospects for long-term peace in Sierra Leone, several problems still need to be urgently addressed. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4518&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4518&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT Steve Gruzd Is the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) an effective instrument for promoting peace and stability in Africa? How successfully does it address the links between peace, governance and development? This article from The African Security Review critically examines how the APRM self-assessment questionnaire covers conflict detection and prevention. Reviewing the first three APRM country reports, from Ghana, Kenya and Rwanda, it questions whether the APRM is an effective instrument for promoting peace. While the APRM could be useful in describing sources of conflict and tension, Africa should not rely on the APRM alone to prevent conflict. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4517&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4517&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT Giji Gya The conflict in Darfur has killed an estimated 200,000 people and displaced 2.5 million. Although Sudan has accepted a hybrid African Union-United Nations Mission, caveats and resistance from the Sudanese government and other actors make it difficult to restore stability. How should the European Union (EU) engage in fragile situations such as that of Sudan? This article from European Security Review summarises a European Security Contact Group meeting on international and EU engagement in Sudan. It finds that achieving ‘good international engagement’ in fragile situations like Sudan is greatly complex for the EU. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4516&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4516&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT Timothy Othieno, Nhamo Samasuwo In light of the United Nations’ (UN) failure to act in the 1990s, are Africa’s experiments in cooperative security the future of peacekeeping? How do new approaches to peacekeeping affect the legitimacy of global multilateral security architecture? This article from African Security Review analyses hybrid missions and security collaboration in Africa. These approaches are responses to Africa’s political, financial and operational constraints and should not be regarded as alternatives for UN-led peacekeeping. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4515&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4515&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT Andrew Faull What is the state of corruption in the South African Police Service (SAPS)? What measures have the SAPS and the South African government taken to counter police corruption? This paper from the Institute for Security Studies provides an overview of what is known about corruption in the SAPS and efforts to counter it. Since disbanding the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) in 2002, the SAPS has struggled to implement an anti-corruption strategy. Indicators suggest a lack of will on the part of both the SAPS and government to counter corruption, causing loss of public faith in police institutions. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4514&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4514&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Africa Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT