GSDRC newsfeed on General governance

Law Overruled: Strengthening the Rule of Law in Post-Conflict States

Giovanni Bassu — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

What is meant by �the rule of law�, and how can it most effectively be promoted in post-conflict states? This article from Global Governance considers definitions, and outlines lessons from Kosovo and Haiti. Donors need to recognise rule of law reform as a political activity, and to harmonise as much as possible potentially contradictory elements: (a) local narratives and resources; and (b) the historical connection of the traditional �thick� version of the rule of law with a liberal democratic state.

International Compacts: Sovereignty Strategies

Ashraf Ghani, Clare Lockhart — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

This chapter from the book 'Fixing Failed States' argues that a stable world requires functioning states in order to overcome challenges to the political and economic system. Domestic and global leadership must find a new approach to transform states so that they provide security and prosperity for their citizens and also act as responsible members of the international community. The study terms this a sovereignty strategy. A long-term state-building strategy tailored to specific contexts should be an organising principle for the international community. Collective energies and capital need to be harnessed.

National Programs: The Challenge of Implementation

Ashraf Ghani and Clare Lockhart — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

How do national programmes aid the statebuilding process? This chapter from the book 'Fixing Failed States' assesses the success of national programmes in Europe, the United States and Afghanistan. Currently, statebuilding strategies falter because they fail to link intentions to realistic and innovative delivery mechanisms. The real work lies in implementation, and national programmes can provide the implementation vehicles that align vision, rules, resources and participants to achieve a common goal.

Ethnic Structure, Inequality and Governance of the Public Sector in Nigeria

Abdul Raufu Mustapha — Sat, 01 Jan 2005 00:00:00 GMT

How has ethnic mobilisation and confrontation manifested itself in multi-ethnic Nigeria? What efforts have been made to address it? This paper from the Centre for Research on Inequality, Human Security and Ethnicity explores Nigeria�s contradictory processes of ethno-regional fragmentation and a centralising nation-building agenda. Ethnic mobilisation remains resilient in the face of repeated efforts at political engineering and nation-building.

Climate Change and Urbanisation: Effects and Implications for Urban Governance

David Satterthwaite — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

How can municipal governments in low- and middle-income nations to prepare for and adapt to the increasing risks posed by climate change? This paper, published by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, indicates that most adaptation to the likely climate change-related dangers over the next few decades fits well within a local development agenda. There needs to be a significant increase in development funding to help local governments adapt to climate change challenges.

Local Governance in Fragile States

Helene Maria Kyed, Lars Engberg-Pedersen — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Comprehensive local government reform is unrealistic in fragile states. This paper, published by the Danish Institute for International Studies, recommends using local service delivery as a point of departure for local governance reform. Strengthening local service delivery will slowly build sound local governance practices that can plant the seeds for more comprehensive democratic decentralisation in the future. Ignoring informal non-state authorities can considerably undermine any effort to reform local governance, whereas exclusive reliance on non-state authorities in service delivery can undermine efforts to strengthen state capacity and legitimacy in local arenas.

Participation and State Legitimation

Katia Papagianni — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

How do postwar countries gain legitimacy in the eyes of political elites and the public? This chapter from Building States to Build Peace argues that statebuilding should be approached as a process (not an event) to legitimate new state institutions. A statebuilding process is most likely to generate legitimacy for the state when it is inclusive of all major political forces, open to public participation, and prioritises maintaining public order and delivering services. Although inclusive and participatory political processes do not necessarily lead to legitimate outcomes, when managed well they have a significant chance of bolstering the legitimacy of postwar states.

Local Government in Post-Conflict Environments

Paul Jackson, Zoe Scott — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

What role does local government (LG) play in post-conflict reconstruction? What are the key issues for LG in post-conflict contexts? This paper, published by the United Nations Development Programme, argues that further research is required on the role of LG in conflict prevention, particularly on the contextual factors that enable LG to mitigate conflict. Donors should recognise the significance of LG and undertake political economy analysis to ensure that they engage with LG appropriately.

The Challenges of Restoring Governance in Crisis and Post-Conflict Countries

Dennis A. Rondinelli — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

International assistance organisations are crucial to helping governments increase their capacity to perform essential functions during post-conflict recovery. This book, from the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), examines the challenges of restoring effective governance in crisis and post-conflict countries. Because the challenges facing these countries are complex and varied, governments and international organisations cannot rely on universally applicable approaches to restoring governance.

Rude Accountability in the Unreformed State: Informal Pressures on Frontline Bureaucrats in Bangladesh

Naomi Hossain — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

How successful are the informal pressures that poor citizens exert on officials to provide services in Bangladesh? This paper from the Institute of Development Studies examines how poor people experience safety nets, schools and health services. Local political and social pressures provide responsiveness to demands for service through shame and the threat of violence. The gains from �rude� accountability are often short-lived, however, and may backfire. It is important to bridge the informal and official mechanisms of accountability.

Carrying out a Joint Governance Assessment: Lessons from Rwanda

Gareth Williams, Alex Duncan, Pierre Landell-Mills, Sue Unsworth and Tim Sheehy — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Can a joint approach to governance assessment help to improve aid effectiveness? What can be learned from the first Joint Governance Assessment (JGA) undertaken in Rwanda during 2008? A JGA aims to bring government and development partners together to review governance performance based on commonly agreed indicators. This brief from The Policy Practice recommends that such an assessment can prove to be helpful to advancing dialogue, but is likely to be a long-term and difficult process that is only suited to particular circumstances where the process can address joint concerns of government and donors.

Survey of Donor Approaches to Governance Assessment

OECD — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Many development agencies are engaged in assessing governance. What are their approaches and how can these be more effectively harmonised? This study from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development surveys donors' use of general and thematic governance assessments. Most approaches are driven by policy dialogue, detailed planning of governance enhancement activities and strategic decisions regarding aid to specific countries. Linkage to a donor's programme, demand from the field and removal of institutional disincentives are important in determining how governance assessments are used.

Analysing Sector Governance

European Centre for Development Policy Management and Nils Boesen — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

How can political and institutional constraints be addressed so as to improve the effectiveness of aid at sector level? This section from a European Commission publication offers a framework for analysing sector governance. The framework focuses on the context of sector governance, actors' interests, power and incentives, and governance and accountability relationships. Where opportunities for short-term governance enhancement at sector level are limited, sector specialists can look for alternative entry points. These might include supporting the private sector and civil society.

Understanding State-Building from a Political Economy Perspective

Verena Fritz , Alina Rocha Menocal — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

The need to build capable and accountable states has emerged as a leading priority for the international development community. This paper from the Overseas Development Institute seeks to contribute to a more conceptually informed understanding of state-building, adopting a political economy perspective.

Effective Electoral Assistance: Moving Away from Event-based Support to Process Support

A Ellis, P Guerin, A Ayoub — Sun, 01 Jan 2006 00:00:00 GMT

How can donors increase the effectiveness and sustainability of electoral assistance and implement principles of long-term institutional support? This report of the Ottawa Conference on Effective Electoral Assistance from the Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance argues that getting elections right means strengthening institutions as cornerstones in democratic governance. Both donors and development partners need to link electoral assistance to development and democratisation. Electoral assistance needs to be redirected from the electoral event to the electoral process.

Strengthening Legislative Financial Scrutiny in Developing Countries

Joachim Wehner — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

How can the UK's Department for International Development (DFID) improve its work in strengthening legislative financial oversight? This study from the London School of Economics and Political Science suggests that robust oversight at the country level is crucial for effective direct budget support. DFID's projects involving legislative financial scrutiny are vulnerable to political risks and achievements are fragile. Nonetheless, where the approach is comprehensive, long-term and builds on local, broad-based support, this work can deliver substantial and cost-effective governance improvements.

The Politics of Successful Governance Reforms: Lessons of Design and Implementation

Mark Robinson — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

What political and institutional factors contribute to successful governance reforms? This article from Commonwealth and Comparative Politics compares reforms in Brazil, India and Uganda. It finds that successful reforms require a combination of political commitment, technical capacity and gradual implementation. Donors can support governance improvement most effectively by working with reform-oriented politicians and bureaucrats in contexts where reform is politically feasible to increase incentives for the changes.

Good Governance Practices for the Protection of Human Rights

Katia Papagianni — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

How can governance reforms contribute to the protection of human rights? How are governance and human rights linked in the areas of democratic institutions, state service delivery, the rule of law and anti-corruption measures? This publication from the Office of the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights uses 21 case studies from around the world to show how governance interventions by a range of social and institutional actors can implement human rights principles. Good governance and human rights are mutually reinforcing.

Revenue Authorities and State Capacity in Anglophone Africa

Odd-Helge Fjeldstad, Mick Moore — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

What has driven the spread of Autonomous Revenue Authorities (ARAs) in Anglophone Africa? What are their implications for public authority? The introduction of ARAs has been seen by some as a step to weaken the central state and to privatise tax collection. This working paper for the Chr. Michelsen Institute, Norway, shows that this is a misreading of the story of ARAs. Both African governments and the involved international development agencies see ARAs as a means of increasing central government revenues, and thus increasing the authority of the (central) state. ARAs are not a prelude to privatisation of tax collection and remain under close government control.

Good Governance, Aid Modalities and Poverty Reduction: From Better Theory to Better Practice

David Booth — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

What are the challenges for donor agencies in delivering aid through recipient-owned modalities such as General Budget Support (GBS) and programme-based approaches? This report synthesises a two-year research programme undertaken for the Advisory Board for Irish Aid by the Center for Democratic Development (CDD) Ghana, the Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI) Norway, the Economic and Social Research Foundation (ESRF) Tanzania and the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) UK. The study focuses on sub-Saharan Africa, and finds that the adoption of 'new' aid modalities has been too cautious and qualified. Donors could increase aid effectiveness by addressing their own incentives and rethinking their approach to recipient governance improvement.