GOVERNANCE
October 29, 2008
"Six for Six"
Op-Ed, Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, The Dubai Initiative
"Somalia seems to offer more intriguing evidence about how governments often must come to terms with militias, insurgent forces and other such informal armed groups in countries around the Arab-Asian region -- and the roles these entities play where formal governments appears unable to deliver the basic requirements of statehood."
October 14, 2008
"Economic Realities Must Guide Africa's Constitutional Reform Efforts"
News
By Beth Maclin, Communications Assistant
"African countries need new constitutional orders to cope with modern economic challenges, Calestous Juma said at a recent lecture....A major challenge is based in the constitutions and laws left behind for the newly liberated countries. 'What was being negotiated as independence was really an exercise in constitutional continuity from the colonial period through independence,' Juma said....While there is enormous pressure on African countries to focus on economic programs, they are unable to because the governmental framework left behind did not integrate the economic role of the colonizer into the new role of president."
October 8, 2008
"The High Cost of Incompetent Governance"
Op-Ed, Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, The Dubai Initiative
In times like this -- global economic crisis -- the dominance of exclusively oil-fueled economies in the Arab World expose a regional lack of competent governance.
October 6, 2008
The 2008 Index of African Governance
Policy Brief
By Robert Rotberg, Director, Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution and Rachel Gisselquist, Research Director, Ibrahim Index of African Governance
Small states, island states, and Botswana, and South Africa are the best governed countries in sub-Saharan Africa according to this year’s Index of African Governance
October 5, 2008
Strengthening African Governance: Small States and Islands Top 2008 Rankings
Press Release
By Robert Rotberg, Director, Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution
Small states, island states, and Botswana and South Africa are the best governed countries in sub-Saharan Africa according to this year's Index of African Governance, released today by researchers at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Mauritius, an Indian Ocean island-state, tops the list of well-governed territories for the second year, the Seychelles is second, Cape Verde third, Botswana fourth, and South Africa fifth.
September 25, 2008
"Only a New Constitution Can Guarantee a Better Kenya"
Op-Ed, The Daily Nation, (Kenya)
By Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project
"The constitutional orders put in place in much of Africa, following independence, were largely a continuation of the colonial economic order. The associated governance structures are being swept aside by globalisation, demographic change, and demands for democratic liberties."
Fall 2008
"Making the World Safe for Partial Democracy? Questioning the Premises of Democracy Promotion"
Journal Article, International Security, issue 2, volume 33
By Arthur Goldsmith, Former Senior Research Fellow, Intrastate Conflict Program/International Security Program, 2004-2005
Democracy promotion is a favored strategy to advance the cause of world peace, especially in the Greater Middle East, but undifferentiated democracy promotion has two faulty premises. First, all progress toward the establishment of democratic regimes does not necessarily make the global community safer. Second, regime change is not something external actors have the capacity to direct along desired pathways. The first assumption fails to consider the well-documented security problems caused by partial democracies. The second assumption overstates the ability of powerful outsiders to induce transitions to full democracy. These research findings are grounds for cautious and selective democracy promotion, not a blanket approach that is indifferent to the composition of the regimes designated to be reformed and democratized.
September 2008
"From FATA to the NWFP: The Taliban Spread Their Grip in Pakistan"
Journal Article, CTC Sentinel, issue 10, volume 1
By Hassan Abbas, Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program
"...Any effort to stem the tide of extremism in the NWFP first requires a dispassionate analysis of the ground realities. This article attempts to examine such indicators, by explaining how the Taliban have managed to spread their influence from FATA into the NWFP, and will present some ideas on how to reverse extremist trends...."
September 15, 2008
"The Tragic Failure of Arab Moderates"
Op-Ed, Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, The Dubai Initiative
"It is worthwhile viewing George W. Bush's presidency from a different perspective than America's performance abroad, for example by reviewing the efforts and fate of those around the world who partnered with Washington..."
September 2008
The Next Chapter
Report
By Xenia Dormandy, Senior Associate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
The Belfer Center's Xenia Dormandy participated in the Pakistan Policy Working Group, which was convened in January 2008 to assess the state of U.S.-Pakistan relations and to offer ideas to the next U.S. President and his Administration on managing this critical partnership.
