An effective state is the single most important factor in determining whether development progress occurs. This paper, published by the United Kingdom (UK) Department for International Development (DFID), discusses the agency’s approach to governance development and how it works with partner countries and the international development system. Governance work has moved beyond designing stand-alone projects; it now seeks to address how power is held and in whose interests it is used.
Governance concerns the use of power and authority and how a country manages its affairs. It determines the relationship between citizens and the state and involves a wide range of organisations and institutions. Governance is country-specific, but also shaped by the wider international environment.
Good governance requires state capability to get things done, accountability to citizens and responsiveness to citizens’ needs and rights. To that end, democratic politics is the most effective way to address the issues of poverty and powerlessness.
Key to sustainable development is the ability of governance to reduce poverty. Good governance improves the rights of the poor by reducing violent conflict and managing disputes peacefully. It delivers essential public services even-handedly and effectively. Good governance also reduces poverty by empowering citizens to realise their human rights and addressing the issues of gender inequality, discrimination and social exclusion.
DFID helps countries improve governance by:
- Employing specialists in the fields of governance, conflict, social development and economics. DFID has increased its financial resources for governance programmes from £85 million in 1997/8 to £322 million in 2005/6.
- Focusing on the poorest countries and regions and working in increasingly complex and difficult environments that present the biggest governance challenges.
- Improving its understanding of local context and using comprehensive governance assessments to tailor programmes to a country’s specific needs.
- Forging strong partnerships with other UK government departments, international agencies and local partners that draw upon additional skills, perspectives and expertise.
- Providing capacity building assistance to national governments, legislatures, local governments, justice and security sectors and national oversight bodies.
- Assisting civil society, political society, the media, trade unions and the private sector. This non-state assistance increases the likelihood that improved capacity will take root and thrive in all country sectors.
The major contemporary challenge for all donors is how to engage with power. The focus is now about how power is used by both formal and informal institutions that shape politics and policy.
Other challenges include:
- To ensure that governance initiatives are based on a stronger, more nuanced understanding of context.
- To recognise that the most appropriate development models are led by the host country.
- To tackle global issues, such as international corruption and crime, climate change and migration, that have a major impact on governance and statebuilding in poorest countries.
- To help developing countries embed the culture of democratic politics. This requires that all groups accept the rules that bind societies together and see themselves as genuine stakeholders in a fair and transparent political process.
