National Institutional Arrangements Research Articles

Aspek Pengaturan Keamanan Nasional dalam Kerangka Demokrasi

National security serves to realise and defend the entire territory of the Republic of Indonesia. The implementation of comprehensive national security is an integral part of various aspects of the life of the nation and state, namely ideology, politics, economy, socio-culture, defence and state security. Efforts to support national development as a state goal require the regulation and management of state security. Its current arrangements continue to face challenges with concerns that its implementation violates human rights by causing a setback to democracy. This paper explores how the regulation of national security within the framework of democracy in Indonesia. The method used is narrative qualitative research with a normative legal approach. Literature study is conducted to find the meaning of the regulation of national security aspects within the framework of democracy. The source of data is through the search for relevant literature to be analysed. The findings in this paper are that Indonesia already has four important capitals that can support the regulation of national security in law while still taking into account the principles of democracy and human rights. These are the constitutional basis in the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, especially on human rights; the regulation of laws relating to management and institutions in national security; institutional arrangements where there is no institutional domination or every institution is equal; and the mainstreaming of the principles of human rights and democracy in government policy-making. Current conditions and future projections of the national security situation demand national security institutional arrangements by integrating Indonesia's deterrent forces to anticipate and deal with national security disturbances. Regulations in the form of laws allow the public to participate in the formulation of the material to be regulated in accordance with the formal requirements for the formation of laws, including transparency, participation and accountability.

Accepting responsibility? Institutions and the security implications of climate change

Who has responsibility for addressing the security implications of climate change? States and the United Nations justify their existence on the promise of providing security. Yet, although the national and international security implications of climate change are increasingly acknowledged, incorporation of climate change in national security planning or institutional arrangements is far from universal, while debates in the UN Security Council about its role in addressing climate change have been characterized by contestation. This article examines key debates about the responsibilities these institutions have for providing security in the face of the threats posed by climate change, examining the extent to which these institutions accept responsibility for providing security in these contexts. Drawing on Toni Erskine’s notion of institutional moral agency, the article examines a 2017 inquiry into the national security implications of climate change in Australia, and the September 2021 UN Security Council debate on the international security implications of climate change. These two case studies explicitly focus on the question of institutional responsibility – of the Australian Government and the UN Security Council respectively – for addressing the threat of climate change. In both cases these institutions stop short of accepting responsibility for providing security in the face of climate change, with limited policy responses or institutionalization as the result. With the security implications of climate change increasingly apparent, and increasingly recognized by these (and other) actors, the failure to accept responsibility raises potentially significant questions about the legitimacy of these institutions themselves.

Fast-tracking action on the Sustainable Development Goals by enhancing national institutional arrangements.

Six years remain to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Despite some progress, institutional effectiveness for SDG achievement has not been delivered at a national level. Identification and establishment of an institutional framework to operationalise the 2030 Agenda within national plans, giving science-based coordination of SDG implementation a central role, is urgently required to accelerate progress. This paper tackles this challenge. Drawing on literature analysis, it asks: 1) What are the deficiencies in institutional national arrangements that hinder SDG implementation? 2) How can existing institutional deficiencies in SDG implementation be addressed? and 3) How can institutional changes support fast-tracking of SDG implementation processes at national level? Findings show that country-specific horizontal institutional arrangements are usually advanced. However, national visions to improve mainstreaming across decision-making at different levels to enable whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches to SDG implementation are commonly under-developed. Deficiencies are due to poor systematic engagement of scientific and technical expertise in operational day-to-day communication, as well as in the design, validation, implementation, monitoring and reporting of domestic SDG-related multi-stakeholder actions. Vertical institutional arrangements are complex, and risk resource-consuming, uncoordinated implementation. Our analyses suggest countries may benefit from establishing a national, centralised independent scientific and technical coordinating body for SDG implementation at national level, within existing science-based institutional arrangements. Such a body would not be led by governmental processes but would provide technical support to government agencies. We argue that scientific and technical skills in data and information management and quality control are central to coordinated and evidence-informed support, and could help to accelerate national SDG implementation. Such a supporting body would also enable a more joined-up approach between stakeholders working in the areas of science and technology, government and practice, improving orchestrated science-based actions and their auditing across sectors and stakeholder communities at national and sub-national levels. It would further guide actions to reduce trade-offs within national sustainable development aspirations, and would facilitate consideration of diverse values in advancing towards a durable and just transformative future. Such efforts are vital given the rapidly closing window of time for SDG achievement.

Exploring the adoption of risk governance structures within the Turkish banking field: an institutional theory lens, 2006-2009

Purpose- The purpose of this study is to investigate the adoption patterns of transnationally imposed risk governance structures within the Turkish banking field employing an institutional theory perspective. Building on institutional complexity, which stems from the conflict between transnational and national institutional influences, our study examines two different periods where transnational and national institutional arrangements were in relative fit or misfit. Methodology- The methodology of this study includes the analysis of the publicly available panel data of banks. The annual reports of all 15 banks are used to gather the banks’ risk governance, risk management and performance indicators. All the reports are reached from Public Disclosure Platform (www.kap.gov.tr) or the corporate web sites of the banks. Findings- A risk governance index is constructed to measure the varying levels of adoption among the banks, covering the period from 2006 to 2019. According to the findings, the risk governance index may include the dimension of risk committee, the dimension of chief risk officer, the risk appetite framework of the institution, and corporate governance. However, the risk performance of the banks may vary on different indicators. Conclusion- It is uncovered that banks displayed a relatively homogenous adoption pattern during the 2006-2012 period when transnational and national institutional arrangements were in harmony. However, the adoption patterns diverged among banks when national institutional arrangements began to differ from transnational standards starting from 2013. It is also found that the adoption of transnational templates about risk governance did not result in significant performance increases in risk or corporate performance metrics, indicating a ritual adoption behavior by the majority of the banks, which fail or intendedly decline to entrench corresponding practices associated with these templates. Keywords: Risk governance, adoption, institutional field, transnational institutions, banking JEL Codes: D21, G21, G32, L20, M10

The Legislative and Governance Framework of Wastewater in Malaysia

Objective – As we approach the halfway point since the adoption of the 2030 Sustainable Agenda and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), our progress in achieving the objectives remains unsatisfactory. One of which pertains to the sixth SDG that envisions access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene as the most fundamental requirement for human health and well-being. Methodology – Per the 2022 SDG report, the global water stress level stayed at an acceptable 18.6% in 2019, but regional disparities exist. Unless progress quadruples, billions will lack access to potable drinking water and sanitation by 2030 due to rapid population increase, urbanization, and rising water demands from the agricultural and industrial sectors. As the effective management of wastewater plays a crucial role in ensuring sustained access to clean water, Malaysia has implemented a series of national policies, legislations, and institutional arrangements to achieve an integrated wastewater legislative and governance framework. Findings – It is critical that good practices for regulating wastewater treatment and management are analysed to address the gaps that exist that may hamper the promotion of effective and responsible wastewater management for sustainable water resources. This research is a review of Malaysia’s existing wastewater governance and legislative framework. Novelty – It is found that Malaysia’s history with wastewater has seen much development to its current status, which enables increased coverage of access to clean water and basic sanitation. Nevertheless, existing problems in the wastewater industry prevent further expansion into niche areas such as wastewater reclamation. Type of Paper: Review JEL Classification: H1, Q25. Keywords: wastewater; legislative; sustainability; Malaysia; water security; wastewater management; wastewater reclamation. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Mahyudin, M.N.H.B.M; Kamaruddin, H; Hassan, M.S. (2023). The Legislative and Governance Framework of Wastewater in Malaysia, J. Bus. Econ. Review, 8(3), 69–75. https://doi.org/10.35609/jber.2023.8.3(1)

National institutional arrangements for implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals: A five-year stocktaking, World Public Sector Report 2021

National institutional arrangements for implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals: A five-year stocktaking, World Public Sector Report 2021

Global climate as a commons – Decision making on climate change in least developed countries

The international endeavour to prevent climate change requires action from all parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Many least developed countries (LDCs) have prepared nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to implement the Paris Agreement despite economic challenges; however, their level of commitment varies. Understanding the factors that underpin the variation in commitment among low-income countries would facilitate effective agreements and enhance global implementation. The study aimed to determine the degree to which 36 LDCs implemented the Paris Agreement in their NDCs, and the factors that determined the degree. We applied the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework and the Institutional Grammar Tool (IGT) developed by Elinor Ostrom and her colleagues to enable systematic assessments of institutions. To identify the determinants of the degree of implementation, national contexts, decision-making, and patterns of interaction were investigated for five case countries. The countries appeared to focus on international determinants, rather than on national political decision making. Therefore, encouraging countries to communicate changes in national institutional and economic arrangements required for effective climate change mitigation is imperative. Countries that consider the importance of structural changes and institutional strengthening, such as education and political and legislative instruments, are likely to implement the Paris Agreement to a high degree. A fair, inclusive procedure; the consequent legitimate burden; and the required criteria with synergy between mitigation and development provide the most effective mitigation. Applying the operationalised framework can benefit improvements in international climate agreements and local institutions.

Policy, regulation effectiveness, and sustainability in the energy sector: A worldwide interval-based composite indicator

Energy policy and regulation are critical to implementing renewable energy and the governance of natural resources. Institutions prioritize the support to reliable and sustainable energy access for any world community. As a result, establishing policies, legislation, and institutional structures is crucial to sustain renewable energy. The nations seeking to stimulate investments and boost their energy sectors to accomplish SDG7 must first develop a suitable environment. Policies and regulations help them achieve their goals. In this framework, sustainability represents a watershed moment in the worldwide development agenda. Domestic regulations should encourage responsibility and compliance from businesses to accelerate the renewable energy transition. This paper develops a brand-new interval-based composite indicator that measures the extent of institutional transparency comparing 110 world states, ultimately aiming to quantify national institutional arrangements governing energy policy. The findings reveal a set of nations that stand out among their peers in institutional traits – the UK, the UAE, Australia, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, and the US. In general, African countries perform poorly compared to other states. Also, no African country made it to the top 25. The obtained worldwide standards may be used as policy objectives for any country wishing to enhance its energy regulatory performance.

Sustainable Development Goals and Sustainability Governance: Norms, Implementation Pathways and Caribbean Small Island Developing States

AbstractSmall Island Developing States (SIDS) ambitiously pursue their development agendas while facing resource and governance constraints. Global processes like the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include governance norms with the potential to influence national institutional arrangements and policy. National implementation processes are dynamic and contest, reinterpret, and/or apply external norms in varied ways. Although much of the success in SDG implementation depends on understanding these dynamic processes, surprisingly, the question has received little scholarly attention. This study explores the power of SDGs to act as a broker for sustainability governance. First, I construct a framework of five governance norms with nine implementation pathways that characterise the SDG governance. Second, using national reports to the United Nations, I provide evidence of how SIDS applied this framework in the years immediately following the launch of the Agenda 2030. In most cases, although recognising their value, states had not incorporated the implementation pathways. The findings suggest that greater attention should be given to governance capacity‐building to support SIDS‐led sustainable development national agendas. This study contributes to discourses on the ability of global processes to improve national governance, to the constructivists’ norm penetration debates, and to debates and policy on SDGs and governance.

Historical Changes and Optimization Measures of Rural Water Conservancy Projects in the Context of Rural Revitalization

New China's water conservancy construction has its own development process, stages and characteristics, and the dynamics of development are related to the national policies and institutional arrangements of the time. The most effective manifestation of the "collectivization" of "people", in other words, "organization", in the first 30 years was the construction of farmland water conservancy. After the rural reform and before the tax reform, the construction of farmland water conservancy became a "peasant burden". In China at the time, there was no real reform, and it was difficult to have peasant-organized water conservancy without the ties of power and grassroots social management, so it was extremely important to have a holistic national top-level design and focus.

Relationship Between Enablers and Barriers to Financial Inclusion—the Case of North Macedonia

This research aims to examine the relationship between factors that act as enablers or barriers to financial inclusion, as independent variables, and the environment for financial inclusion, as a dependent variable, for the case of North Macedonia. For accomplishing the main research objective, first, the factors that act as enablers or barriers to financial inclusion were identified by collecting primary data using questionnaires and performing comparative analysis on our country’s position with different regions categorized by income groups and World, through the benchmarking model of Global Microscope (Economist Intelligence Unit, 2018. Global Microscope 2018. The Enabling Environment for Financial Inclusion. The EIU, The Economist). Second, primary data from questionnaires served to furtherly examine the correlation between each identified enabler or barrier to financial inclusion and the overall environment for financial inclusion through multiple regression analysis. Results revealed important information and recommendations for the future focus of national priorities, institutional arrangements, policies, and strategies in terms of creating enabling environment for financial inclusion, benefits of which can be felt by the overall society.

Analyzing the Effects of Institutional Merger: Case of Cadastral Information Registration and Landholding Right Providing Institutions in Ethiopia

Strong national institutional arrangements in the geospatial information management are essential for successful implementation of sustainable land administration system. However, it is not only the existence of institutions but also their effectiveness that leads to the intended goals and reaching of objectives. There are international calls to merge highly related land administration institutions, yet Ethiopia executes two related land administration tasks (landholding right provision and cadastral registration) by two different institutions, the Urban Land Development and Management Bureau, and the Urban Land Adjudication and Information Registration Agency. Thus, the objective of this article is to analyze the effect of merging cadastral information registration and urban landholding right providing institutions lead to effective and strong national land institution. To achieve this, we had a qualitative approach analysis based on desk review and case study research methods. We conducted semi-structured interviews with the directors of the two institutions, and a group discussion with professional experts from both institutions. The findings of this study show that institutional merger between the two institutions believed to unravel the challenges of failing to achieve institutional goals. Although these institutions design strategic plans every year, the level of achievement or operational performance is low. The major cause for this problem is the poor coordination between the institutions. In view of this issue, we recommend merging the two institutions in one since it: reduces the effects of data duplication; provides one-window services; reduces operational costs; fills communication gaps among the staff; reduces time of operation; improves customer service; increases efficiency within processes; and provides a more efficient operation of land markets.

Questioning the effect of the real exchange rate on growth: new evidence from Mexico

This study provides new evidence showing that the real exchange rate (RER) does not play an important role in the growth of Mexican GDP. Economic growth is not an automatically predetermined result of relative price correction, and it is important to consider distinctive aspects of national institutional arrangements (fiscal and monetary, for example) for understanding theoretical causality of demand. The empirical results show public expenditure is an overlooked variable in regressions where the exchange rate affects product growth. After incorporating public expenditure, the RER impact on growth becomes insignificant. For its part, public expenditure has a positive and significant effect on GDP in the long term. The RER does not lead to greater GDP since exports are not stimulated through price.

Connecting Chinese cities with the global performing arts market: the geographies of performing-arts consumption in China

ABSTRACT Research on global cultural cities has been biased toward dominant global cities in advanced economies. In this paper, we present the first geographical analysis of performing-arts consumption in major Chinese cities through measuring the presence, origins and inter-city network of performing arts events. We demonstrate that the distribution of performing-arts consumption in China displays both dispersive and concentrative patterns, generating an urban network with a core-periphery, although polycentric, structure. The variant patterns of urban cultural consumption not only reflect cities’ contemporary linkages with the global economy, but also the long-term evolutionary outcomes of their cultural traditions. In addition, the external connections of China’s performing arts market reveal a rather complex structure of the current global cultural industries, which is shaped by national institutional arrangements and policy interventions. This study enriches our understanding of the complex interactions between cultural globalization, the national institutional context, and the development of local urban cultures.

Competing interests, clashing ideas and institutionalizing influence: insights into the political economy of malaria control from seven African countries.

This article explores how malaria control in sub-Saharan Africa is shaped in important ways by political and economic considerations within the contexts of aid-recipient nations and the global health community. Malaria control is often assumed to be a technically driven exercise: the remit of public health experts and epidemiologists who utilize available data to select the most effective package of activities given available resources. Yet research conducted with national and international stakeholders shows how the realities of malaria control decision-making are often more nuanced. Hegemonic ideas and interests of global actors, as well as the national and global institutional arrangements through which malaria control is funded and implemented, can all influence how national actors respond to malaria. Results from qualitative interviews in seven malaria-endemic countries indicate that malaria decision-making is constrained or directed by multiple competing objectives, including a need to balance overarching global goals with local realities, as well as a need for National Malaria Control Programmes to manage and coordinate a range of non-state stakeholders who may divide up regions and tasks within countries. Finally, beyond the influence that political and economic concerns have over programmatic decisions and action, our analysis further finds that malaria control efforts have institutionalized systems, structures and processes that may have implications for local capacity development.

National Level Preparedness for Implementing the Health‐related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Seven South Asian Countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka

AbstractThe objective of this research is to explore national institutional arrangements for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), describe the roles of different stakeholders in SDG implementation, and identify where gaps may lie at national and regional level. This paper analysed initiatives taken by seven South Asian countries towards implementing the health‐related SDGs thus far. The analysis for the paper is based on the findings of a research project on ‘Research Institutions and the Health SDGs: Building Momentum in South Asia’ conducted in seven South Asian countries led by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), Pakistan and study conducted by country research teams in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The extent to which SDGs have been localized and implemented varies across the South Asian countries. While, Bangladesh and Bhutan have initiated the adoption of SDGs with development plans and programs, others have established national level institutional structures and coordination channels. An overarching concern is inadequate ownership of the SDGs by the sub‐national governments for implementation and coordination. The level of engagement of non‐state stakeholders such as non‐governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society, think tanks, research institutes, academia, and media, however, varies across countries. This engagement ranges from raising awareness, to consultations, membership in committees, and planning and policymaking.

An Empirically Derived Conceptual Framework to Assess Dis-Adoption of Conservation Agriculture: Multiple Drivers and Institutional Deficiencies

Efforts of national governments and international agencies aimed at alleviating hunger and poverty are often undermined by lack of long-term adoption of agricultural innovations. Studies commonly explain farmers’ adoption decisions using household general determinants, yet decision-making, particularly for under-resourced smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, is a complex process. Using the case of conservation agriculture [CA], this article analyses dis-adoption of agricultural technologies by examining multiple domains of Malawi’s CA innovation system and how these influence farmer decision-making. It analyses institutional arrangements of CA promoters, national policies and farmers’ experiences. From this, we empirically derive a multifaceted dis-adoption drivers’ framework to explain CA dis-adoption in smallholder farming systems. Our findings reveal that adverse features in national policies, institutional arrangements, technological attributes and social cultural dimensions all lead to unfavourable experiences of CA for smallholder farmers, which can culminate in dis-adoption. The CA dis-adoption drivers’ framework we develop in this study provides a useful troubleshooting tool. It can be used to guide improvements in the design and implementation of project-based interventions seeking long-term adoption of agricultural innovations across sub-Saharan Africa.

Content in the context of welfare configurations: a comparative institutional analysis of self-reporting on corporate social responsibility

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine corporate social responsibility (CSR) content in the context of four differing national institutional arrangements for welfare. An analysis is presented on how self-reported CSR differs in content across two western welfare states (the UK and Sweden) and two emerging economies in southern Africa (South Africa and Mauritius).Design/methodology/approachThis paper is based on a qualitative content analysis of the CSR self-reporting of 40 companies. This involved 10 of the largest companies incorporated in four countries, namely, Sweden, the UK, South Africa and Mauritius. The content is categorised into community involvement, socially responsible production and socially responsible employee relations. For each category, an analysis is provided of the reported issues (the question of what), the geographic focus of reported issues (the question of where) and ways of working with these issues (the question of how), as well as the extent of reporting and level of reporting (the question of how much).FindingsThe study shows that companies place focus on aspects, issues and localities in ways that differ between countries and can be understood in relation to current institutional arrangements for welfare. The content of self-reported CSR can be both complementing and mirroring the welfare arrangements. Differences in self-reported CSR agendas are particularly evident between the two western welfare states on the one hand and the two emerging economies on the other, as these represent two distinct contexts in terms of welfare arrangements.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to research on the institutional embeddedness of CSR in three ways: first, by going beyond measures of country differences in terms of extent of CSR to consider differences in CSR content; second, by focusing on the social aspects of CSR and placing these differences in relation to welfare configurations; and third, by contributing with empirical findings on how CSR content differs across national settings and across the established/emerging economy divide.

Land dispossessions and water appropriations: Political ecology of land and water grabs in Ghana

Recent land grabs in Sub-Saharan Africa are influenced by both land availability and access to water resources beyond seasonal rains. However, much of the literature has treated land grabs and their attendant water resource appropriations as separate phenomena until recently. This paper examines the complex interplay of land grabs and surface water appropriations in large-scale plantation agriculture in two agro-ecological zones in Ghana. Using mixed methods (actor interviews, focus groups, and smallholder farmer surveys), three case studies, and theoretical insights from political ecology and the hydrosocial cycle, it explores the local conditions, actor interests, motivations, and power relations; decision making; and institutional lapses that enable land grabs to go in tandem with water resource appropriations. The results show that although land and water grabs were intricately intertwined, investor negotiations for land rarely included water use rights. Motivated by the notion of abundant, unused water, investors carefully negotiated access to water for irrigation, including offering social benefits in exchange for unrestricted water use. Uneducated traditional leaders were mostly oblivious to national legislation and institutional arrangements for land and water use and sometimes unknowingly sanctioned unlimited water use by investors. Farmers were more concerned about land dispossessions and agrochemical threats to water quality, not water rights abuse. The findings expose often-overlooked forms of water appropriations driven by land grabs and highlight their hydrosocial ramifications in the drought-prone savanna belt of Ghana.

How the different policies and school systems affect the inclusion of Syrian refugee children in Sweden, Germany, Greece, Lebanon and Turkey

Since the war in Syria started in 2011, many children left their war-torn country, alone or together with their families, and fled to neighboring countries in the Middle East, to Turkey or to Europe. This article will compare how Syrian refugee children are included – or not - in school systems both in Europe (Sweden, Germany and Greece) and outside Europe (Turkey and Lebanon). These five countries represent very different ways of receiving children in their educational system. We will compare national institutional arrangements like access to compulsory school, access after compulsory school age, welcome or immersion classes, second language education and tracking mechanisms. Including children as soon as possible in regular classes seems to provide the best chances for school success, whereas educating refugee children in a segregated parallel school system for extended periods often results in early school leaving or not attending school at all.