Does microfinance alleviate poverty and inequality? Studying self-help groups in Bodoland,Assam

This article aims to assess the impact of microfinance through a government-sponsored SHG–bank linkage programme (SBLP) of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) in India, on poverty alleviation, employment, and achievement of financial inclusion in the Bodoland area of Assam. Empirical results from an impact evaluation showed that the programme had a positive and statistically significant impact on the monthly income, employment days, and financial inclusion level of participants of the SHG programme, compared to a control group of non-participants.     

The worker cooperative movement in South Korea: from radical autonomy to state-sanctioned accommodation

This article traces the historical evolution of worker cooperatives in South Korea from the years of Japanese colonialism to the current era. It argues that the evolution of the worker cooperative movement from radical agitation to state-sanctioned accommodation has been structured by the nature of state response to cooperative activity. Vigorously resisted by an authoritarian state from the colonial era until the late 1990s, the Korean worker cooperative movement before the 1997 economic crisis was ideologically radical, waging a class-based struggle to overcome poverty, resist the authoritarian state, and transform Korea’s economic foundations in socialist directions. Since democratization in 1987, and the Asian economic crisis in 1997, worker cooperative movements have gradually shifted their once transformational and politicized labor ontology to a deradicalized and more economically focused job-conscious ontology, partly as a result of the state-directed growth of civil society. The worker cooperative movement became less contentious as the state emerged as a collaborator of social economy initiatives. The gains won by radical worker cooperatives in opening space for pluralistic civil society in Korea in the 1980s and 1990s ultimately resulted in the depoliticization and re-incorporation of worker cooperative activists into a moderately reformed political economic system.     

South Asian Peacekeeping: Regional Possibilities

South Asia contributes the largest contingent of peacekeepers to the United Nations, and yet remains a fragile region in terms of peace within its own borders. This article argues that, although the implications of South Asia’s engagement in global peacekeeping operations has been the subject of academic study, not enough attention has been paid to how South Asian expertise in peacekeeping can be harnessed as a resource for regional cooperation.     

南海争端准联盟化评析

2011年5月以来,南海争端高潮迭起,东南亚各国加紧行动,不仅加强了内部沟通,还极力争取外部协调,内外联动,以求推动在南海争端中造成一个针对中国的准联盟。他们采取协调立场、联合军演、共同开发以及多边施压等诸多方式,对抗中国在南海问题上的权益主张。该准联盟因多重动机汇聚而成,旨在通过多边主义、议题联系对中国进行软式制衡。因其内在局限以及东亚一体化的积极进展,中国对该准联盟不必做过激反应,但也应注意该准联盟对中国在国家形象、周边关系与地区合作上的负面冲击。     

Two perspectives on Zimbabwe's National Democratic Revolution: Thabo Mbeki and Wilfred Mhanda

The concept of the ‘National Democratic Revolution’ (NDR) is often used by left-leaning scholars and political actors in attempts to explain or justify the lack of socialism in third-world societies governed by rulers who consider themselves ‘scientific socialists’. It has been invoked in analyses of Zimbabwe by both the former president of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, in 2001 as he was embarking on his ‘quiet diplomacy’, and Wilfred Mhanda, a Zimbabwean guerrilla leader imprisoned by the Mozambican government in the late-1970s for posing problems to the leadership aspirations of Robert Mugabe, who later became president of the country posing problems for Thabo Mbeki among others. Analysis of both these political intellectuals’ writing sheds light on the concept of the NDR (evoked often in contemporary South African politics and Zimbabwean discourse about the current crisis) as well as the theoretical and practical aspects of the authors’ careers.     

Intersectionality – A challenge for development research and practice?

“Intersectionality” as a concept is increasingly finding its way into development work. In order to develop an understanding of the concept, this article shows how intersectionality can be used as a conceptual framework to analyse identity-based development claims. The article builds on qualitative research with people living in the countryside in northwest Pakistan to develop an intersectional methodology to engage with development claims. It uses a three-step analytical model to identify subject positions from which different people negotiate “eligibility for development'' and ‘‘responsibility to develop”. The paper shows how frequently used categorisations such as gender and class should be complicated by development practitioners and worked with in a more nuanced way.     

‘New friends,easier partners and bigger brothers’: The influence of the emerging powers on agriculture and food security in Malawi

Emerging powers are credited with influencing development cooperation, but field-based studies incorporating the viewpoints of recipient developing country actors are scarce. This article analyses the presence and the material, ideational and institutional influence of assistance in agriculture and food security in Malawi by the governments of Brazil, India, China and South Africa. The findings suggest first that, despite a similar and powerful discourse linking these four states, in practice the emerging powers' approaches diverge to a large extent. Second, the material influence of these emerging powers is relatively limited and consequently so is their influence on Malawi's decision-making process with regard to development. Finally, perceptions about the emerging powers' potential contribution to addressing development challenges differ greatly between the Malawian government and the traditional donor community. This difference arises from limited coordination and cooperation on the one hand and the importance of ideational influence on the other.     

The incumbency disadvantage in South Korean National Assembly elections: Evidence from a regression discontinuity approach

In marked contrast to the findings from advanced democracies that incumbent office holders enjoy electoral advantages, this study finds that a substantial incumbency disadvantage exists in South Korean National Assembly (KNA) elections. I employ a quasi-experimental regression discontinuity design to distinguish the true effects of incumbency from the selection effects associated with candidate qualities, such as charisma and ability levels. My results show that serving a term in office reduces the probability of winning by around 20–30 percentage points and reduces the vote share by about 3–7 percentage points. Possible reasons for the incumbency disadvantage are briefly discussed, with an emphasis on the particularly high level of public discontent with governing elites in the KNA due to what voters perceive to be their widespread corruption.     

Why is basic service access worse in slums? A synthesis of obstacles

Many residents of urban areas face joint obstacles to basic service access, but these barriers are more prevalent and severe in slum settlements. Analyses of obstacles have typically been conducted in a piecemeal rather than synthetic framework and have focused on access to single services rather than the range of services needed to support household welfare. By contrast, this study uses data from fieldwork in four slum settlements situated in Hyderabad, India to develop a typology synthesising the obstacles – economic, spatial, social, institutional, and political – to the full range of service access desired by residents. Economic differences explain little of the access deficit within this population. While social and institutional obstacles are more likely to explain slum formation and residence over the long term, variation in spatial and political factors present the most acute short-term access barriers. The article concludes by suggesting the most promising means for slum residents and supporting stakeholders to overcome multi-faceted obstacles.     

WHAT ROLE FOR GOVERNMENT? THE PROMOTION OF CIVIL SOCIETY THROUGH FORESTRY‐RELATED CLIMATE CHANGE INTERVENTIONS IN POST‐CONFLICT NEPAL

This study examines rationales behind the choice of local interlocutors by forestry‐related climate change projects in post‐conflict Nepal. In their stated objectives, all projects claim to involve the government, and most project decision makers are in favor of government involvement, yet project resources overwhelmingly favor civil society institutions. Project decision makers' choices are shaped by a combination of donor conditionalities, contextual constraints, and beliefs about which institutional attributes matter and how to address historical marginalization. The projects' empowerment of civil society sidesteps opportunities to strengthen the local government, which is described as weak, disinterested, and lacking legitimacy owing to the absence of elections due to the unsettled post‐conflict situation. Through the choices made and their justifications, projects and donors further marginalize the local government materially and discursively and thereby entrench its perceived deficiencies. We argue that this privileging of civil society may have implications for government legitimacy and post‐conflict reconstruction and call for donors and the intervening institutions they fund to critically and collectively reassess the role of forestry‐related climate change projects in the larger process of post‐conflict reconstruction in Nepal. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.