Viewing blog posts on: Governance and politics
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)
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Leni Wild on
Thursday, June 04, 2009 6:56 AM
898 Views,
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)
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David Walker on
Thursday, May 28, 2009 3:38 PM
1403 Views,
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)
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Alan Hudson on
Thursday, May 28, 2009 1:47 PM
1290 Views,
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)
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Peter Newborne on
Tuesday, April 07, 2009 9:20 AM
1368 Views,
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)
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Simon Maxwell on
Tuesday, March 31, 2009 9:30 AM
2318 Views,
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)
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Sobona Mtisi on
Wednesday, January 28, 2009 1:34 PM
3935 Views,
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)
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Sorcha O'Callaghan and Sara Pavanello on
Tuesday, January 13, 2009 1:25 PM
2452 Views,
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)
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Dirk Willem te Velde on
Friday, December 19, 2008 12:40 PM
3505 Views,
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)
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Enrique Mendizabal on
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 11:23 AM
1491 Views,
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)
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Alina Rocha Menocal on
Friday, June 13, 2008 4:51 PM
2320 Views,
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)
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Simon Maxwell on
Friday, June 13, 2008 10:19 AM
2543 Views,
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)
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Lauren Phillips on
Monday, May 19, 2008 3:01 PM
2806 Views,
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)
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Verena Fritz on
Friday, May 16, 2008 9:17 AM
3233 Views,
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)
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Alison Evans on
Wednesday, April 16, 2008 2:39 PM
4963 Views,
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)
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Alina Rocha Menocal on
Monday, February 18, 2008 6:24 PM
5078 Views,
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)
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Diana Cammack on
Friday, November 09, 2007 2:50 PM
3038 Views,
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)
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Marta Foresti on
Tuesday, October 02, 2007 12:43 PM
3956 Views,
The Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) of the World Bank hosted a conference in Addis Ababa on ‘Engaging with Fragile States: Challenges and Opportunities’ on Tuesday and Wednesday last week (24-25 July). It was organised in close collaboration with the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).
Overall, I thought the conference was very interesting, especially in terms of the people it was able to bring together.
.. (more)
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Alina Rocha Menocal on
Tuesday, July 31, 2007 5:17 PM
3465 Views,
With Gordon Brown about to take office, ODI asked representatives of the three main political parties in the UK to speak on the theme ‘What’s Next in International Development?’. These three speeches tell us something about the issues that will.. (more)
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Simon Maxwell on
Friday, June 22, 2007 1:05 PM
3784 Views,
Speaking at the 2nd meeting in a series on 'Parliaments and development' organised by ODI and the Africa All-Party Parliamentary Group, the Secretary of State for International Development, Hilary Benn talked about two things. First, the contribution which improved governance, support to democratic politics and 'politics that work' can make to poverty reduction. And second, DFID's support to parliaments in developing countries... (more)
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Alan Hudson on
Tuesday, May 08, 2007 4:05 PM
2516 Views,
