International Donor Community Research Articles

Crony capitalism in the Palestinian Authority: a deal among friends

This article interrogates the multifaceted political–economic networks entrenched within the multiple structures of the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority (PA). The main argument of this article is that crony capitalism is a defining feature of the PA’s relations with a handful of capitalists and business groups. The demonstration of this argument is exhibited through the large-scale public and private monopolistic practices in strategic sectors of the Palestinian economy, which function within the framework of Israel’s settler-colonial reality and the persistent patterns of international aid to the occupied West Bank. While acknowledging the existence of cronyism as a feature of the capitalist system in its diverse typologies, crony capitalism may be more pronounced in situations characterised by political uncertainty, whereby political–business collusion strategizes the expansion of neo-patrimonial networks and rent-seeking opportunities as a meta-mechanism for social control and political stabilisation. In the Occupied Palestinian Territories, crony capitalism was developed as part of the political allegiances and economic alliances that underpin the structures created by the Oslo process, which are fostered by Israeli policies and the international donor community to maintain the cohesiveness of the PA regime.

Beyond Foreign Aid in Africa: Is a New Narrative Emerging?

Narratives drive politics. Controlling how reality is understood and can be changed gives power and influence over development. For the last four decades African countries have to a large extent lived off the generosity of the international donor community. The cost of doing so has been obvious: the imperative to follow policy prescriptions that have worked elsewhere and for that reason alone have been treated as relevant and helpful also for Africa. This liberal internationalist approach has been centred on the twin principles of free market and democratic governance. It has served as dominant policy narrative with many governments in Africa embracing it as the way forward. It still has its supporters but the interesting thing about Africa today is that cracks are emerging in this intellectual edifice, thus rendering the narrative less compelling and less attractive.

No Change in Sight – Togo’s Political and Socio-Economic Development (2017 – 2019)

Backed by peaceful but undemocratic presidential (2010, 2015) and legislative (2013) elections the Gnassingbe regime consolidated its power. In view of the absolute majority of the ruling party, its inclination for meaningful constitutional and electoral reforms, as demanded by the opposition and international donors, was further reduced. Overriding concerns for stability in West Africa in view of growing Islamist threats in neighbouring countries made that the delayed democratic reforms, including the time and again reported local elections, were condoned by the donor community. However, simmering discontent of the hardliners among the security forces and the barons of the ruling party was still visible. The opposition tried in vain to overcome its divide between its moderate and radical wing. An alliance of opposition parties and civic groups opposed the regime peacefully by frequent, often violently suppressed demonstrations with little effect. Arson attacks on the markets of Lome and Kara in January 2013 served as pretense to harass opposition leaders. Human rights records of the government remained tarnished. The tense political climate persisted in view of the upcoming presidential elections in April 2015 and the apparent determination of the President to stay in power a third and eventually even a fourth term whatever the cost. Despite undeniable improvements of the framework and outside appearance of major institutions of the regime during the survey period it remained a facade democracy. However, the international community, notably African peers, the AU and ECOWAS, but also the Bretton-Woods Institutions, China and the EU, followed a ‘laissez faire’ approach in the interest of stability and their proper national interest in dealings with the country. Economic growth perspectives remained promising, expected to increase to 6.0% in 2014 and 6.3% in 2015, last but not least because of heavy assistance by the international donor community. However, growth is neither sustainable nor inclusive. It is overshadowed by increasing inter-personal and regional inequality as well as an upturn in extreme poverty.

Aid, ownership, and coordination in the health sector in Ethiopia

ABSTRACTThe Government of Ethiopia is seen as a owner of its national programs and policies and thus also as a strong coordinator of the foreign aid it receives. This is also the case in the health sector in Ethiopia, where the Ministry of Health have shown leadership in the last two decades. National health plans have been clear-cut and had ambitious objectives, to which the international donor community has adhered. The government-led coordination structures and joint health financing arrangements have been instrumental for improved donor coordination and aid effectiveness in the sector. This has led to impressive results, looking at the poor state of health that the government inherited from former regimes. However, the sector has at once been heavily dependent on foreign sources and characterized by high aid fragmentation. In this paper, we describe the health plans and health financing between 1990 and 2015. We also look at health leadership, donor coordination, and the results of investments in health.

The civil service’s “fast food approach” to development policy-making in Bangladesh: critique and agenda for reform

Since Bangladesh’s independence in 1971, the international donor community has largely shaped the nature and direction of the country’s development plans. In most cases, successive governments have introduced development policies and programmes within the broad framework of international development co-operation that has frequently overlooked the local context. A significant part of the reason why donors have been able to play a dominant role in setting the country’s development agenda is the inability of the civil service to serve as a challenge to externally-driven models of development. As is explored in this article, civil servants have lacked the capacity and political will to assume proactively a vital role in the policy-making process. This has resulted in a “fast food approach” which has allowed donors to have considerable control over the country’s development. In response, civil service reform needs urgent and high priority attention in line with successful reform initiatives in other countries.

Assisting Developing Countries in Taxation After the OECDDs BEPS Reports: A Suggested Approach for the Donor Community

This paper explores how the international donor community might most productively offer technical assistance to developing countries in the area of taxation, in light of the OECD’s recently completed study of ‘base erosion and profit shifting’ (BEPS). The paper addresses both the political and the technical constraints facing developing country tax administrations. It recommends that donor agencies seek to build their technical assistance efforts through long-term collaborations with developing country governments, and observes that the most productive technical assistance efforts might extend beyond the boundaries of the particular international tax issues that the BEPS studies address. The paper also explores two particular BEPS-related measures on which productive technical assistance may be especially feasible, namely the implementation of limitations on corporate interest deductions, and the construction of ‘transfer pricing safe harbours’.

Putting promises into practice: The New Aid Architecture in Uganda

AbstractVia the Paris Declaration and the Accra Agenda for Action the international donor community has delivered a set of promises on ownership, harmonization and co‐ordination. Uganda is an interesting case for assessing progress on Paris Principles and seeing the New Aid Architecture in practice. This article provides a historical overview of the implementation of ‘Paris’ in Uganda from the late 1990s up to 2010, showing that implementation is laggardly and, in more recent years, that earlier progress has been reversed. This is due to donors’ perceptions of Uganda's political structure, and particularly its rampant corruption, and also to different views among donors and their internal adaptability in terms of truly measuring up to the Paris Principles.

Politics, exit strategy and political settlement in Sierra Leone: a critical analysis of a laboratory experiment (1991–2015)

A glance at key indicators—in terms of growth forecast and stable elections—will project Sierra Leone as a political settlement model for a post-conflict state. Sierra Leone has been an important laboratory for UN and international donors’ interventions and thinking. However, efforts by the international donor community to decentralise power to the margins, both geographically and demographically, have failed. Instead, this focus on the institutions of governance has allowed the same elite to maintain power. Sierra Leone today shares similar socio-economic and political conditions with the Sierra Leone before the outbreak of the civil war. A detailed analysis of the country’s socio-economic trends, its political institutions and the logic and dynamics of violence show a disturbing picture. While the international community considered that an exit strategy was feasible, the political settlement remains an experiment in that it is detached from everyday life and livelihood concerns of Sierra Leoneans and reveals the structural violence behind this process.

Community Justice or Ethnojustice? Engaging with Customary Mechanisms to Reintegrate Ex-Combatants in Somalia

The inclusion of customary justice mechanisms is increasingly being invoked as an answer to the top-down, externally driven approach to transitional justice. But the practice of engaging with customary justice systems (CJS) proves complicated. The approach of governments and the international community has been criticized as ‘ethnojustice,’ where a male-elderly version of customary justice is invented and imposed, based on a myth of community consensus. In Somalia, the government and international community are currently considering a role for CJS in the reintegration of low-risk disengaged Al-Shabaab (AS) combatants. This article combines unique data on local perceptions regarding the return of ex-combatants in Somalia with insights from the literature, to critically examine the prospects of engaging customary justice mechanisms in South-Central Somalia in the reintegration of disengaged AS combatants and of a supporting role for the international donor community and the government.

Land registration and landownership security

PurposeThe assertion that land registration guarantees landownership security is common knowledge. Thus, efforts at securing landownership in particularly, the developing world have concentrated on the formulation and implementation of land registration policies. However, over the years, whilst some studies claim that land registration assures security, a lot of other studies have established that security cannot be guaranteed by land registration. Also, there is evidence from research that has shown that land registration can be a source of ownership insecurity in some cases. The purpose of this paper is to critically analyse the underpinning principles of land registration and their application in order to establish whether or not land registration can actually guarantee ownership security.Design/methodology/approachIt is a literature review paper that looks at the existing literature on landownership, security and land registration systems. The land registration principles that have been subjected to critical analysis are the publicity function of land registration, the legality of ownership emanating from land registration and the warranty provided by the State in land registration, specifically, under the Torrens system.FindingsAn analysis of the underpinning principles of land registration shows that land registration per se cannot guarantee ownership security and this helps to explain the findings of the numerous studies, which have established that landownership security cannot be assured by land registration. The paper concludes by identifying the right role of land registration as well as a mechanism that can effectively protect or secure landownership.Practical implicationsLand registration policies and programmes in the developing world are often funded by the international donor community and the findings provide useful insights regarding the actual role of land registration and for policy change in terms of what can secure landownership.Originality/valueEven though there are two schools of thought regarding research on the link between land registration on one hand, and landownership security on the other, none of the studies has made an attempt to consider the nexus by critically examining the principles that underpin land registration to support their arguments.

Indonesia Solar Power Study Using Secondary Data

Indonesia is situated in tropical area which receives a lot of solar energy every year. Unfortunately, the applying of solar energy as the one energy sources is still have many problems such low efficiency and more expensive than fossil fuel. Another problem is that there is no actual data in experimental based which shows the actual solar energy received annually. Thus the massive usage of solar power in term of cost-effective is hard to be determined. Indonesia happens to be ideal sites for solar energy production and utilization because of their geographical locations. Moreover, some remote areas are among the best sites to develop small scale solar electric generating plants. Hence the this country may exploit this natural resource to the advantage and work together with the international donor community to gain the means and knowledge necessary for developing sustainable energy technologies in Indonesia. The objective of this study is to determine the theoretical potential of solar irradiation in Indonesia by several approximations from global up to regional point of view to investigate the favorable places of the potential solar radiation to convert in the electricity power. This global point of view may be subjected to have global findings of the specific areas favorable for obtaining the solar energy conversion for electricity. From the regional point of view, the development of timing of the sun shining may derive from rainfall pattern, where the more rainfall received over certain areas. The second object; they may describe more cloud development to reduce sun shining as wheel as sun radiation. The result may give more detail the potential areas of the sun radiation to be converted into solar power for electricity.

Public Financial Accountability: A pre-requisite to the management of Development Assistance in Mozambique beyond 2015

In Sub-Saharan Africa, Mozambique remains as one of the poorest countries in the region receiving large volumes of Development Assistance (DA) from the international donor community yet the majority of its population still continue to suffer from poverty. This article places much emphasis on efficient and effective Public Financial Management (PFM) as a key ingredient for the achievement of both the national and international development goals in Mozambique. Through a literature based study, the article acknowledges progress that has been recorded in the Millennium Development Goals. However, the paper considers the strengthening of PFM systems through enhanced accountability and transparency as essential elements in face of the recent global development commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals. A reviewof challenges experienced in the era of MDGs in the country points to a need for greater transparency and accountability in the management of DA if the country is to achieve the SDGs. Thus, arguing on the basis of the Agency theory, the article proposes the adoption of a stringent governance mechanism for Public Financial Management measures to shape government and donor financial accountability frameworks with the view of creating an enabling environment aimed at ensuring the achievement of Agenda 2025 and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets.

The decentralization experience in Africa: beyond donor-driven approaches

ABSTRACTUnder the auspices of the international donor community, decentralization has been pursued in the last couple of decades as a global mantra, albeit often with more attention to prescriptive models than political reality. This is particularly the case with Africa where donor-driven approaches have produced few sustainable outcomes because the context-specific situation in these countries has been ignored. This paper argues that the donors, in addition to failing to take the local context into consideration in their interventions, have been inclined to look at decentralization through the lens of a principal–agent model in which institutions have been treated as rules to be learned and adopted. With little to show for itself, this approach is increasingly under criticism in evaluations and research studies alike. The paper argues, in line with other recent studies, that time has come to rethink concepts and practices used to promote local governance in African countries. The political parameters of Official Development Assistance limit what can be achieved to realise the principles of the Paris Declaration and more creative approaches are needed to ensure that local governance in African countries is fostered in a democratic direction.

Haiti’s Army, Stabilization and Security Sector Governance

Haiti’s long and difficult security sector reform (SSR) process has entered a new phase. The reinstatement of the Haitian armed forces, nearly 20 years after former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide disbanded them, adds a new set of actors and more complexity to a process already struggling to deliver results amidst a seemingly endless series of political crises. The armed forces must be an impartial and apolitical institution if they are to contribute to stability in Haiti – an uncertain proposition given their past inability to stay out of the political arena. Building on a summary of the latest developments in the reinstatement process, this paper discusses its implications for Haiti’s prolonged international engagement. In particular, the paper focuses on the process to develop a new White Paper on Defence and National Security in Haiti. This process has the potential to contribute to two of the most significant shortcomings of SSR in Haiti, a limited focus on security sector governance and a lack of local ownership. The reinstatement process has been an interesting test case of the international donor community’s commitment to the concept of local ownership, long held to be a moral and practical pillar of international engagement. Though reinstatement has been driven by Haitian authorities, the process has struggled to make progress without donor support, raising questions about the appropriate role of international actors in strategic decision-making at the national level. Regardless of their initial reaction to reinstatement, Haiti’s international donors risk missing an opportunity to influence the development of an important pillar of Haiti’s post-MINUSTAH security sector by choosing to remain on the sidelines.

How Effective Have Thirty Years of Internationally Driven Conservation and Development Efforts Been in Madagascar?

Conservation and development are intricately linked. The international donor community has long provided aid to tropical countries in an effort to alleviate poverty and conserve biodiversity. While hundreds of millions of $ have been invested in over 500 environmental-based projects in Madagascar during the period covered by a series of National Environmental Action Plans (1993–2008) and the protected areas network has expanded threefold, deforestation remains unchecked and none of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) established for 2000–2015 were likely be met. Efforts to achieve sustainable development had failed to reduce poverty or deliver progress toward any of the MDGs. Cross-sectorial policy adjustments are needed that (i) enable and catalyze Madagascar’s capacities rather than deepening dependency on external actors such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and donor countries, and that (ii) deliver improvements to the livelihoods and wellbeing of the country’s rural poor.

Evidence to inform resource allocation for tuberculosis control in Myanmar: a systematic review based on the SYSRA framework

Myanmar represents an extreme example of the difficulties in optimally allocating resources for maximum public health benefit, on the basis of limited information. At the recent Myanmar Health Forum 'Investing in Health' much of the discussion revolved around what to invest in, how health systems could be strengthened, and what research and capacity building areas the international donor community should prioritise for support. Funding for infectious disease control, particularly HIV and tuberculosis, is being channelled to the country at an unprecedented rate, but very little research has been conducted in recent years, and existing information has not yet been synthesised. This paper presents findings of the first systematic literature review on tuberculosis control and the health system in Myanmar, with the aim of informing the development of optimal research priorities and strategies. Medline and grey literature were searched for relevant papers. Inclusion criteria and analyses were structured to capture data on the Myanmar health system, healthcare delivery, financing, tuberculosis control indicators and information systems. A total of 77 papers were included in the analysis. The results indicate that there has been a large increase in the number of peer-reviewed articles published on tuberculosis in Myanmar over the past decade, although the absolute number of studies remains small. We identified several areas in which evidence to inform policy and resource allocation decisions is lacking, including research focused on rural and/or vulnerable populations, analyses of risk factors for TB and drug resistance that can inform prevention strategies and economic analyses for optimising resource allocation. The gaps in research to inform policy identified through this study may be relevant to other low resource settings with extremely limited research capacity.

Evolution and Impact of EU Aid for Food and Nutrition Security: A Review

In the aftermath of the world food price crisis, the issue of food and nutrition security has received a high level of political attention and the international donor community has repeatedly underlined its commitment to combat hunger in the world. In order to enhance the effectiveness of the international community’s efforts in addressing the widespread problem of malnutrition, we need to improve our knowledge on what activities donors are currently engaging in and which interventions have been shown to be successful. This paper offers both an overview of the aid for food and nutrition security landscape and how it has changed and an extensive review of the available evidence on the impact of a wide array of interventions aimed at addressing all four dimensions of food and nutrition security; availability, access, utilization and stability. We find that despite the renewed interest and elevated levels of funding for food and nutrition security assistance in developing countries, the empirical evidence base for the effectiveness of these interventions in improving beneficiaries’ food and nutrition security – although in several cases promising – is weak. In particular, the question whether different interventions improve the quality of food consumption and consequently nutrient intake and status, remains largely unanswered. Moreover, few studies assess longer-term effects and there exists relatively little rigorous evidence that compares different interventions. It is therefore strongly recommended to undertake additional research to improve the evidence base as this would allow researchers and policy makers to establish the type of approaches that improve food and nutrition security in the most efficient and cost-effective manner. Finally, in order to facilitate this process, there is a need for a clear and uniform definition of food and nutrition security assistance on the one hand as well as agreed upon, comprehensive indicators on the other hand.

Migration, climate, and international aid: examining evidence of satellite, aid, and micro-census data

Over the last ten years, an increasing quantity and quality of data regarding migration and climate risk has become available, leading to a broad body of research examining the relationships between climate impacts on livelihoods and corresponding migratory patterns. This research has provided evidence that migration can serve as an adaptive strategy if local livelihoods are threatened. However, little research has examined the response – or lack of – from the international aid and donor community in response to these shifts. In this paper, we take the first step toward examining this relationship, utilizing a recently produced database on the sub-national spatial allocation of international aid from 1998 to 2012 in Malawi. We examine the research question: what is the sub-national relationship between international aid and migratory patterns? To analyze this question, we integrate sub-national micro-census information with satellite-derived measurements of climate and the spatial location and amount of international aid. We find evidence that (1) aid does not reduce the likelihood of migration from a location and (2) increased levels of migration do not increase the likelihood of aid being sent to a location.

Tradeoffs and complementarities in the adoption of improved seeds, fertilizer, and natural resource management technologies in Kenya

AbstractThere is widespread consensus that agricultural technology has an important role to play for poverty reduction and sustainable development. There is no consensus, however, about the types of technologies that are best suited for smallholder farmers in Africa. While some consider natural resource management (NRM) technologies as most appropriate, others propagate input intensification with a stronger role of the private sector. In the public debate, these two strategies are often perceived as incompatible. Environmental non‐governmental organizations in particular consider low‐external input strategies as the only sustainable form of agriculture, a view that has considerable influence on policymakers and the international donor community. Most existing research studies on smallholder innovation focus on the adoption of individual technologies, so that comparisons between different types of technologies in the same context are not easily possible. We use representative data from maize‐producing households in Kenya and a multivariate probit model to analyze the adoption of different types of technologies simultaneously. Results indicate that NRM technologies and strategies that build on external inputs are not incompatible. Interesting complementarities exist, which are not yet sufficiently exploited because many organizations promote either one type of technology or the other, but rarely a combination of both.

The Struggle Against Corruption: Progress at a Snail's Pace. Why?

In 2010 the author, in an article for this journal, questioned the methods put forward by the international donor community to overcome corruption in the transitional and developing countries of the world. Five years on, the progress against this scourge has been minimal. In this article the author explores some of the reasons why. Apart from the obvious reason, namely the failure of political will in the countries themselves, he outlines some of the policy and practical errors that continue to hinder the progress that could be made.Most of these errors are laid at the door of the international donor community, which perpetuates the remedies it advocates in spite of the evidence of failure. They range from a national anticorruption strategy that addresses corruption only in the public sector, to a policy of pursuing “grand corruption” but not “petty corruption” to insisting on an asset declaration system aimed at catching the corrupt and deterring others instead of aiming the system at identifying conflict of interest.These egregious errors, among others described in this article, are the direct cause of lack of progress against a problem internationally recognized as destructive of everything the affected countries are striving to build. In the author's view the errors can and should be corrected. The remedies are relatively simple.