This paper evaluates the EU's and member states' preferences for development policy in response to COVID-19. It highlights the need for a response that integrates short-term recovery with long-term socio-ecological changes. The findings indicate tensions due to a focus on climate and green transitions, requiring new strategies to align differing priorities.
The paper examines land and water governance in Ethiopia's lower Awash River basin, highlighting interdependencies among Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It critiques existing governance mechanisms for failing to manage these interdependencies effectively, particularly regarding pastoralists' rights. Recommendations include strengthening local governance capacities and recognizing communal land rights.
This study adds to the debate on the contribution of digital Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) towards the improvement of local governance. Sub-Saharan Africa has been identified as a region where the achievement of development goals is hampered by a high degree of government centralisation. The recognition of decentralisation as a strategic imperative for development has contributed to the popularity of participatory development approaches (PDA) which aim at empowering local populations. Motivated by the rapid of mobile telephony in Africa, scholars and development practitioners have become increasingly interested in the possibility of utilising digital ICT in the context of PDA in the region. In the context of a decentralisation programme, the German KfW Development Bank is currently pilot testing an ICT-based citizen participation platform in several Togolese middle cities. The objective of the platform is two improve citizen participation, transparency, and accountability in local governance. This study presents a Social Network Analysis (SNA) that investigates the state of decentralisation in two of the Togolese cities in which KfW’s ICT-based citizen participation platform is being implemented. Based on the findings of the SNA, the authors discuss the potential of ICT-based participatory development approaches to strengthen local governance in general, and formulate specific recommendations for the further development of KfWs ICT-based citizen participation platform in Togo.
The Tunisian uprising that led to the ousting of President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011 was notable for its diverse support base. Contrary to the belief that a co-opted middle class underpins stability in authoritarian regimes, the revolution emerged from a coalition uniting an alienated intellectual elite, rural poor, and urban middle classes against the regime. While it's commonly assumed that modern communication technologies and social media were crucial to this coalition, the precise interaction of these tools with other contextual factors remains less clear. This analysis draws on evidence from the protests between December 2010 and January 2011, expert interviews with Tunisian bloggers, and a web survey of Tunisian Facebook users. It posits that social media played a vital role by (1) enabling a 'digital elite' to form networks and bypass national media restrictions, facilitating information flow to mainstream outlets; (2) addressing the 'free rider' problem in collective action by publicizing the scale of protests; and (3) fostering a national collective identity that transcended geographical and socio-economic divides, providing a shared emotional grievance that galvanized support for protest actions.
Humboldts fünfjährige Reise durch Lateinamerika offenbarte ihm die Vielfalt der kolonialen Gesellschaft. Während er überwiegend mit der weißen Oberschicht interagierte, dokumentierte er auch Begegnungen mit verschiedenen unteren Klassen, einschließlich Indios, Zamben, Mestizen, Mulatten sowie freien und versklavten Schwarzen. Die Arbeit untersucht die Art dieser Kontakte, Humboldts Wahrnehmungen und deren Einfluss auf seine Berichterstattung, wobei ein besonderer Fokus auf den Austausch mit der indigenen Bevölkerung gelegt wird.
Implementing the 2030 Agenda in an integrated manner presents challenges to political institutions and processes, necessitating innovative governance approaches to leverage synergies and mitigate trade-offs among the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Since late 2015, national bodies for coordinating SDG implementation have been established. Understanding the institutional designs chosen for SDG implementation is crucial for future analyses of effectiveness. This Discussion Paper examines the influence of political factors on these design choices. It has two main objectives: first, to assess national governments' proposals for institutional designs and identify patterns by analyzing and coding the Voluntary National Reviews from 2016 and 2017 of 62 signatory states, including both OECD and non-OECD countries across various regions and income levels. Second, it seeks to explain the political and socio-economic factors that shaped these designs. The analysis reveals that most countries favor designs that enhance political support and cross-sectoral integration, though they often lack social inclusiveness and vertical coordination. Findings indicate that higher socio-economic development correlates with greater horizontal integration. Additionally, vertical and societal integration are interdependent. The paper concludes with policy recommendations for the institutional requirements necessary for effective integrated SDG imple