http://www.gsdrc.org Academic and policy-relevant publications on governance and international development. en-uk Copyright © 2010 Governance and Social Development Resource Centre Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:00:11 GMT Thu, 02 Sep 2010 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 Andries du Toit and David Neves What systems of informal social protection exist amongst poor and marginalised African households in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, and in the rural Eastern Cape? This paper considers the dynamics of informal social protection in post-apartheid migrant networks. It argues that in poor and marginalised households in South Africa, the indirect impacts of social grants cannot be adequately understood by focusing on individual or household decision making. Elaborate and extensive networks of reciprocal exchange link rural and urban households, allowing costs and resources, opportunities and shocks to be shared and redistributed. However, these networks’ entrenched power relations may reinforce the exclusion and vulnerability of some individuals. Additional formal social protection is therefore needed. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3798&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3798&source=rss Informal institutions Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT Alain Coheur et al. How can policymakers meet the urgent need to extend social protection coverage? This paper discusses research findings on innovative integrated strategies to extend social health protection by linking statutory social security and informal or community-based social protection schemes. It develops a typology of links that could strengthen schemes in the areas of finance, administration, governance, service delivery and policy planning, exploring the actual and potential impact of such links. Continuing to develop parallel mechanisms for extending coverage risks competition and duplication, but linking the different systems could fruitfully address these problems. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3797&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3797&source=rss Informal institutions Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT GebreMichael Kibreab Habtom and Pieter Ruys In the absence of formal safety nets, can Eritrea's traditional system of voluntary mutual aid community associations ('Mahber') be extended to cover unexpected health costs and other related costs? This study examines the role of kinship networks and Mahber, and assesses the potential of Mahber-based health insurance schemes for the informal sector and rural poor. It finds that where the state no longer provides free public health services and access to private insurance is denied, Mahber-based health insurance is a viable way of providing modern health services. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3792&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3792&source=rss Informal institutions Sun, 01 Jan 2006 00:00:00 GMT Andrea Cornwall and Jenny Edwards Why are conventional interventions that seek to promote women’s empowerment insufficient? This article highlights the choices, negotiations, narratives, and context of women’s lived experience. It finds that empowerment is a complex process of negotiation rather than a linear sequence of inputs and outcomes. Governments and development agencies need to give more consideration to the structures perpetuating gender inequality. They should invest in creating an enabling environment for women’s empowerment, and should support those who are tackling deeply rooted issues of power impeding transformative change. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3773&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3773&source=rss Informal institutions Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT Tim Kelsall How can empirical research be used to build policy-relevant theory about governance and development? This paper reflects on the Africa Power and Politics Research Programme (APPP), arguing that contextually modified concepts from game theory can help explain development outcomes. There is little in the literature or initial fieldwork results to suggest that mix of governance modes itself is a key driver of better and worse public goods provision. The drivers seem instead to include: (1) game-like mechanisms; and (2) structural-institutional factors. Pre-fieldwork theoretical reflection should be combined with intense periods of empirical observation, analytical modelling and cross-case comparative theory building. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3770&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3770&source=rss Informal institutions Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT S. A. Kadayifci-Orellana How can the religious texts, values and beliefs used to incite conflict be harnessed to promote peace-building and reconciliation? What contributions can faith-based actors make to conflict resolution? This chapter from the SAGE Handbook of Conflict Resolution examines the ways in which religion can be used to inspire both war and peace. The revival of religiously motivated conflicts, and the increasing involvement of religious actors in resolving them, requires understanding of their dynamics. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3646&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3646&source=rss Informal institutions Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT Anne Pitcher, Mary Moran, Michael Johnston Is ‘patrimonialism’ really the source of Africa’s poor governance? This article from the African Studies Review argues that contemporary conceptions of patrimonialism and neopatrimonialism as negative regime types associated with corruption, clientelism, and autocracy are based on a fundamental misreading of theory. Weber’s ‘patrimonialism’ is, rather, a specific form of authority derived from traditional sources of legitimacy and based on a mutual understanding of responsibilities between the ruler and the ruled. Casting aside these misconceptions will allow African scholars to better analyse the character of African states, without falling back on the notion of African exceptionalism. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3344&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3344&source=rss Informal institutions Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT Stefan Lindemann Sub-Saharan Africa is the world’s most conflict-intensive region. But why have some African states experienced civil war, while others have managed to maintain political stability? This discussion paper from the Crisis States Research Centre argues that the ability of post-colonial states in Sub-Saharan Africa to maintain political stability depends on the ability of the ruling political parties to overcome the historical legacy of social fragmentation. Creating inclusive elite bargains can bring stability, while exclusionary elite bargains give rise to trajectories of civil war. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3235&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3235&source=rss Informal institutions Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT Naomi Hossain 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. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3228&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3228&source=rss Informal institutions Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT Helena Bjuremalm What can be learned from SIDA's use of power analysis? This concept note from the Swedish International Development Agency draws on its analyses of Ethiopia, Kenya, Bangladesh, Tanzania and Burkina Faso. Power analysis can help donors understand underlying structural factors impeding poverty reduction as well as incentives and disincentives for pro-poor development. Such analysis must consider the ability of the poor to articulate their concerns; the institutional channels and arenas for voicing these concerns; and the legal basis of poverty reduction. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3195&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3195&source=rss Informal institutions Sun, 01 Jan 2006 00:00:00 GMT Tobias Hagmann and Markus Hoehne Is the literature on state failure failing? This article from the Journal of International Development argues that the state failure debate is based on fundamental conceptual flaws that render its insights and recommendations unconvincing in the light of empirical evidence. Analysis of the different trajectories of Somali political orders reveals that state formation in Africa contradicts central tenets of the state failure debate. External state-building interventions should move beyond a focus on the nation-state to recognise and engage with sub-national political entities. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3193&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3193&source=rss Informal institutions Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT World Bank How can donors improve the effectiveness of policy reform processes? This study from the World Bank addresses the political economy of sector reform in agricultural marketing, and water supply and sanitation. It uses a social analysis perspective to analyse stakeholder interests, incentives, institutions, risks and opportunities. Development agencies should undertake timely political economy analysis and establish a sustainable process for building broad coalitions. They should also promote transformative institutional change that includes empowering forms of bottom-up accountability. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3192&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3192&source=rss Informal institutions Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT Diana Cammack When sub-Saharan African government institutions do not function as expected by international aid agencies, they are often labelled dysfunctional, but their action is quite logical when viewed through a 'neopatrimonial lens'. This Development Policy Review article explains the 'logic' behind neopatrimonial practices. For example, although politicians understand that professionalising their bureaucracy will stimulate development, they prevent this from occurring to avoid exposing their corrupt, clientelist networks. Donors must begin to act politically - to confront directly the political logic that undermines economic development and democratic consolidation. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3157&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3157&source=rss Informal institutions Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT Carolyn Logan Can democracy and the African chief co-exist? This study from Michigan State University analyses Afrobarometer survey data to explore popular perceptions of elected and traditional leaders. It finds that positive attitudes toward chiefs are not incompatible with democracy - and vice versa. Furthermore, positive perceptions of chiefs and of elected leaders are strongly linked. African societies are adept at integrating seemingly incompatible institutional structures, such as traditional institutions. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3153&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3153&source=rss Informal institutions Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT Craig Jeffrey In the 1960s, the Indian government refocused its development policies towards improving agricultural production. This Political Geography paper examines how one of the groups that benefited from this policy, rich farmers from the intermediate Jat caste, have since sought to place relatives in the police force and nurture political networks in rural Uttar Pradesh. They have been quite successful in perpetuating their economic and social advantage through these activities. The paper's analysis complements macro-structural political economic accounts of India's flawed democratisation by offering a 'thick description' of local state/society relations. The article provides a basis for re-evaluating popular accounts of the relationship between rural people and the local state in India. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3151&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3151&source=rss Informal institutions Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 GMT Goran Hyden In Africa, as elsewhere, the paths to development are dependent on historical institutional context, and cannot be imposed from outside. This paper, by the Africa Power and Politics Programme, argues that in African states informal institutions dominate power relations but are not understood, and so development policies lack any real traction. A model of how formal and informal institutions interact is proposed and linked to an analysis of power itself - its basis, reach, exercise, nature and consequences. This shows that conventional models of development planning cannot work in Africa, where the production and distribution of 'public goods' are highly politicised and personalised. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3150&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3150&source=rss Informal institutions Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT Leah Wambura Kimathi How can non-state justice institutions further the process of state reconstruction in Africa? This paper from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa discusses the way in which the state can be made more responsive by incorporating non-state institutions in formal state structures. It argues for a synergy of formal and informal justice systems to enhance the advantages and minimise the disadvantages of each. Measures to improve non-formal justice should be pursued alongside efforts to decentralise and streamline formal justice structures. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3148&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3148&source=rss Informal institutions Sat, 01 Jan 2005 00:00:00 GMT Ali Wardak, Daud Saba, Halima Kazem How can justice and the rule of law be strengthened to advance human development in Afghanistan? This Afghanistan Human Development Report from the Centre for Policy and Human Development highlights the links between human development and the rule of law. It makes the case for a hybrid model of Afghan justice involving a collaborative relationship between formal and informal justice institutions. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3137&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3137&source=rss Informal institutions Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT Adrian Leftwich What are the political circumstances, power dynamics, and institutional conditions that promote pro-poor growth? This literature review for the Research Consortium on Institutions for Pro-Poor Growth (IPPG) argues that politics rather than economics is the primary factor in shaping state institutions. Using political analysis will better indicate whether institutions enable or inhibit pro-poor growth than economic or incentive-focussed analyses. However, there has been relatively little research to date on the application of institutional theory to the politics of growth and development in developing countries. Institutional analysis can be used as a lens through which to view both political and economic analysis of pro-poor growth. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3022&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3022&source=rss Informal institutions Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT International Alert and Friends for Peace What are the key security issues facing post-conflict Nepal? How can ongoing local tensions be addressed? This donor briefing paper from International Alert and Friends for Peace reports on the security concerns of vulnerable and marginalised groups in the country. Donors and communities should work together to promote locally owned security structures, collaboration between political parties and an approach to reconciliation which incorporates development strategies. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=2855&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=2855&source=rss Informal institutions Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT