SSEE 2004 Working Papers in Development
Working Paper 20
'It is ideal, but can community control police in Pakistan?' - Haroon Rafique
Abstract
Community participation has become a universal orthodoxy in contemporary development theory and practice, and police governance is not immune from it. However, community participation in police matters (community oriented policing) has not served its purpose of making police accountable and democratic; ironically community policing has legitimised police actions and policies instead. This is true, for a fair extent, for the police of developed societies like Japan and England and Wales.
It will be argued in this paper that in societies, such as Pakistan, that are still under-developed and are grappling with the serious issues of elite capture and a divided society, the notion of controlling police through community becomes deeply contested and problematic. It is more likely that instead of making police accountable to community the envisaged role of community would institutionalise police hegemony through elite capture. The argument will be covered in several parts by discussing the nature of state, society and governance in Pakistan. The idea of community oriented policing will be elaborated to gauge its success in Japan and England and Wales – templates for the policing system in Pakistan. In this context the possible success or failure of objectives of implementing a community oriented paradigm in Pakistan will be assessed through a critical analysis of the suggested paradigm.
Download the entire paper (PDF format 277KB)
Working Paper 19
'Environmental Resettlement and Development on the Steppes of Inner Mongolia, PRC' - Debbie Dickinson and Michael Webber
Abstract
Perhaps ten million people are involuntarily resettled each year in developing countries. Resettlement often has disastrous consequences for people: poverty; severing of ethnic and cultural ties; psychological trauma; and reduced autonomy over lives. The World Bank and other development institutions have elaborated policies about resettlement, which now envisage Resettlement with Development (RwD). There has been a parallel evolution of resettlement policies in China. Indeed, China is one of few states to adopt RwD into its national resettlement framework and policy.
We argue in this paper that the understanding of development that is embodied in the discourse of RwD is confused. After distinguishing between the concepts of Development as an outcome and development as a process, we investigate the processes and outcomes of two projects of environmental resettlement in Inner Mongolia, PRC. The planning and implementation of these projects provide clues about the interpretations of RwD that are held by the local and Regional leaders who are encouraging resettlement. We conclude that there has been some Development (outcome) in some places, especially centred on improvements in material wellbeing in one village. However, the processes of development have been more extensive. These processes involve particularly increased participation in markets for produce and for labour. The state, we conclude, identifies involvement with markets as the central way in which material Development outcomes are to be achieved
Download the entire paper (PDF format 317KB)
Working Paper 18
'Strengthening Management Systems to Improve the Impact and Performance of Development Projects: The Application of Best Practice Methods in Asia and China' - Peter Finlayson
Abstract
During the last 35 years there has been increasing recognition by international and bilateral aid agencies of the need to improve the performance and outcomes of their development efforts, especially through the improvement and application of best practice management processes during project design and implementation. However, the concepts of results-driven planning and impact evaluation and the supporting tools that have been developed for the planning, management and evaluation of development activities by relevant aid agencies are still not being used consistently or optimally by agencies and their consultants, and hardly at all by beneficiary countries. The paper discusses how a more coherent approach during project design using tools such as the problem-analysis constraints tree and the logical framework matrix together with a more systematic monitoring and evaluation process during and after implementation can be effective in improving project performance and impact. By reference to his experience in planning and evaluating projects in the People's Republic of China and other Asian countries, the author explores the current application status of these powerful tools in project design and management, the key constraints preventing their wider application and possible remedies for raising the quality of the evaluation process.
Download the entire paper (PDF format 481KB)
Working Paper 17
'Juvenile Justice in Mongolia and the Newly Democratic States of Eastern Europe' - James Montgomerie
Abstract
This paper looks at the issue of juvenile justice in countries in transition from socialist command economies to democratic market economies in Eastern Europe, the Former Soviet Union and Mongolia. The period of transition has severely weakened the ability of the State to provide for the social and economic welfare of its citizens. Children have become especially vulnerable in all these countries and crime has risen dramatically as a result. Sketching the history of the rights of the child and juvenile justice in the former communist bloc, the paper details the current problems facing reformers in the region. Using otherwise inaccessible material made available to the author during a visit to Mongolia, a detailed analysis will be made of Mongolia's juvenile justice system. This paper suggests that this analysis is instructive in the wider debate of reform of juvenile justice systems in the region.
Download the entire paper (PDF format 261KB)
Working Paper 16
'Humanitarian Intervention: Human Rights versus Humanitarian Assistance' - Sarah Kernot
Abstract
In the post-Cold War era, intervention to alleviate humanitarian crises and protect human rights has gained wide legal and moral acceptance. This article examines whether humanitarian interventions achieve their aim of protecting human rights. Through the examination of two post-Cold War interventions in Somalia and Kosovo, it will be argued that the linkage between humanitarian assistance and the protection of human rights is tenuous. In both cases, the methods employed to provide humanitarian assistance were not consistent with those required to protect human rights.
Download the entire paper (PDF format 267KB)
Working Paper 15
'The Common Agricultural Policy and its Effects on Developing Countries' - Caroline Lemerle, Michael Webber
Abstract
This paper argues that current development policy, which problematises developing countries, is inadequate as a means of achieving development. Developed countries have as much to do with the development of developing countries as have the developing countries themselves. To develop this argument, this paper examines how and to what extent the European Union's (EU) Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) affects the trade and production processes of agriculture in developing countries. To understand the influence of the CAP among a wealth of factors, the argument is in several parts: the importance of the EU in relation to trade with developing countries; the incentives theoretically open to developing countries given the CAP's effects on world markets; the impact of development policy on agriculture in developing countries; finally, the trade and production processes in food products between developing and developed countries.
Download the entire paper (PDF format 476KB)
Working Paper 14
'Involuntary Resettlement as an Opportunity for Development: The Application of "Resettlement with Development" in the People's Republic of China' - Duan Yuefang, Brooke McDonald
Abstract
In the past, the restoration of livelihoods in the event of involuntary resettlement has been based purely on providing compensation to those who are displaced. The outcomes of these resettlements have been well documented around the world and provide a serial of recurring horror stories. With a view to improve this record, the concept of Resettlement with Development (RwD) was envisaged and is now generally heralded as the means to mitigate the catastrophic failures of the past. RwD is considered the ideal way to undertake resettlement throughout the developing world. However, few developing countries have included the concept of RwD into their national policies. The People's Republic of China is an exception and has begun to consider the importance of RwD, including the concept in its national policy. However, from interviews undertaken with the Ministry of Water Resources and the World Bank in Beijing it is argued that RwD is not widely executed. Presently, it seems that RwD is the ideal but is not the practice even in countries like China - believed to be the leading developing nation for involuntary resettlement.
Download the entire paper (PDF format 283KB)
Working Paper 13
'Xingjiang HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care Project: 'Facilitating Partnership in Development Through a Grant Application System' - Kim Wheeler, Ni Mingjian, Chen Wei
Abstract
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China has the second highest number of HIV positive people in China. The majority of HIV positive people are injecting drug users. In one study in Yining (Xinjiang) carried out in 2001 the overall prevalence rate was 1.14%, with the rate in males of 1.7%. There is also evidence that the problem is expanding into the general population. The HIV prevalence rate in some areas of Xinjiang is 1.2%[1]. The Activity Support Fund (ASF) of the Xinjiang HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care Project (a bilateral project jointly funded by the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of Australia) is designed to support the development of intervention trials to enable this large region to respond to the HIV/AIDS problem. The fund was incorporated into the original design of the Project and supports flexibility in responses. The ASF fund provides motivation to multi-sectoral organizations to evaluate their priorities to respond to the HIV/AIDS epidemic and to develop implementation strategies to manage the situation. Eight projects have been funded with a further six to be developed within the first quarter of 2004. The majority of these are regionally based interventions and are linked to existing central major government networks. There are, however, several smaller scale projects that are working directly with communities. These smaller projects include a faith-based project and a long-term home based care project. In all cases the ideas and inception of the projects has come from organizations and groups working in Xinjiang. The XJHAPAC Team provides support and guidance to the development of proposals (including monitoring and evaluation) and implementation plans. The initiative has been enthusiastically received and the initial projects are working well.
[1] China Ministry of Health and UN Theme group on HIV/AIDS in China (1 December 2003). A Joint Assessment of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Treatment and Care in China.
Download the entire paper (PDF format 156KB)
Working Paper 12
'Microfinance as an Intervention Against Child Labour in Footwear Production in the Philippines' - Thomas Kring
Abstract
This paper analyses the use of microfinance as an intervention tool against child labour in the footwear sector in Biñan, Laguna Province, the Philippines. Based on a microfinance programme implemented as part of an ILO/IPEC project to eliminate child labour in the footwear sector, the study focuses on the structure of the sector and the division of labour within the households and analyses how these factors contribute to child labour and the impact of microfinance on children's involvement in the sector.
The footwear production is largely household based and characterised by being labour intensive with a traditional involvement of children from a very young age. While the nature of the children's work depends on their gender and age, they are all exposed to the hazards of the work particularly from the fumes of the adhesives used. The sector has highly seasonal labour demands, and there are few alternative sources of employment or income in the area. The structure of the sector limits the household based producers' profits, forcing them instead to rely on production volume to make ends meet. As a result, the effective elimination of child labour in the production would cause the household to forego income during peak season that is essential for them to meet expenses during the months with low production. While microfinance is intended to compensate for this income loss by enabling the households to create alternative income sources, limited opportunities restrict its impact and its ability to address the causes of child labour.
Download the entire paper (PDF format 248KB)