Human Development Agenda Research Articles

Repeating the Mistakes of the Law and Development Movement in Afghanistan

Abstract The rapid collapse of the Afghan state did not come as a surprise to those who are well-versed in the chequered history of the Law and Development Movement. While the Movement’s one-size-fits-all modernization project has been largely rejected, such misguided efforts continue under the aims of “building the Rule of Law” or “improving governance.” The fallout from the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan is a stark reminder for states and multilateral organizations not to overlook the lessons of the Movement that may have been obscured by the different banners under which state- and market-building efforts have been pursued. From the Movement’s sincere yet naïve efforts of state-building between the 1950s and 70s, to its swing to build and support markets under the Washington Consensus paradigm in the 80s and 90s, and a later emphasis on good governance through state institutions from the 2000s onwards, it is clear that top-down state-building efforts have had limited success. The paper argues that the failure of the Afghanistan mission may have been avoided if the U.S. had turned to the lessons learned from the law-and-institutions-building enterprises of the past 70 years. Instead, the failure to heed these lessons led to the building of a state akin to a house of cards. By overlooking the importance of embedded cultural institutions, the legitimacy of the state as perceived by its people, and the dynamic interaction between formal and informal institutions, the state-building project in Afghanistan was bound to fail. Following the takeover by the Taliban, the small gains made in Afghanistan over the past two decades on the issues of hunger, poverty, health, and education have seen rapid deceleration and require urgent attention. The critiques outlined in this paper, informed by the experience of the Law and Development Movement, are meant to inform, not discourage, global engagement in advancing the human development agenda in Afghanistan and other fragile contexts.

EFFECTS OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE REDUCTION IN NIGERIA

The study was conducted to examine the effects of women entrepreneurial development on domestic violence reduction in Nigeria. A mixed method approach was used and the population of the study constituted selected women entrepreneurs across Nigeria. The study sampled 839 respondents using Top-man formula for sample size determination. The instrument for the study was questionnaire that used likert scale format. The study adopted content validity for the instruments and Cronbach alpha method of internal consistency to determine the reliability of the questionnaire. Data analysis was carried out using multiple regressions with the aid of content thematic analysis of SPSSv21. The study concluded that women who engaged in entrepreneurial activities support their homes; and they were considered as assets not liabilities by their husbands and therefore, earn respect. Domestic violence against women constitutes a major setback to agricultural activities in the Study Area. The study, therefore, recommended that women should be given every encouragement both financially and emotionally to embark on entrepreneurial activities such as opportunities to occupy reasonable positions in government both politically and career appointments to display their talents; and the farmers especially from the women extraction be given full protection against herdsmen at both on farms and at home. There is also need for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who are also key components in any sustainable human development agenda to end or reduce violence against women by rendering community services through the creation of adequate awareness to the general public.

Humanizing Industrialization?: Japanese Productivity Methods, Ethiopian Factories, and Low Modernism in Foreign Aid

The past decade has seen a gradual convergence between the modernizing, top-down development agendas associated with “new donors” to Africa and the human development agenda more commonly linked to traditional donors. But while instruments such as the Sustainable Development Goals now demand both industrialization and empowerment, donors still struggle to reconcile these competing expectations. This article uses a variety of qualitative data to examine one such project: the attempted transfer of Japanese management techniques (or kaizen) to workplaces across Ethiopia as part of Japanese official development assistance. Asking why and how the Japanese and Ethiopian governments pursue these aims, the article finds an intervention that is low modernist in design: its goals and logics are modernist but tempered by a respect for local knowledge and a preference for evolutionary over revolutionary change. The fact that Japan is the donor to promulgate such a paradigm is no coincidence, I find, given the historical origins of kaizen and Japan’s long-standing hybrid role in international development debates. Low modernist interventions such as Ethiopian kaizen demonstrate the utility of moving beyond dichotomies (China/West, growth/equity, efficiency/empowerment). But in both Ethiopia and the Japanese aid apparatus, powerful centrifugal forces still make low modernism a difficult balancing act to achieve.

Human Development Optimism and Political Pitfalls in Ethiopia

Guided by a freedom-based assessment of human development, this paper questions the compatibility of knowledge economy optimism and the authoritarian political order that prevailed in Ethiopia since the mid-2000s. It shows how the knowledge economy discourse has played a positive role in widening access to higher education; briefly summarizes assumptions of the ‘developmental state’ orientation endorsed by the ruling elite; and explains why the repressive political order has undermined the nation’s human development agenda. Synthesizing empirical policy accounts and normative arguments, the paper highlights intricate relationships between knowledge, freedom and development. It concludes that both the neoliberal vision of freedom and the developmental state account of democracy do not fully appreciate the importance of substantive freedom as an essence of a democratic political order.

The Paradigmatic Depletion of the Neoliberal State in Latin America: Exploring the Governance for Sustainable Development

During the contemporary period, the evolution of the great majority of Latin American States has followed two main directions: neoliberalism and neopopulism. Although these political formations are based on antagonistic paradigms, both currents have a fundamental coincidence: the weakening of the institutional capacities of the State, as well as the emergence of conflicting relations between the State and other central actors, of both market, and civil society. In this context, it is necessary to explore new frameworks of analysis that enable the construction of new state institutions which guarantee autonomy and efficient cooperation between the different socio-political spheres in the modern era. The main objectives of this work are the exploration of new theoretical approaches for the resizing of the role of the State in Latin America, particularly in development policies. For it, three central themes are analyzed: 1) the theories related to the developmental State, with emphasis on the role of bureaucratic organizations, based on the review of the experience of Southeast Asian countries; 2) the analysis of some of the main contributions of the governance model, with emphasis on the distribution of power among the different sociopolitical agents, especially the State and the government; and 3) a brief review of the complex and interactive nature of the sustainability paradigm and its implications for the role of the State in development processes. The principal conclusions of this paper point to the integration of a broad research agenda that places at the center of the political and academic debate, the need for a profound reform of the State, with emphasis on the aspects related to the institutional mechanisms of cooperation and interaction of the State with other central actors in development policies, as well as the reconfiguration of supranational institutions in the region, as a basis for the integration and implementation of sustainable human development agenda policies for the 21st century.

Women and NCDs: Overcoming the neglect

Two in every three deaths among women are caused by non-communicable diseases (NCDs) – largely heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases. The global discourse on health, however, largely views women in terms of their reproductive capacity, a persisting myth reflecting gender bias that shifts the focus away from NCDs, violence, and other injuries. Risk factors for NCDs are similar for men and women. Because fewer women actively smoke than men, and drink in less harmful ways, in most parts of the world, the impact of major NCD risk factors is far less in women than in men. In the area of diagnosis and treatment, gender bias can result in women being asked fewer questions, and receiving fewer examinations and fewer diagnostic tests for coronary heart disease and other NCDs compared with men with similar symptoms. In response to a UN meeting in September 2011, member states of WHO have agreed to a global goal to reduce avoidable NCD mortality by 25% by 2025 (‘25 by 25’). A set of voluntary targets and indictors have been agreed upon, although none of them are gender specific. Most require changes at the policy level that will ensure that women – and children – will also benefit. As the 2015 deadline for the Millennium Development Goals approaches, women and NCDs should be central to the sustainable human development agenda.

New Forms of Government and the Europenisation of Minority Representation: the Case of European Roma

The situation of roma since the fall of socialism is a paradox. On the one hand, many organizations, international governing organizations (IGOs), such as the European Union (Council of Europe, European Commission, European Parliament), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the World Bank and the United Nations (UNDP, UNICEF, ILO), local and international/transnational NGOs, government agencies are involved in projects for Roma to improve their situation in Europe. Roma have become the target of social inclusion programs of the European Union (EU), the Decade of Roma Inclusion - a project of the Open Society Foundation and the World Bank -, Strategies for improving the situation of Roma developed by governments in Southeastern Europe. On the other hand, Roma continue to be marginalized, discriminated against, politically underrepresented, with a higher probability of being unemployed, not having access to public services - education, health , housing - compared with the majority population. This paper seeks to understand how was it possible to understand the recent shift from the representation of the Roma as a non-European minority, which lasted since their arrival in Europe until the fall of socialist regimes, to their representation as an European minority as it is shown in documents of the European institutions and the World Bank? How did Roma appear on the EU social inclusion agenda, the Human Development agenda of UNDP or the minority rights agenda of OSCE?

A different kind of loss: A tribute to Dr Clyde Hertzman (1953–2013)

Every now and then we experience a loss in our professional and work circles that somehow seems tougher and deeper than others, and so untimely it takes our breath away. And somehow the rituals of mourning that help us through the losses in our personal and family lives are not available to us in our work worlds. Much is being written about Dr Clyde Hertzman, our remarkable friend and colleague who died suddenly in February in the United Kingdom at the age of 59. Clyde’s current position was Director of the Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) at the University of British Columbia (Vancouver, British Columbia). The reach of his work and ideas extended beyond academia to the grassroots of national and international audiences. There are multiple postings in online discussion boards, in local and national newspapers and in medical journals. ‘Google’ his name and pages of tribute entries return. Reflections have come from politicians, journalists, university and medical school deans and professors, leaders of professional organizations, advocacy groups and nongovernmental organizations – pretty well all the players, institutions and organizations in Canada, and beyond, who care about young children and who have shared Clyde’s journey and work on the human development agenda. So too has the Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS) posted its words of respect and tribute for the contributions Clyde has made internationally, nationally and locally. Most recently, he worked with our CPS Early Years Task Force to help develop our strategy, infusing his brilliance and enthusiasm for opportunities to make a better world for Canada’s children. He liberally shared his ideas, his contacts and his wisdom to help us craft the next steps in this long journey. He collaborated with the CPS Early Years Task Force just a week before his death and spent a morning in early December with us at HELP, where we brainstormed the options, the strategies and the direction. He had recently learned of, and shared in confidence, his Order of Canada appointment and, apart from being delighted at the recognition, was contemplating how to use this new platform to shine a brighter light on early child development. In November 2010, he was named CIHR’s Health Researcher of the Year, and he delivered a phenomenal lecture at Ottawa’s National Gallery. It was one of those magical nights with a bitter cold wind pounding at the windows, snow falling and an erudite crowd in attendance, including the Governor General and Clyde’s partner Marcy Cohen. Clyde was at the top of his game. His broad-reaching and convincing dissertation emphasized that the early years do matter and are a determinant of lifelong health and well-being. He brought the understanding of cellular biology to the story of a successful society, and created a buzz and excitement around his passion for measurement. Dr Clyde Hertzman Clyde introduced us to many new concepts, including biological embedding, emphasizing how the environmental experiences of early childhood in families and communities become hardwired into the brain. “Early in life, the environment talks to genes and the genes listen,” he wrote (1). Similarly, any of us who were lucky enough to experience Clyde through his teaching, his writings or his lectures have had our neuronal connections biologically and indelibly altered. His humility coupled with his vibrant curiosity made him very special to work with. Clyde has, in a most wonderful way, ‘gotten under our skin’. So the loss of Clyde feels like a tsunami for those of us working on the human development agenda – it’s a hole in our universe. And it will continue to manifest itself in the absence of his voice in the multiple conversations we shared, the silence from the podium and the empty chair at the panel table. The loss of his intellectual horsepower, his different, creative way of looking at and measuring the world, and his ability to take complexity and transform these complex ideas into brain butterscotch is immeasurable. We know that his impact will be felt by generations of children around the world forever. So this is the ‘now and then’ in our professional careers when, like William Wordsworth in Surprised by Joy, we instinctively turn at a moment of early childhood success to look for Clyde – for his leadership, wisdom and enthusiasm, then we realize he is no longer with us. We will repair, we will rebuild and refocus, but we will remember this different kind of loss.

Non-communicable diseases: 2015 to 2025

Non-communicable diseases: 2015 to 2025

Patterns of Human Development Indicators Across Constitutional Analysis of Children’s Rights to Protection, Provision, and Participation

This study examines children’s images in constitutions and/or amendments as articulated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child while they intersect with the three dimensions of the Human Development Index (HDI) of 2008: life expectancy, educational index, and GDP. The connection between the images of the child and the fulfillment of the dimensions within countries represents the current childhood conditions and determines their future wellbeing. It is the interdependency of the elements of HDI and the premises of the CRC that potentially impact nation-state’s developmental outcome with the process of rights. This study highlights the strength of the connection among the dimensions, and emphasizes the importance of considering children as vital to dialogue around human rights and a human development agenda.

Millennium Development Goals: Why They Matter

Many goals have been set by the United Nations since the first development decade of the 1960s. What is new about the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)? First, an unprecedented assembly of the world's heads of state generated them when they met in September 2000. Second, the goals put human development--poverty and people and their lives--at the center of the global agenda for the new millennium, a shift away from growth as the central objective of development. Third, MDGs are not just aspirations but provide a framework for accountability; they do not simply state ideals but go on to define concrete goals that can be monitored. Fourth, they address not only outcomes but also inputs from rich countries, thus forming a compact that holds both rich and poor governments accountable for opening markets, giving more aid and debt relief, and transferring technology. MDGs Are a Human Development Agenda The eight MDGs--poverty, education, gender equality, child mortality, maternal health, HIV/AIDS and other diseases, environment, and global partnership--have been areas of concern for some time, but they have not been at the center of the UN's agenda. The first, second, and third UN decades (1960s, 1970s, and 1980s) were more involved in economic transformation and growth, especially industrialization. The adoption of the MDGs reflects an important endorsement of the central objectives of poverty and human well-being. The MDGs speak directly to improving human lives. In the debates of the past four decades, the debate has shifted among economists and policymakers about how much attention should be paid to economic growth, to people, and to poverty. Although almost everyone would agree that all three objectives are important, some assume that economic growth is primary. Human needs are often overshadowed by the preoccupation with the growth of the gross domestic product (GDP). Economic expansion is critical to human flourishing, but it is a means, not an end in itself. Economic can be ruthless, by benefiting some at the expense of others; voiceless, by excluding the voice of people; jobless, by creating wealth but not jobs; futureless, by exhausting the next generation's resources; and rootless, by destroying cultural traditions and identities. Many economists have developed alternative frameworks or approaches. In the 1970s, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and economists such as Hans Singer and Richard Jolly argued for the importance of employment. In the 1980s, Paul Streeten, Frances Stewart, and others argued that the priority of was to meet basic needs. Starting in the 1980s, Amartya Sen began to define as expanding people's capabilities to lead lives that they value. Building on these ideas, Mahbub ul Haq launched the concept of human development, which defines as a process of creating an environment in which all people can lead full, creative lives. He launched the annual Human Development Reports in 1990 to track the progress of countries according to measures of human well-being rather than economic growth. The Human Development Index (HDI) was introduced to reflect capabilities in three critical areas: to survive, to be knowledgeable, and to enjoy a decent standard of living. These reports have applied this conceptual framework to explore different capabilities, such as being educated and healthy, but they also investigate areas such as political freedoms and cultural liberties and suggest policy tools to promote expansion of these capabilities. Over the years, a human approach or paradigm has evolved. (1) The Millennium Declaration and human share a common vision, guided by the values of freedom, dignity, solidarity, tolerance, and equity among people and nations. These principles are also fundamental human rights, and the MDGs set standards for the progressive realization of economic and social rights. …