How can 'development' – the very idea of human progress – be reformulated to better incorporate the political dimension? This report argues that the international community must fundamentally change the way it understands and promotes development, particularly in fragile contexts. It asserts that the MDGs are inadequate measures of development, representing a confused paradigm. ...» 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.
Social Protection and Poverty
What is the potential for social protection programmes to address poverty and vulnerability in developing countries? This report provides an overview of social protection and an assessment of its impact in Latin America, South and East Asia, and Sub Saharan Africa. Countries with stronger social protection show lower levels of poverty and vulnerability and are more resilient in ...» more
Capacity Development for Education Service Delivery in Pakistan: Top-down Devolution
How successful has capacity development for decentralised education service delivery been in Pakistan? This article examines capacity issues in two programmes: the provincial-level Punjab Education Sector Reform Programme (PESRP) and the district-level Strategic Policy Unit (SPU) of Faisalabad City District Government. These delivered major improvements in education delivery ...» more
Summary Report – Women at the Peace Table Asia Pacific Experts Meeting
How can women's representation in peace negotiations be improved? This report of a meeting with 40 women experts from across Asia and the Pacific notes that gender issues are sidelined as being 'social' or 'welfare' and their importance to hard security is overlooked. A broader perspective is needed, as women's contributions outside of formal negotiations (to conflict ...» more
Systemic Disconnects: Why Regional Organisations Fail to Use Early Warning and Response Mechanisms
Why is there a gap between warning and response in many conflicts? Why do regional organisations not use early warning and response (EWR) mechanisms more effectively? Current EWR mechanisms have four key weaknesses to address; they need to adequately consider causal chains, the local space, the impact of small events, and under what conditions they can be effectively ...» more
Taxation, Fiscal Decentralisation and Legitimacy: The Role of Semi-Autonomous Tax Agencies in Peru
Can semi-autonomous tax agencies play a role in strengthening the effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy of decentralised tax systems? This article analyses semi-autonomous tax agencies in nine Peruvian cities. It shows that the Servicios de Administración Tributaria (SAT) collect local taxes and non-tax revenues more effectively than conventional tax administrations. ...» more
Rethinking Social Protection Using a Gender Lens
To what extent is social protection programming reinforcing women's traditional roles and responsibilities, or helping to transform gender relations in economic and social spheres? How can policy and programme design and evaluations better address gender-specific risks and vulnerability? This paper synthesises multi-country research, finding that the integration of gender into ...» more
Tackling Child Vulnerabilities through Social Protection: Lessons from West and Central Africa
This report synthesises learning from child-sensitive social protection programmes in Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Congo, and Senegal. A child-sensitive approach to social protection needs to be informed by the specific vulnerabilities and risks that children and their carers face. Challenges to such an approach in West and Central Africa are political instability, ...» more
Engaging Citizens in Postconflict Reconstruction: Decentralisation for Participatory Governance
To what extent can decentralisation help to institutionalise citizen engagement in governance and promote sustainable peace? This study analyses the concept of decentralisation and looks at the challenges of implementing it in several post-conflict countries. It argues that participatory governance at the local level facilitates the involvement of local communities in policy ...» more
Constructing, Deconstructing, and Reconstructing Career Civil Service Systems in Latin America
How is capriciousness and private and party interest minimised in the administration of government? This paper suggests that the answer is 'slowly and gradually'. It examines efforts to introduce neutral, stable civil services in Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and Chile, noting that patronage persists after laws on career civil service reform have been passed. Implementation (and ...» more
Public Service Reform and Motivation: Evidence from an Employment At-Will Environment
How do employment-at-will (EAW) policies affect public service motivation? This study examines the motivation of public employees in the US state of Georgia, using a survey of human resource (HR) professionals. It suggests that EAW policies have a significant negative impact on motivation in the workplace, particularly for minorities. The potential for EAW to erode progress in ...» more
Taxation, Resource Mobilisation and State Performance
How do patterns of taxation affect state capacity and production? What is the relationship between elite bargains and taxation patterns? How do aid flows and multilateral donor reforms affect statebuilding? This paper examines the political economy of taxation in a range of countries. It argues that the process of tax collection is a powerful lens through which to assess power ...» more
Mobilising for Better Public Services
Can collective action improve service delivery outcomes for the poor? Can donors more effectively support collective action to stimulate improvements in service delivery where formal accountability structures fail? This research draws on case studies from Brazil, Mexico and India to argue that there are opportunities for collective action to bring about social accountability. ...» more
Service Delivery in Fragile and Conflict-Affected States
Can the delivery of basic services help to promote lasting stability and peace in fragile and conflict-affected states (FCAS)? Drawing on 40 case studies, this paper argues that successful delivery of basic services can contribute to broader political legitimacy and stability. Donors, government and non-state actors can provide a virtuous circle of improving services, ...» more
An Analytical Framework for Assessing Decentralised Local Governance and the Local Public Sector
What information is needed to assess the effectiveness of decentralised government in developing and transitional countries? This paper proposes a framework for comparative assessment of a country's local public sector based on an empowerment approach. The assessment framework covers the political, administrative and financial structures that support the local government ...» more
State-level effects of transitional justice: what do we know?
Does transitional justice (TJ) strengthen or threaten societal peace in transitional countries? This review of recent scholarship finds a dearth of reliable evidence of TJ’s effects on institutions and policy processes at the state-level – positive or negative – despite strong claims by scholars and practitioners. It calls for more systematic and comparative analysis of the TJ ...» more
Linking State and Non-State Security and Justice
How extensive are links between state and non-state security and justice providers? Should such links be supported, and if so, how? This study argues that state and non-state links abound, even creating hybrid institutions. Given that state- non-state links strengthen existing systems (rather than trying to build new Western ones), they seem an appropriate approach to security ...» more
Utopian Dreams or Practical Possibilities? The Challenges of Evaluating the Impact of Memorialisation in Societies in Transition
How can memorialisation of the past support social reconstruction or transitional justice? This study evaluates the youth education programmes of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience in Italy, Bangladesh and Chile in order to suggest strategies for conceptualising and evaluating the impact of memorialisation. It argues that while much thinking remains to be done ...» more
When Truth Commissions Improve Human Rights
How, when and why do truth commissions improve human rights? This paper draws on the experiences of Brazil, Chile, Nepal, South Korea and South Africa. It concludes that although truth commissions are incapable of promoting stability and accountability on their own, they contribute to human rights improvements when they complement and enhance amnesties and prosecutions. Most ...» more
How Can Donors Create Incentives for Results and Flexibility for Fragile States? A Proposal for IDA
Donors using Performance Based Allocation (PBA) systems face two difficult issues: how to strengthen incentives to produce and document development results, and how to increase flexibility for fragile states. This paper suggests: 1) implementing short feedback loops to incentivise more attention to results and to monitoring and evaluation; and 2) establishing an additional ...» more
