434 research outputs found
Sort by
Aid to Judicial Reform: Norwegian and International Experiences
Get PDFCreating a viable judiciary and strengthening its democratic functions has been a main concern of both national governments and donors over the last two decades. This report attempts to chart and systematise the efforts that have gone into the area of judicial reform. That includes various efforts at improving the functioning of a country’s legal system, both in terms of fairness and efficiency. The report places Norwegian development assistance to judicial reform (which is of relatively new date, but of increasing magnitude and importance) in a broader context by systematically looking at how various donors – multinational, governmental, and non-governmental - have operated in this field.
The analysis covers which sectors of the judiciary have been targeted for reform and why; what channels have been used; and what the lessons learned so far are. Experiences from Latin
America and Africa are highlighted. The case studies of
Norwegian assistance to Guatemala and Ethiopia open up for more in-depth reflections on what works and what does not work when external donors set out to help governments reform their
judiciaries
Peacebuilding in post-war situations: Lessons for Sudan
Get PDFThis report examines lessons from peacebuilding efforts during the last decade or so that are relevant to the current challenges in Sudan. While there is an emphasis on governance interventions, it is argued more generally that three factors will be crucial for building peace in Sudan. First, the peace agreement between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement must be transformed into a deal that can be "owned" not only be the parties that signed the agreement, but also by those who did not take part in the talks, including civil society and the Sudanese population at large. Second, sustained and focused international attention will be critical to maintain the momentum of the peace process. As the reality of peacebuilding lies in power and politics, interventions by outsiders must also be sensitive to the overall politics of the process. Third, regional conflict in the Horn of Africa has more often than not been the by-product of internal conflict. To sustain the framework of peace in Sudan, regional states must be convinced that peace in Sudan is a collective good that can reduce cross-border problems, ranging from ideologies and refugees to the export of arms and violence. A main determinant will be the approaches by the Sudanese parties themselves towards neighbouring states
Promoting investment in small Caribbean states
Get PDFThis study performs an econometric analysis to determine the main policy levers for investment promotion in the Caribbean. The results provide the following policy advice to Caribbean policy makers seeking to increase investment in, and hence the growth prospectives of, their countries.
1. Investment, both foreign and domestic, is higher in countries that are open to international trade. Our results also suggest that Caribbean countries might see a greater effect of trade integration than other countries. Caribbean governments should therefore pursue regional trade arrangements, and actively support the WTO process of global trade liberalization.
2. Investment, both foreign and domestic, is higher in countries whose domestic markets are larger and more advanced. Regional integration to expand what is considered the domestic market, is thus beneficial.
3. Investment, both foreign and domestic, is higher in countries with greater political stability. To inspire confidence among investors, Caribbean countries should avoid major political disruptions, by pursuing inclusive and participatory policies. Our results suggest that investment is particularly responsive to stability issues in countries like Haiti, Guyana, Dominica, and Grenada.
4. Foreign investors are discouraged by bad macroeconomic policies, poor infrastructure, and excessive regulation. Caribbean countries should avoid periods of high inflation and large debt burdens, and develop functional infrastructure and regulatory frameworks
The role of participation and empowerment in income and poverty dynamics in Indonesia 1993-2000
Get PDFThe objective of this study is to assess whether living in a community that has a more democratic decision making system or in a society with a higher degree of participation and cooperation has any effect on household income changes and poverty reduction in Indonesia. Constructing an empowerment index and a participation index, we find that a household would have had a two percentage point higher income growth from
1993 to 2000 if it had been in a society with a high degree of cooperation compared to a society with the lowest degree of cooperation, if our results imply causality. This is substantial, since the average household per capita real income growth between 1993 and 2000 was 11 %. The participation index was found to be insignificant
How to Assess the Political Role of the Zambian Courts?
Get PDFThe paper addresses the methodological problems concerning how to assess the political role of courts in
Zambia - and in new democracies more generally, and suggests a framework within which this can be done.
Particular focus is on the accountability function vis -à-vis political authorities. We also raise the issue of the role courts play (positively or negatively) in processes of social integration of marginalised groups. And we ask how we can get a better understanding of the conditions under which courts generate legitimacy for their role and avoid undue politicisation
Local government finances and finacial management in Tanzania. Baseline data from six councils, 2000-2003
Get PDFThis report provides baseline data on local government finance and financial management in six councils in Tanzania: Bagamoyo District Council, Ilala Municipal Council, Iringa DC, Kilosa DC, Moshi DC, and Mwanza City Council. The data cover the period 2000-2003 and represent a reference point for the situation in the six councils with respect to various dimensions of local government finance and financial management in this period. The following themes are covered by the study: (a) the degree of fiscal autonomy; (b) methods of revenue collection; (c) financial management, including budgeting, accounting and auditing; (d) transparency in fiscal and financial affairs; and (e) tax compliance and fiscal corruption. In essence, a small, common database has been developed for all the case councils
Crescent and Sword: The Hamas Enigma
Get PDFThis paper analyses the popular support to Hamas, the most
important of the Palestinian Islamist movements today. The
paper charts the movement’s historical ascendancy from a
fringe Gaza-based group to a mainstream Islamist movement
and mouthpiece for dispossessed Palestinians. Since 2001,
Hamas’s leadership has come under increasing attack from
Israel, killing a number of the movement’s leaders and senior
members, most prominently Sheikh Yasin, the movement’s
founder and spiritual leader, and his successor as Hamas
leader, Abd al-Aziz Rantissi. Nonetheless, Hamas’s duality as
“worshippers” and “warmongers” has made the organisation
extraordinarily popular among dispossessed Palestinians and a
mounting political challenge to the secular nationalism of the
PLO. At present, two-thirds of the Palestinians live below the
“poverty line” and it is likely that it is in this disenfranchised
segment of the population that Hamas finds its core support.
Presently, about one in every six Palestinians in the Occupied
Territories benefits from support from Islamic charities.
Hamas, on its part, allocates almost all of its revenues to its
social services, but there is no evidence that Hamas or the other
Islamic charities provide assistance conditional upon political
support
Networks, distance and trust: Telecommunications and changing trading practices in Ghana
Get PDFGhana liberalized its telecom sector in 1995. This study looks
at the impact of the phenomenal growth in access to telephones
on the business practices of traders in cloth, fish and
agricultural produce. The article examines how the use of
telecommunication technology reduces traders’ time and
transportation costs, and explores its impact on initiation and
maintenance of relationships of trust in trade networks. It is
argued that with a tool for more efficient communication over
long distances, transportation and transaction costs are reduced.
The quality of the services that traders provide and the profit
they make thus improves
Angola 2003/2004. Waiting for elections
Get PDFThe present report is the fifth in a series of annual studies carried out by the Chr. Michelsen Institute on socio-economic and political trends in Angola, at the request of the Norwegian development cooperation authorities. This year’s report focuses on the political situation in Angola, in the context of the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections – the first since 1992.
In 2003-2004 Angola continued to make notable progress in its socio-economic recovery from nearly three decades of war. But the most significant event on the political arena was theannouncement that the ruling regime would consent to hold elections in 2006, fourteen years after the first – and so far, only - multiparty elections in the country’s history. The present report discusses the roles of the various actors in the political process, including the attitudes and expectations of the population, which were recently the object of a pioneering opinion poll conducted by AIP. A sobering message is that elections – however essential to the democratisation process – is not likely to result in less power for the current president and his party
Determinants of foreign direct investment in services
Get PDFThis study uses industry level foreign direct investment (FDI) data from 57 countries 1989-2000, to examine the host country determinants of FDI flows in services as a whole, and in the major service industries. Consistent with the observation that many services are non-tradable, we find that service FDI is market-seeking, and unaffected by trade openness. Producer services are important in binding together vertically disintegrated chains of production, accordingly we find a strong correlation between FDI in manufacturing and FDI in finance and transport. While composite political risk does not affect FDI in services, disaggregate socio-political indices prove significant in certain service industries