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Governance

More Tax, Better Governments

Upphovsperson: Hårsmar, Mats
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Globalization, Trade and Regional Integration | Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2010
Ämnesord: Taxation, Tax systems, Tax reform, Tax revenues, Fiscal administration, Governance, Foreign aid, Aid dependency, Business and economics, Ekonomi
It has been argued that aid donors should focus more on supporting low-income countries to broaden their tax base and raise overall taxation. Besides increasing revenue, this has also a political objective. When citizens are taxed without excessive coercion, taxation can contribute considerably to improved governance and accountability, and to state building. Due to the effects of the financial crisis, calls for increased mobilisation of domestic resources are now being renewed. But is broadened taxation a viable strategy? Some signs of progress are visible in sub-Saharan Africa. However, governments and donors need to see taxation as part of the broader framework of social contracts and not to lose sight of the bigger picture.

The proliferation of anti-dumping and poor governance in emerging economies: case studies of China and South Africa

Upphovsperson: Gao, Xuan
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Globalization, Trade and Regional Integration | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2009
Ämnesord: Foreign trade, Trade policy, dumping, unfair competition, trade barriers, Trade agreements, Governance, Trade liberalization, China, South Africa, Business and economics, Ekonomi
Through examination of the alleged rationale of the anti-dumping (AD) instrument, this paper argues that it has little to do with fairness or with level playing fields. AD trade protection enjoys broad political support merely because its convoluted technical complexities prevent all but a few insiders and experts from understanding the reality that underlies the rhetoric, thus enabling inefficient but well-organised domestic producers to safely utilise the instrument to protect themselves from foreign competition, at times in collusion with foreign exporters and with the national AD authorities as a broker. While the best option for AD reform, i.e., complete removal, is not practically available, this paper proposes improving AD’s procedural institutions by enhancing the quality of public governance in the formulation of AD decisions by national authorities. It further examines the AD practices and laws of China and South Africa, arguing that poor governance in emerging economies contributes to their prolific use of AD, usually disproportionate to their small share of world imports. These economies already maintain higher tariff barriers than industrial countries, so that without effective steps to ensure better governance to restrain the arbitrary and proliferating use of AD, they may lose out significantly on the gains from the trade liberalisation for which they have been striving for decades. CONTENTS Foreword 1. Introduction 2. Anti-dumping: Rhetoric vs. Reality 2.1 The Rehtoric of AD: To Ensure Level Playing Fields by Offsetting Unfair Competition 2.1.1 The Economic Rationale of Free Trade and Competition 2.1.2 AD: A Competition-Distorting and Protectionist Instrument 2.2 AD: Misundertanding, Ignorance and Indifference 2.2.1 Collaboration between Special Interest Groups and Decision Makers 3. Harnessing Anti-Dumping: A Good Governance Approach 3.1 Good Governance in AD Decision Making 3.2 The Prolific Use of AD by Emerging Economies and the Low Quality of Governance 3.2.1 AD Desicion Making in China 3.2.2 AD Decision Formulation in South Africa 4. Conclusions References    

Where the old meets the new : Transitional justice, peacebuilding and traditional reconciliation practices in Africa

Upphovsperson: Villa-Vicencio, Charles
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet; Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University
År: 2009
Ämnesord: Africa, political development, Dispute settlement, Peacekeeping, Political stability, Governance, Social justice, Human rights, Post-conflict reconstruction, Political science, Statsvetenskap

Africa's development in the 21st century : Reshaping the research agenda

Upphovsperson: Cheru, Fantu
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2008
Ämnesord: Economic and social development, Sustainable development, regional integration, Partnership, international economic relations, Globalization, Development strategy, Governance, Democratization, Development research, Africa, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP
As Africa enters the 21st century, it faces mounting challenges as well as new opportunities. Unlike in the 1980s and the 1990s, however, the conditions for Africa's sustained growth and development are more favourable today than ever before. As a result of economic reforms the overall growth has been in excess of 4.5 percent annually since the mid 1990s. There is greater consensus among Africans now than at any previous time on what needs to be done to accelerate growth, reduce poverty and promote sustainable development. The positive response of Africa's international partners enhances the prospects for sustaining the progress. Africa is also benefiting from a commodity boom and increased investment in infrastructure and the extractive industry sector. But many questions remain unanswered. The most pressing question is how Africa can best benefit from the rise of the Asian giants, China and India.

Chad - towards democratisation or petro-dictatorship?

Upphovspersoner: Eriksson, Hans | Hagströmer, Björn
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2005
Ämnesord: Democratization, Petroleumextraction, Governance, political development, Economic and social development, Chad, Political science, Statsvetenskap
This study provides a background of the socio-political situation in Chad and the oil project, and analyses how the two will develop and interact in the future. A key feature is an analysis of the incentives in the oil project and their possible future changes. Chad is currently undergoing two processes of significant importance for its future development - political democratisation and transformation into an oil economy. For a country plagued with civil war for decades until 1990, and known as one of the poorest and most corrupt states in the world, this is a real challenge. The oil export started in late 2003, and boosted the economy in 2004. To avoid the disastrous experiences of most poor African oil states, unique oil management, control mechanisms and other conditionalities have been imposed by the World Bank - much thanks to pressure from the civil society and the international community. If implemented well, Chad may become a model for how a poor resource-rich country is able to promote socio-economic development and poverty reduction. However, this demands a close and coordinated cooperation between the Chadian government and the civil society, based on accountability and good governance, and with continuous support of the World Bank and the international community. The situation is fragile and progress is uncertain. If a broader economic development is achieved, conditions for an improved democratisation can be created in the long term.The Chadian oil project deserves continued close attention and monitoring.

Ethiopia : the challenge of democracy from below

Medarbetare: Bahru, Zewde | Pausewang, Siegfried
Utgivare: Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet; Forum for Social Studies, Addis Ababa
År: 2002
Ämnesord: Democratisation, Governance, Local government, Traditional authority, Peasantry, Land reform, Political power, Ethiopia, Political science, Statsvetenskap
Constitutionally Ethiopia is a federal democratic state although in practice it is dominated by one political coalition. The opposition parties claim they have no chance of challenging the incumbent. The rural majority, as ever, feel controlled from above, unable to influence political decisions. Observers describe elections as manipulated and non-representative of the will of the people for whom the word "democracy" frequently appears to be synonymous with domination and coercion. Democracy is a concept reflecting European philosophies, struggles and concerns. Many Ethiopian ethnic groups have traditions which may offer more satisfactory and culturally acceptable foundations for a "sovereignty of the people" through time-honoured ways of voicing political ideas, ironic observations and vital interests. In line with modern urban life Ethiopians also organise and express their interests in non-governmental organisations, the independent press and advocacy groups representing political and social alternatives. The contributors to this book analyse the democratic potential of these movements and practices, their ability to give a voice to the view from below and their potential contribution to a more genuine participation by the majority of Ethiopians in democratic decision making and bringing the sovereignty of the people a step closer to reality.

AU, NEPAD and the APRM : democratisation efforts explored

Upphovspersoner: Fombad, Charles Manga | Kebonang, Zein | Melber, Henning
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2006
Ämnesord: Institutional framework, African organizations, African Union, NEPAD, Democratization, Governance, Government policy, Development strategy, Legal aspects, Political science, Statsvetenskap
The African Union (AU) and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) represent an unprecedented collective political effort by African governments at the beginning of the 21st century to address issues of democracy and good governance on a continental scale within an emerging framework of institutions and instruments designed to assist in this effort. The visible commitments to jointly tackle political and socioeconomic challenges in order to overcome the structural legacies that hamper national and social development are reflected in the adoption of a variety of programmatic blueprints and a series of newly created or recently strengthened institutions. The most visible of these since the integration of NEPAD into the AU is the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), a process- aimed at addressing some of the challenges on the basis of a voluntary assessment of African government policies. The contributions to this publication trace these recent developments from a policy perspective and explore the scope and limitations of current democratisation efforts. Going beyond the rhetoric surrounding the emergence of the new initiatives, the authors provide an interim and realistic prognosis of the prospects for these new dynamics to achieve the declared goals of sustainable and meaningful change.

Governance and state delivery in Southern Africa : examples from Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe

Upphovsperson: Melber, Henning
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2007
Ämnesord: political development, Democratization, Political power, Governance, Political culture, Post-independence, Southern Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Political science, Statsvetenskap
This Discussion Paper highlights in complementary ways problems and challenges for governance issues under centralised state agencies, which base their authority and legitimacy on a dominant party and its influence. The case study on Namibia argues for a need for parliamentary and administrative reform to improve the efficiency of lawmakers. The Botswana chapter explores the decision on the location of the country’s second university as an act without consultation of the local population. The Zimbabwe paper advocates an approach in favour of using the African Peer Review Mechanism as an instrument to assist in a change towards better governance. All the authors have intimate knowledge of the matters discussed through their own involvement with the respective cases and/or their individual positioning within these societies. This publication is among the final results of the project “Liberation and Democracy in Southern Africa” (LiDeSA), which was undertaken at the Institute between 2001 and 2006.

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