Revisiting the Paris Declaration Agenda – an inclusive,realistic orientation for aid effectiveness

The progress in endeavours to achieve the commitments of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness has been slow. This paper explains the challenges faced by the aid effectiveness agenda and discusses why and how it needs to be revisited. In order to elucidate the differences in donors' approaches to aid effectiveness, a comparison is made between the UK and Japan, which leads to two suggestions. The main messages are that it is important to be inclusive of different donors, and to link the policy dialogue with reality on the ground.

Remanier l'ordre de jour de la Déclaration de Paris – une orientation inclusive et réaliste pour l'efficacité de l'aide

Le progrès des initiatives visant à atteindre les engagements de la Déclaration de Paris sur l'efficacité de l'aide a été lent. Ce document explique les défis auxquels se heurte l'ordre du jour de l'efficacité de l'aide et traite des raisons et des manières de le remanier. Afin de clarifier les différences d'approche de la part des bailleurs de fonds en matière d'efficacité de l'aide, une comparaison est faite entre le Royaume-Uni et le Japon qui aboutit à deux suggestions. Les principaux messages sont qu'il est important d'inclure différents bailleurs de fonds et de relier le dialogue au niveau des politiques générales avec la réalité sur le terrain.

Reexaminando a Agenda da Declaração de Paris – uma Orientação Inclusiva e Realista para a Efetividade da Ajuda

O avanço dos esforços para se chegar nos compromissos da Declaração de Paris sobre a Efetividade da Ajuda tem sido lento. Este artigo explica os desafios enfrentados pela agenda da efetividade da ajuda e discute por que e como isto precisa ser reexaminado. Para elucidar as diferenças nas abordagens dos doadores em relação é efetividade da ajuda, uma comparação é feita entre o Reino Unido e Japão, que leva a duas sugestões. As principais mensagens são que é importante ser inclusivo para atrair diferentes doadores e fazer a ligação entre o di´logo da polÚtica e a realidade na base.

Analizando de nuevo la Agenda de la Declaración de París – Una orientación incluyente y realista para la eficacia de la ayuda

Los avances en el cumplimiento de los compromisos asumidos en la Declaración de París sobre la Eficacia de la Ayuda han sido lentos. Este ensayo expone los retos que surgen de los compromisos relacionados con la eficacia de la ayuda y porqué y cómo deben replantearse. A fin de aclarar las diferencias que existen entre los donantes sobre la eficacia de la ayuda, el ensayo compara los casos de Reino Unido y Japón dando pie a dos sugerencias. Éstas tienen que ver con la importancia de incluir a distintos donantes y de vincular los diálogos sobre políticas con la realidad existente.     

Handle with care: engaging with faith-based organisations in development

Religious faith has always had an intense but uneasy relationship with development. Donors are currently seeking greater engagement with faith-based organisations (FBOs). This positive shift needs careful consideration. Faith can be a powerful – but flammable – fuel for change. FBOs are highly diverse and complex. Donors therefore need to handle them with understanding and care. This article outlines both the major concerns about faith in development and also the potential ‘value-added’ of FBOs. It charts growing interest yet residual ambivalence on the part of donors towards faith in development. It presents the practical challenges and suggests ways forward for both donors and FBOs.     

No room at the inn: American responses to Australian immigration policies, 1946–54

ABSTRACT

After the Second World War, Australia introduced a new immigration policy based on the concept of ‘populate or perish’. Through the International Refugee Organization (IRO), 170,000 DPs migrated to Australia between 1947 and 1950, funded by the United Nations and the Australian government. Jews were largely excluded from this programme and the Minister for Immigration even prohibited the IRO from continuing to support the migration to Australia, based on family reunion, of individual Jewish survivors. In addition, the Australian government introduced other discriminatory policies that ensured that Jews remained only 0.5 per cent of the overall population. Based on archival research in the files of the Hebrew Immigration Aid Society and the American Joint Distribution Committee, Rutland and Encel analyse the entrenched racism in Australian society that contributed to these policies, and the reactions of the American Jewish leadership to them.     

Sen's Capability Approach as a framework to the practice of development

Amartya Sen's Capability Approach is increasingly influential in the literature of development economics. It has contributed to development discourse by strengthening the multidimensional approach to poverty analysis and stressing the importance of focusing on agency and empowerment. Nevertheless, the Capability Approach has not yet been applied comprehensively beyond development economics. This article assesses the contribution of the Capability Approach to the field of development planning, by comparing it with the rights-based approach (RBA) and the sustainable-livelihoods framework (SLF). The article argues that by focusing on the capability space, power relations, and participation, the Capability Approach has the potential to become a normative framework to radicalise development practices.     

Mediators or partners? Practitioner perspectives on partnership

Partnership has become a key word in the jargon of international development. This article presents the results of research into the perspectives of Cambodian and Filipino NGO workers on their funding relationships. Largely confirming the negative literature about partnership, practitioners generally expressed a view that their relationships with funders are not consistent with the rhetoric of power sharing and collaboration that often accompanies discussions of the subject. In spite of this, practitioners articulated a desire for collaborative relationships with Northern organisations, ideally with a greater focus on the local context and personal relationships. Practitioners believe that an important part of their role is mediating development in order to make it more relevant and responsive.     

The backlash against civil society in the wake of the Long War on Terror

The enthusiasm for civil society that emerged in the late 1980s and 1990s with the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the spread of democratic regimes has been replaced in recent years by a backlash against civil society on many levels and fronts. This has particularly intensified since the attacks of 11 September 2001 and the ensuing global war on terror. This article examines the causes of this backlash within the context of the ‘Long War on Terror’, describes the overt and implicit manifestations of the backlash, and reflects upon the implications for the future. It considers how the growing prominence of concerns about security and the concomitant expansion of counter-terrorist measures across the world threaten the spaces for civil society to flourish and act. It argues that while the manifestations of the backlash, such as the crackdown on NGOs in Russia and the taming of NGOs by bilateral and multilateral agencies, may appear to be disparate, unconnected phenomena, on closer inspection it is clear that they are intricately intertwined.     

泥土清新中的法律援助——我国乡土社会法律援助的思考

农民问题是当前我国社会的重要问题之一,它是直接关系到我国全面建设小康社会目标能否实现的重大问题,其中农民的法律援助问题是农民问题有效解决的重要途径.在中国建立健全农民法律援助机制极为必要.我国应尽早形成一个专门机构与一般机构相结合,全方位、多渠道、点面结合的农民法律援助体系.     

The pedagogy of listening

A great deal of participatory development literature emphasises the bottom-up production of citizen’s voices and their incorporation into policy formulation, implementation, and evaluation. Rarely do we hear of emphases on the question of listening, much as there exists a body of knowledge on integrating what experts consider to be the views and opinions of local people in the creation of socio-economic policies. This viewpoint outlines the kind of listening that builds on three key issues that emanate from Paulo Freire’s idea of listening as both a virtue and practice of tolerance. The major contention is that as development practitioners, we need to build our abilities and capacities to practise all the three forms of listening if we are to work with others in designing and implementing policies that improve lives and communities.     

国家利益平衡与国际法的遣词造句——以日本对东盟工业项目的援助承诺为例

国际法是国家利益冲突与协调的具体文字表达,国际法的遣词造句对维护与争取国家利益具有重要作用.本文以1977年东盟与日本首脑会议联合声明中的日本援助承诺为例,分析了东盟和日本如何利用国际法的用语模糊来维护和争取国家利益的.