Where are African countries headed politically? How resilient are Africa’s governments, regimes, and states? What are the characteristics of political risk? This paper looks at whether it is possible to identify early-warning (or “leading”) indicators of risk to African political systems.As a proposed entry point, the authors suggest that Afrobarometer survey data may be used ...» more
Library
This e-library contains more than 4500 external publications on governance, social development, conflict and humanitarian issues. It includes academic and grey literature selected for its basis in good quality research and coverage of a range of perspectives. Policy-oriented summaries of each document are provided, plus links to the full text.
The design and architecture of peace processes: lessons learned in the wake of crises
This study aims to propose frameworks and models for the initial stages of negotiations, and make suggestions for their redesign that take into account the most common crises that inevitably arise during the process. A range of variables are used to analyse different methodologies and forms of mediation and facilitation, along with the kinds of actors that may be involved, ...» more
Business engagement in humanitarian response and disaster risk management
Companies, as commercial providers of products and services, have always played a significant role in the humanitarian system, in particular local companies in communities affected by crises. Humanitarian organizations regularly subcontract such firms in a commercial, for-profit manner to implement a vast array of humanitarian services, such as construction, logistics and ...» more
Eliminating extreme poverty in Africa: Trends, policies and the role of international organizations
This paper focuses on: (i) poverty paths in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) under different assumptions on key macroeconomic variables, that is (consumption) growth, population growth and income distribution; and (ii) national, regional and global policies that can be adopted to improve upon poverty outcomes. It explores how policies of global institutions such as the G20 can ...» more
Review of Research on Collective Action and Engaging Men to Tackle Gender Based Violence
This paper reviews research on successful examples of collective action and engaging men to tackle gender based violence. The review is divided into two sections: an overview of the key points emerging from the literature, followed by an annotated bibliography summarising the research. Both peer-reviewed research and grey literature were considered for this review. Key ...» more
Estimating the Costs and Impacts of Intimate Partner Violence in Developing Countries: A Methodological Resource Guide
Violence against women is a pervasive phenomenon common in developing and developed countries alike. Violence against women manifests in multiple behaviours including rape, sexual coercion, incest, honour killings, female genital mutilation, acid burnings, stalking and trafficking. Perpetrators of violence against women can be intimate partners, family members, members of the ...» more
Women’s voice and leadership in decision-making: Assessing the evidence
This report reviews the global evidence on the processes of change that enable women to have substantive voice and leadership in decision-making. It answers two core research questions: what are the enabling factors for women and girls’ voice, leadership and access to decision-making? what do we know about whether and how women and girls’ voice, leadership and/or presence in ...» more
Developmental regimes in Africa: Initiating and sustaining developmental regimes in Africa
This report synthesises findings from the Developmental Regimes in Africa project. Among the findings is that leadership transitions that maintain economic growth seem to require the presence of either a governing party with a tradition of consensual decision-making, or a state bureaucracy that can insulate policy from political leadership changes. Analysis suggests that ...» more
Natural Resources and Conflict: A Guide for Mediation Practitioners
Mediation has been underutilized by the international system in addressing disputes over natural resources, for three main reasons. First, issues in these conflicts tend to be very technical in nature and, as such, require that mediators themselves have extensive technical expertise or have access to it. In many places, such specialized knowledge is either not available or not ...» more
Progress of the World’s Women 2015-2016: Transforming Economies, Realizing Rights
How far has the empowerment of women and girls translated into tangible results on the ground and what more is needed to bridge the gaps between rhetoric and reality? This Report focuses on the economic and social dimensions of gender equality. In doing so, it aims to unravel some of the challenges and contradictions facing the world today: at a time when women and girls have ...» more
Do young people act to make a difference?
This brief from Twaweza draws on a survey of 2,432 Ugandans aged 15-35. It finds that they have a much greater sense of general self-efficacy than of political self-efficacy, perhaps reflecting mistrust of the political system. Almost a third of respondents say they have taken action to address community issues. Self-efficacy appears to matter more than gender, age, and ...» more
Opening the Black Box: The Contextual Drivers of Social Accountability
What are the factors—enabling and disabling—that shape the possibility of TAIs achieving their goals in a particular context? This report focuses on social accountability (SA) and solely on the accountability of public officials. It aims to fill three specific knowledge gaps and provides guidance on how to assess contextual drivers of SA effectiveness. Its principal ...» more
Development as Freedom in a Digital Age: Experiences from the Rural Poor in Bolivia
What impact do new information and communication technologies (ICTs) have on people living in poverty in developing countries? Can ICTs make a real difference in the lives of the poor and thus enhance their well-being? Under what conditions can information technology empower poor communities? What are some of the challenges and pitfalls facing local communities in using ...» more
Financial Inclusion Policy Guide
The objective of this policy guide is to provide policymakers and programme designers with an up-to-date view of what needs to be done to include the poorest people in financial services. The guide highlights four promising ways forward for policies and interventions that aim to include the poorest faster than would otherwise be the case – by linking informal and formal ...» more
Leveraging Local Knowledge for Peacebuilding and Statebuilding in Africa
This report highlights examples of innovative peacebuilding and statebuilding at the community and local level across Africa. Five case studies explore the work of local actors, their relationship to and interaction with national actors and policies, and their influence on international programs and planning. The case studies include women’s statebuilding initiatives in Egypt; ...» more
An Act of Faith: Humanitarian Financing and Zakat
This report sheds some light on the purpose, scale and potential of Zakat for financing humanitarian response. It provides a basis on which to open up discussions around how that potential might be maximised – both by increasing the overall volume of Zakat collected and improving the mechanisms available to channel Zakat to the humanitarian response. The report draws on ...» more
Adapting development: improving services to the poor
This report argues that if we are to avoid reproducing the pattern of uneven progress that has characterised the MDG campaign, there must be more explicit recognition of the political conditions that sometimes enable, but so often obstruct, development progress. In this context, domestic reformers and their international partners must pursue innovative and politically smart ...» more
States of Fragility 2015: Meeting Post-2015 Ambitions
This report offers a new tool for assessing fragility that is more comprehensive than the traditional single categorisation of “fragile states”, and recognises the diversity of risks and vulnerabilities that lead to fragility. It identifies countries the most vulnerable in five dimensions of risk and vulnerability linked to fragility, and asks how likely they are to achieve the ...» more
Did Aid Promote Democracy in Africa? The Role of Technical Assistance in Africa’s Transitions
This paper argues that while aid has increased resources available for patronage in earlier periods, it also increased the extent to which donors paid attention to government spending and corruption, making it more costly for governments to use foreign aid for patronage. Specifically, it argues that when donors invest in policies that increase monitoring, measured using ...» more
A Typology of Political Conditionality Beyond Aid: Conceptual Horizons Based on Lessons from the European Union
This paper asks how political conditionality needs to be conceptualised and researched to reflect global changes. It argues that a diversification of political conditionality “beyond aid” is now taking place. Political conditionality reaches across different external policy fields and includes cooperative and punitive measures. It has also moved from political rights toward ...» more
