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Governance for sustainability? Balancing social and environmental concerns in Harare
Get PDFThe paper examines urban governance in the framework of sustainable urban development. It agrees with most analyses that sustainable settlements embrace social, ecological and economic dimensions. The discussion stresses that a form of governance that neglects any of these components cannot attain sustainability. It proceeds to show that in Harare, sustainability hinges very much on the role of the governance system, especially as it relates to urban poverty and the dayto- day survival of the urban poor. It is this role of urban governance that eventually manifests itself in the state of society, economy and the environment. The paper goes on to examine urban governance in Harare as it relates to urban poverty and the natural environment and pitches this against the search for the sustainable urban development. The paper argues that the achievement of sustainable cities depends on holistic governance and specific but co-ordinated strategies to address urban poverty, urban economies and the urban natural environment. The discussion concludes by suggesting that a system of governance which depends on “hooking” onto misunderstood fashionable concepts rather than definite policies and strategies ends up overemphasising one aspect at the expense of the others, resulting in a move away from sustainability
Palestinian Islamist movements: An annotated bibliography
Get PDFThis report consists of two parts. Part one gives an overview
of the Islamist movements in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories. The second part is a select bibliography of the
main academic works in English on these movements
(Muslim Brotherhood/Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezb al-Tahrir
al-Islami’ and Khalas). The report highlights the complexities
of the political and religious goals of the Palestinian Islamist
movements since 1987, including the use of extreme violence
(suicide bombings)
Urban Dimensions of Donors' Poverty-Reduction Strategies
Get PDFThis paper examines the extent to which the poverty-reduction strategies of selected multilateral and bilateral donors incorporate an urban poverty dimension. Key policy documents of multilaterals such as the World Bank, the UNDP, Habitat and IFAD are scrutinised, as well as those of two bilateral agencies: DFID and Sida. It appears that urban poverty has moved up on the policy agenda of many agencies but notions of ‘urban bias’ still linger in the analyses of some. It is particularly noteworthy that the persistent and widespread urban-rural linkages are given inadequate attention in virtually all policy documents, with potentially serious consequences for aid interventions
Clientelist Politics. State formation and corruption in Palestine 1994-2000
Get PDFThe state formation process in Palestine started after the Oslo agreements between Israel and Palestine in 1994, which established a Palestinian quasi-state. The process came, however, to an almost complete halt with the onset of the second intifada in late 2000 and definitely with the Israeli reoccupation of the West bank and Gaza in 2002. At the time of writing, Palestine is divided into eight zones, with 120 checkpoints and 220 enclaves, a wall is being built, the economy is in ruins and the Palestinian administration hardly operates.
This report argues that despite the authoritarian traits and strengths of the Palestinian National Authority, which could have led to a distinct developmentalist state, the same traits pushed the PNA into corrupt, clientelist practices and fragmentation.
The obstacles were almost insurmountable. Palestine had an unsettled international status and an open-ended conflict with Israel over territories and resources, and an enclave economy. Some signs were nevertheless very positive. Initially there was a large degree of national pride and willingness to make huge sacrifices for the purpose of nation reconstruction, a large degree of popular support for the PNA, quite a degree of unity and autonomy within the state leadership (based as it was on the PLO), and a display of government capacities to implement some of the basic policies and reforms necessary for development.
However, the clientelist and corrupt practices, together with a weak legal foundation and internal resistance to democratisation, hampered the process of democratisation and participation, restricted the institutionalisation of checks and balances, and opened up for massive criticism and weakened legitimacy of the regime. Thus, PNA failed in fulfilling the pressing need for democratic reforms, including room for participation, institutionalisation and transparency, in order for the Palestinian Authority to gain more legitimacy internally and externally
Updating the Input Output based Macmod functions
Get PDFThe present paper reports on a statistical effort undertaken for the Macmod project. It reports on the revision and updating of the Tanzanian Input-Output table for 1992. These IO activities are undertaken in order to furnish the Macmod model with production and consumption functions that are up-to-date, commodity specific with respect to inputs, and explicit in respect of the input origin
Reconciliation and Democratisation: Outlining the Research Field
Get PDFThe report presents an overview of institutional strategies to deal with the problem of past atrocities – trials, purges, truth commissions, restorative efforts, reforms, amnesty and amnesia. It discusses the main debates and dilemmas raised by these efforts, as reflected in the transitional justice literature. A central lesson drawn is that local ownership and legitimacy for the process is crucial for reconciliation to result. This, in turn, is to a large extent a function of the process through which the transitional justice institutions are established. It is in other words, not only a matter of what is done and when, but how and by whom
Funding political parties in emerging African democracies: What role for Norway?
Get PDFThis report addresses the problem of foreign funding of
political parties in newly democratised African states. The
report identifies some problems associated with the
development of political parties in Africa and indicate how
funding may contribute to resolving these problems. Various
models of foreign party funding that may act as models for
the future Norwegian support programme are presented.
Current involvement by Norwegian parties in party
supporting activities in new democracies is assessed in the
context of a more general discussion of foreign party funding.
Lastly, if Norwegian funding for parties is introduced, we
address some problems to be avoided and indicate an
organisational model that may limit some of the inherently
problematic aspects of foreign funding
Multiparty elections in Africa's new democracies
Get PDFWhy has the electoral process in the newly democratised
African states had such limited impacts? How can the
continued one-party dominance on the continent be
explained despite the reintroduction of political freedoms,
substantial external financial support to these processes, and
a variety of institutional reforms to back the democratic
processes?
The report confronts these questions by conducting a
review of the literature that has focused on a) the main
characteristics of the electoral arrangements of sub-Saharan
African states, b) the characteristics of parties in the region,
and c) the behaviour and attitudes of the electorate. In the
second part, we illustrate the general findings and conclusions
of part one with an analysis of electoral policies in Zambia
since the reintroduction of multiparty politics in 1991. In the
final part, we assess the role of the international donor
community in terms of electoral assistance to sub-Saharan
Africa in the 1990s and ask what the international
community can do to improve the quality and content of
electoral processes.
This report was originally commissioned by the
Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD)
and submitted December 2001
Energy Cooperation in Southern Africa: What Role for Norway? Report from the Seminar on Regional Energy Co-operation, Luanda, 12-14 February 2002
Get PDFThis Working Paper contains a full report from a Seminar on Regional Energy Co-operation, Luanda, 12-14 February 2002. Norwegian involvement in the energy sector in Southern Africa is considerable. Energy is a major area in Norwegian co-operation and includes a number of countries within SADC.
There has been rapid change in the sector, which has moved from being an infrastructure sector to a commodity production sector. Also, the ongoing institutional changes in SADC will have an effect on its relation to energy. The donors’ role must change accordingly.
Important objectives of the seminar were to discuss the changes in the sector in the region and to improve the level of information in order to make better decisions
Corruption in public procurement. Causes, consequences and cures
Get PDFThis study explores the problem of corruption in public acquisitions of goods and services. While mainly concentrating on the bureaucratic administration, the discussion often includes the political level. Three aspects of procurement-related corruption have been examined. First, problems that often arise if this type of corruption is common. Secondly, the mechanisms: How is this illegal activity actually carried out? And finally, a major concern of the study is the practical strategies to combat the problem. This section also includes a discussion of the responsibility and regulation of private companies, and emphasises political commitment as a necessary condition for successful reform