What should be the primary, explicit aim of security sector reform (SSR) efforts – democracy or development? What role should the concept of the ‘social contract’ play in SSR? This article from the Journal of Security Sector Management examines the evolution of SSR and the roles of development and democratisation in that concept. It argues that there is a tension between ...» 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.
Justice-Sensitive Security System Reform in the Democratic Republic of Congo
What effect has a legacy of impunity for human rights violations had on the security sector in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)? How can the EU incorporate justice-sensitive reform initiatives within security system reform (SSR) programmes? This paper from the Initiative for Peacebuilding examines the need for justice-sensitive SSR in the DRC. It argues that strengthening ...» more
Political Participation and Regime Stability: A Framework for Analyzing Hybrid Regimes
A number of countries that have moved away from outright authoritarianism have transformed not into democracies but into regimes combining democratic and non-democratic characteristics. What impact do political culture and levels of political participation have on the stability of these hybrid regimes? This article from the International Political Science Review examines the ...» more
Mission without end? Peacekeeping in the African political marketplace
How can the international community engage successfully in peacemaking and peacekeeping? How can it develop effective exit strategies for such engagements? This article from the journal of International Affairs argues that, in most African conflicts, peace engagement can only be successful if international actors focus on achieving a bargain between elites based on the ...» more
Crisis without Limits – Human Rights and Humanitarian Consequences of Political Repression in Zimbabwe
How has the political crisis contributed to the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe? How should the African Union (AU) and the international community respond to these crises? This report from Human Rights Watch examines the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe. It argues that this crisis is a direct consequence of the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front’s (ZANU-PF) ...» more
Public Finance, Security, and Development: A Framework and an Application to Afghanistan
How can links between security and development enhance policies, processes and institutions in developing countries? This paper from the World Bank South Asia Region argues that understanding security risks and designing risk mitigation strategies are crucial to better development outcomes. With appropriate adjustments, traditional economic principles can be applied to the ...» more
Liberia: Uneven Progress in Security Sector Reform
What is the status of security sector reform in Liberia five years after the end of the conflict? This report from the International Crisis Group assesses current progress and finds programmes long on ambition but short on results. While army reform has made significant strides since the end of the war, police reform and efforts in other areas have proved far less successful. ...» more
Literature Review on Gender and Fragility
There is so far little literature that directly addresses the link between gender (in)equality and fragility, or gender equality in fragile states. The literature on gender and fragile states tends to focus on conflict and post-conflict reconstruction and not on the gendered dimensions and characteristics of fragile states. A more thorough, gendered understanding of state ...» more
‘Services’ in Who Answers to Women?
This chapter examines gender biases in the way services are resourced and designed, and shows how women's physical and social access to services is often constrained. Practical ways of improving accountability in service delivery include: gender-sensitive mandates that bring gender equality into the remit of every public service; incentives to reward responsive performance; ...» more
Women and Health: Today’s Evidence Tomorrow’s Agenda
What are women's health needs? What is their contribution to the overall health of societies? This report takes stock of the health of women around the world and draws attention to the consequences and costs of failing to address health issues at appropriate points in women's lives. Addressing women's health is a necessary and effective approach to strengthening health systems ...» more
New Lessons: The Power of Educating Adolescent Girls
How can education for adolescent girls be improved? This report draws on research on over 300 past and current programmes and projects. It provides new evidence on how proven practices, such as curricula relevant for adolescent girls, scholarships, and the recruitment and training of female teachers, can increase the number of adolescent girls attending school. It also outlines ...» more
Does Women’s Proportional Strength Affect their Participation? Governing Local Forests in South Asia
This paper examines community forest institutions in India and Nepal to assess the impact of increasing women's participation in local decision-making bodies. Its findings support popular assertions that women's effectiveness in such forums depends on their numerical strength and that the proportion for such effectiveness is around a third. However, while women's greater ...» more
Gender Vulnerabilities, Food Price Shocks and Social Protection Responses
This study argues that women are bearing a disproportionate share of the burden of the 2008 food price crisis, both as producers and consumers. The impacts of the crisis have changed and/or magnified pre-existing vulnerabilities and shaped the range of coping strategies available to men, women and children. International and national responses have not given sufficient ...» more
The Gendered Politics of Farm Household Production and the Shaping of Women’s Livelihoods in Northern Ghana
How does the gendered politics of farm household production affect women's livelihoods? This study focuses on livelihoods-based interests in farm land and non-violent conflict situations in northern Ghana. It argues that the social positioning of women and whether they work on the land or not are important determinants of their livelihood possibilities. An examination of the ...» more
Women Entrepreneurship in Asian Developing Countries: Their Development and Main Constraints
To what extent are women becoming entrepreneurs in Asian developing countries? This paper focuses on women entrepreneurs in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). It finds that the representation of women entrepreneurs is still relatively low, and most women entrepreneurs in SMEs are 'forced entrepreneurs' seeking better family incomes.SMEs are very important in Asia, as they ...» more
The Pursuit of Integrity in Customs: Experiences from Sub-Saharan Africa
Why have many anti-corruption reforms in customs in sub-Saharan Africa apparently not succeeded? This paper argues that the reforms have been too focused on formal institutions, and have paid too little attention to political economy issues and the role of informal institutions. Customs officers are often torn between compliance with abstract bureaucratic norms and the concrete ...» more
Communication and Cultural Contents
What has been the impact of communication – such as the media and the Internet – on cultural diversity? This chapter examines the rise of global communication, and new media. It argues that the greater prevalence of media holds opportunities and threats, especially in relation to audience fragmentation and the proliferation of stereotypes. Initiatives are needed to ensure that ...» more
Intercultural Dialogue
How can intercultural dialogue be promoted? This chapter examines cultural interactions and the barriers to dialogue such as stereotyping and intolerance. It argues that the perceived traits or identities that can lead to isolation and stereotyping can also be the bases for dialogue. The success of intercultural dialogue is dependent on the ability to listen with empathy. ...» more
Transforming Images: Reimagining Women’s Work Through Participatory Video
How can participatory media support empowerment, dialogue and community building? This study of a participatory video workshop involving rural women in Fiji found that women integrated local norms and practices in their video production. They used social capital – relationships and social networks – as a key element. Women presented themselves as active citizens who made ...» more
Playing with Fire: Power, Participation, and Communication for Development
Communication is essential to participatory development. So why is the role of communication in development still poorly understood? Why the lack of support from large development players? This paper highlights gaps between discourse and action, along with outdated evaluation methods, short timeframes and problems of power relations and culture. Participatory communication for ...» more
