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Viewing blog posts on: Governance and politics



Donor support to the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP)

As discussions begin in Rome on donor support to the Comprehensive Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), it is time to move beyond debate on sound principles and address the root causes of failed policy coordination in agriculture The Annual General Assembly of the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development (GPDRD) seems a good opportunity to start this shift in thinking. .. (more)

posted by Lidia Cabral on Monday, January 25, 2010 1:49 PM
768 Views,  1 Comments

Fragile states: an effective approach to stabilisation

International efforts to stabilise fragile states must go beyond peace enforcement to improve the quality of life. .. (more)

posted by Sarah Collinson on Monday, September 28, 2009 2:01 PM
4318 Views,  5 Comments

Security and justice in fragile states

This blog welcomes the emphasis on justice and security in the recent UK Government White Paper on International Development. .. (more)

posted by Timothy Othieno on Monday, July 20, 2009 12:14 PM
4080 Views,  1 Comments

A development response to Somali piracy?

Piracy off the coast of Somalia has its roots in state collapse and fragmentation within Somalia itself. This blog argues that security measures alone will not solve the problem, and that a development approach is needed that will restore order and rule of law within Somalia. It sets out three principles for an effective development approach: strategies that are driven locally; a willingness to engage with those on all sides; and the development of new economic opportunities. .. (more)

posted by Leni Wild on Thursday, June 04, 2009 6:56 AM
4572 Views,  1 Comments

Participatory governance in Nepal – why the poor and excluded matter

A ground-breaking study on participatory governance in Nepal is launched, as the country celebrates its first peace-time Republic Day. As well as highlighting participation issues in Nepal, the study has implications for wider governance issues both within and beyond the country... (more)

posted by David Walker on Thursday, May 28, 2009 3:38 PM
4937 Views,  2 Comments

The Westminster Model, humility and dialogue

UK Members of Parliament face public scrutiny in the wake of an expenses scandal, sparking a wide-ranging debate on the very nature of politics and governance. Taking this further, the blog warns against the wholesale transfer of western 'models' of democracy, such as the Westminster Model, to other contexts. It suggests that various governance initiatives in developing countries may provide useful lessons for western democracies. .. (more)

posted by Alan Hudson on Thursday, May 28, 2009 1:47 PM
4805 Views,  3 Comments

Fixing Fragile States: a new paradigm for development?

Welcoming Seth Kaplan's book, Fixing Fragile States, this blog stresses the complexity of fragile settings, and the need to make difficult choices. .. (more)

posted by Alina Rocha Menocal on Tuesday, May 05, 2009 2:44 PM
5289 Views,  3 Comments

What do fragile states really need?

A new approach is needed to address the problems of fragile states, going beyond 'more' and 'better' development... (more)

posted by Bhavna Sharma on Monday, April 27, 2009 11:45 AM
5631 Views,  3 Comments

Advocating for investment in sanitation: is your jury still out?

Investment in sanitation for the dignity and health of millions of poor people should be an urgent development priority. Based on research carried out by ODI and the RIPPLE Programme, this blog proposes three rules for successful policy-making for sanitation... (more)

posted by Peter Newborne on Tuesday, April 07, 2009 9:20 AM
6001 Views,  0 Comments

The G-20 is a temporary sticking plaster, not a full organ transplant

ODI Director, Simon Maxwell, outlines why we need to reinvent globalisation and international institutions to ensure they genuinely reflect and represent regional, cultural and income diversities and provide a framework to govern the world amid new global threats. .. (more)

posted by Simon Maxwell on Tuesday, March 31, 2009 9:30 AM
4593 Views,  5 Comments

The cholera crisis in Zimbabwe: Understanding the policy and politics

This blog investigates responses by donors and governments to the cholera epedemic in Zimbabwe, arguing that more analysis of the roots of current cholera outbreak is needed to draw lessons and options for future policy in the sector... (more)

posted by Sobona Mtisi on Wednesday, January 28, 2009 1:34 PM
8422 Views,  6 Comments

Obama and Latin America: Change we can believe in?

This blog argues that the new US President will need to mend fences with his southern neighbours in Latin America... (more)

posted by Alina Rocha Menocal on Tuesday, January 20, 2009 9:52 AM
4691 Views,  3 Comments

Laws of war under threat in densely-populated Gaza

The crisis in Gaza raises serious questions about the means and methods of warfare in densely populated areas. Past experiences in Sarajevo, Grozny and Baghdad show how the conduct of war in contexts of high civilian concentration intensifies the consequences for civilian populations. .. (more)

posted by Sorcha O'Callaghan and Sara Pavanello on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 1:25 PM
4078 Views,  1 Comments

The global financial crisis: Are developing countries prepared for a slowdown in 2009?

Last week’s startling news that Chinese trade shrank for the first time since 2001 and that India’s industrial output fell for the first time since 1994 will have dispelled any remaining hope that developing countries would be insulated from the global financial crisis... (more)

posted by Dirk Willem te Velde on Friday, December 19, 2008 12:40 PM
5578 Views,  1 Comments

Multilateralism in action

A renewed commitment to multilateralism may be one of the benefits of the financial crisis. Coordinated action by Governments and Central Banks is one indicator of change. There are others... (more)

posted by Simon Maxwell on Wednesday, October 15, 2008 10:02 AM
3784 Views,  1 Comments

Amor Serrano

Evo Morales has jumped over yet another hurdle this weekend. He has managed to secure a new vote of confidence from among the social movements and grassroots that constitute the loose coalition that is his political platform. This backing is what he needs to further advance his drive to transform Bolivia into a socialist state. But this is also an unfortunate step further into a vicious cycle of ideological polarisation from which, Latin American history says, one can only leave through violence and the absolute rejection of the past... (more)

posted by Enrique Mendizabal on Wednesday, August 13, 2008 11:23 AM
2785 Views,  3 Comments

Lessons from Latin America: Donors, democracy and development

Latin America is a laboratory of democratic governance and experimentation. As such, it is an important learning ground for other regions in the developing world. The challenge for donors is how to work with these weak democracies to harness their representative nature and their developmental potential. This means having to develop a deeper understanding of the political economy and context of the settings in which they are involved... (more)

posted by Alina Rocha Menocal on Friday, June 13, 2008 4:51 PM
3771 Views,  0 Comments

Reform of the International System: the momentum is building

The Commonwealth mini-Summit in London is the latest sign that reform of the international system is moving rapidly up the agenda. The Summit discussed reform of the UN, the Bretton Woods Institutions and global environmental governance. On all these, there is enthusiasm among Heads of Government for faster and better coordinated change... (more)

posted by Simon Maxwell on Friday, June 13, 2008 10:19 AM
4328 Views,  3 Comments

The IMF Reform Package: Small progress towards increased representation for developing countries

In April, after several years of negotiation and discussion, the member states of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a governance reform package. The impetus for the reform was to ensure that the IMF maintains credibility and legitimacy with fast growing developing countries. It is, therefore, envisioned as a first step in a longer process of reform for the representation of developing countries in the IMF... (more)

posted by Lauren Phillips on Monday, May 19, 2008 3:01 PM
4525 Views,  1 Comments

The importance – and absence – of good governance indicators

As governance indicators have proliferated in recent years, so has their use and the controversy that surrounds them. As more and more voices are pointing out, existing indicators – many of them developed and launched in the 1990s – have a number of flaws. This is particularly disquieting at a time when governance is at the very top of the development agenda. .. (more)

posted by Verena Fritz on Friday, May 16, 2008 9:17 AM
4954 Views,  1 Comments

The aid story in 2008. What’s next?

2008 is turning into another of those milestone years for aid. A cluster of high level meetings are focusing international attention on the challenges around effective development assistance. This presents familiar challenges: how to scale-up, align and harmonise aid to support achievement of the MDGs by 2015. But what is crucially different is the global context in which this must now be achieved. .. (more)

posted by Alison Evans on Wednesday, April 16, 2008 2:39 PM
6726 Views,  6 Comments

Can the international community deliver on the ‘Democratic Imperative’?

The UK’s Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, delivered an excellent speech last Tuesday (12 February) on the importance of international efforts to support democracy in the developing world, or what he called ‘the democratic imperative’. The speech.. (more)

posted by Alina Rocha Menocal on Monday, February 18, 2008 6:24 PM
6425 Views,  1 Comments

The view from Davos - Part four: The Davos agenda – more to watch

In the last of four blogs with reflections and predictions from Davos, I look at web 2.0, Africa, governance and institutions... (more)

posted by Simon Maxwell on Tuesday, February 05, 2008 9:23 AM
6757 Views,  1 Comments

Which way Pakistan?

At the end of a turbulent week in Pakistan, there are two questions to ask about the nation’s return to a state of emergency. First, how should we interpret it? Second, what, if anything, should Western powers and aid donors do? This blog focuses on the.. (more)

posted by Diana Cammack on Friday, November 09, 2007 2:50 PM
4345 Views,  0 Comments

Assessing governance: No easy task

The Ibrahim Index of African Governance is the latest addition to the flourishing field of governance assessment. The World Governance Assessment (based at ODI), the Kaufman and Kraay indicators, and the Bertelsmann Transformation Index all seek to tell us about governance scores and progress in developing countries. So, what does the Ibrahim Index measure? Why is it distinctive? Is it offering something new? What are the most interesting features? How does it compare to other indices? .. (more)

posted by Marta Foresti on Tuesday, October 02, 2007 12:43 PM
5903 Views,  1 Comments