Reducing poverty in sub-Saharan Africa: the need for participatory governance

Traditional approaches to fighting poverty have yielded unsatisfactory results in some African countries, and have been positively damaging in others. Economic growth and social expenditure on the part of both national governments and international donors have been ineffective in some countries, while in others they have exacerbated poverty. The author considers that this is due to the absence of participatory governance. From a theoretical perspective, support for participatory governance stems from Amartya Sen's approach to understanding poverty, which conceptualises poverty as a lack of capabilities, leading to social exclusion. The lack of such governance has led to the failure of traditional approaches in the fight against poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. Finally, the author proposes a tool for assessing the quality of governance, and its application in Cameroon.     

Co-producing a post-trafficking agenda: collaborating on transforming citizenship in Nepal

This article discusses how a new agenda on post-trafficking is gaining momentum through academic and activist anti-trafficking collaborations focused on co-producing knowledge with women who have returned from trafficking situations. Co-production of this nature is important as the issues raised by post-trafficking scenarios are largely ignored in anti-trafficking strategies, and the stigmatisation and poverty which women in these circumstances encounter means they rarely have a voice in policy-making. Drawing on research in Nepal, we present four types of co-produced data around transforming citizenship post-trafficking, and reflect on the strategies for generating and using them for advocacy purposes.     

A no-displacement option? Rights,risks and negotiated settlement in development displacement

“Voluntary” land transfer agreements, negotiated directly between “willing buyers and willing sellers”, present a seemingly empowering alternative to the use of legal instruments for land acquisition or transfer which entail forced displacement. Yet asymmetrical bargaining power between the negotiating parties can undermine the fairness of negotiated outcomes and the right of the sellers to a “no-displacement” option. Viewed against a complex background of bourgeoning land transfers in multiple sites, this article examines rights-based and risks-based approaches to negotiated settlements, concluding that measures to address asymmetries in bargaining power must look beyond enhanced negotiation procedures to address underlying social and political dimensions.     

Mining revenue and access to health care in Africa: could the revenue drawn from well-managed mining sectors finance exemption from payment for health?

Various reforms undertaken during the 1980s significantly reduced the capacity of states to regulate health systems. Of the many policies implemented since then to increase access to health care, policies of exemption from direct payment are among the most important. These can be very effective in a well-funded and managed context. Beyond political will, are African states unable to afford policies of exemption from payment for health care? Our analysis, based mostly but not exclusively on research carried out in West Africa, leads us to suggest the importance of a well-managed extractive sector in Africa as a potential source to finance policies of exemption from payment for health care. This could come about if all actors concerned, whether from the private sector or the donor community, were required to follow the same rules and requirements of transparency and accountability being asked of the countries concerned.     

Understanding food policy change in Ghana

Evidence-based policy-making has become a critical aspect of development strategy in developing countries. Yet the assumption that policymakers will automatically use available evidence may not be valid in all contexts. To influence positive policy change requires an understanding of the unique policy process and drivers of policy change in the context of a particular country and sector. Strengthening the capacity of key agricultural policy stakeholders can facilitate evidence-informed policy-making. This article documents an approach to strengthening the capacity of parliamentarians in Ghana. It attempts to measure to what extent such investments could lead to informed policy-making to promote poverty reduction. Lessons are drawn from a group of Ghanaian parliamentarians following an exposure and learning visit to India.     

Strange bedfellows: Federal systems and performance management

This paper offers the first link between models of the measurement and management of performance and the dimensions of governance arrangements in federal systems. Four ideal type approaches to governance in federal systems are correlated against four ideal types of measuring and managing performance. The paper develops a model that will support empirical research examining reform trajectories where evolving systems of federalism require evolving systems to manage performance in joint arrangements between levels of government.     

应急管理及其培训的性质、特征与培训主体刍议

随着我国经济社会发展进入矛盾凸显期,应急管理与突发事件的处置对各级政府公务员的能力和素质提出了新的要求。但是,目前对应急管理及其培训的性质和特征尚缺乏共识。应急管理及其培训应该是一种政府行为、具有强制性并具有非赢利性质。作为公务员培训主渠道的行政学院,应该在应急管理培训中发挥主阵地作用。     

把握党的执政方略 加强执政理论研究

党的执政方略,是党的执政理论的重要内容,内涵丰富,蕴含着深刻的价值理念,具有鲜明的特征,其实施必须遵循一定原则。确立和实施党的执政方略事关党和国家长治久安。     

How people can influence government policy – stories from the Caucasus

It is very motivating to see vulnerable people becoming strong advocates for their own rights and persuading their government to act; or to see passionate young economists influencing the state and effecting positive change for tens of thousands of poor households. It is impressive to see dedicated work by a national NGO to build successful community health-care programmes that influence the health services of a whole country. The three stories from the Caucasus presented in this article show what can be done when people become strong advocates for their own rights or for the rights of others living in poverty.     

整体性治理模式的组织创新

创新政府治理模式，形成各种有效的管理与协调机制一直是政府和学界非常关注的问题，也是各国政府改革的方向。政府治理模式的创新必然导致组织的创新。在西方，随着信息化、数字化技术的普遍使用，已经兴起了与信息时代相适应的政府治理新模式，即整体性治理，该模式的组织创新主要体现在以协同为特征的组织形态、以结果为导向的组织目标和以整合为核心的运作机制，同时强调官僚制的组织结构基础。这对于中国的行政改革具有非常重要的借鉴意义。