Reforming war's administrative rubble in Lebanon

After 17 years of civil strife in Lebanon, an Office of Minister of State for Administrative Reform (OMSAR) was established in 1993 to plan for short‐term rehabilitation and long‐term institutional development within the public sector. Since external technical assistance to public administration was delivered through OMSAR, its role as a host agency for international aid donors' efforts in reform policy‐making and implementation is critical. The article discusses OMSAR's approach to channelling foreign aid for administrative development in post‐war Lebanon. Lessons from the Lebanese experience in post‐war institutional development may interest countries emerging from conflicts and trying to rebuild administrative infrastructure. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Feminism in Coalition: Rethinking Strategies for Progressive Politics Across Difference

In addition to offering an overview of the articles in this symposium, this short introduction provides a conceptual framing for this collective conversation. Proceeding from the conviction that in contemporary feminist theory, and particularly within women of color feminism, one finds a vital resource for theorizing social justice coalition politics across difference, we situate the symposium in relation to the variety of ways in which the symposium authors have utilized key insights from this literature to advance competing and complimentary answers to the questions: what is coalition and how do coalitions mobilize effectively? We hope that the conceptual framing offered here helps to situate the symposium articles both in relation to one another, and in relation to contemporary progressive group politics.     

Generosity undermined: the Cotonou Agreement and the African Growth and Opportunity Act

This article argues that Africa's developmental efforts can be greatly enhanced by an improvement in its bargaining power and by a more genuine demonstration of generosity by its trading partners, in particular the developed countries. This generosity entails putting no conditions or restrictions on Africa's products, particularly agricultural exports, and eliminating farm subsidies in developed states. Unless this is done, concessions made to African countries will remain merely symbolic.