Progressive Thinking for A Global Age
UK development policy in an age of austerityBy Josephine Osikena. Source: This is Africa
In a 2011 article titled "The Lion Kings?" The Economist noted with surprise that more than half of the world's 10 fastest growing economies in the past decade were in Africa.
FPC Briefing: Armenia's Economy since IndependenceBy Dr David Grigorian.
Dr David Grigorian, Senior Economist at the International Monetary Fund's Monetary and Capital Markets Department and a co-founder of Policy Forum Armenia, gives an in-depth analysis of Armenia's economic development from independence and to the present day. He argues that better governance is crucial to efforts to reform the economy, tackle public debt and improve long-term growth prospects.
Download FPC Briefing: Armenia's Economy since Independence (390 kilobyte PDF)
An African grand free trade area?By William Gumede. Source: BBC 'Focus on Africa' magazine
Africa's attempt to create a continent-wide free trade area may end in failure, like so many other previous regional developmental schemes, unless leaders do things differently.
FPC Briefing: African political unity must be more selective: A blueprint for changeBy William Gumede.
There cannot be any clearer illustration of the impotence of Africa's continental and regional institutions to find local solutions to the continent's problems, than their numbing inaction in the face of the wave of popular rebellions against dictators in North Africa sweeping across the continent.
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Back to the drawing board for the African UnionBy William Gumede. Source: The Sunday Times (South Africa)
There cannot be any clearer illustration of the inability of Africa's continental and regional institutions to find local solutions to the continent's problems than their inaction in the face of the wave of popular rebellions against dictators in North Africa.
FPC Briefing: Africa Rising? Will the popular rebellions in North Africa go south of the Sahara?By William Gumede.
FPC Senior Research Associate William Gumede gives a facinating take on the potential impact of North Africa's uprisings on countries south of the Sahara.
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Responsibility to the poor: a matter of justice, not charityBy Rt Hon Douglas Alexander MP. Source: Guardian- Poverty Matters Blog
Clear, progressive principles must underpin the development community's handling of state fragility, poverty and inequality
Human history does not always advance at a steady and inevitable pace. Some years, whether 1789 or 2001, are recognised in retrospect as times when fundamental shifts in established orders were exposed.
A crisis is too good to wasteBy Josephine Osikena. Source: This is Africa
Africa is feeling the full impact of the global economic slowdown. The downturn provides invaluable opportunities for the UK, especially in the context of the recent G20 summit, to drive action on three fronts - social protection, IMF reform and tax justice - that will benefit poor countries.
The end of Asia's longest warBy Niall Ahern.
After 26 years and with over 70,000 deaths, the war between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam has ended. Footage of Velupillai Prabhakaran, the Tiger's dead leader across news channels and the internet has initiated street parties across the capital Colombo as some citizens, who have previously only known war, ponder the prospect of peace at last. In President Rajapaksa's victory speech to Parliament, he declared: 'Today we have been able to liberate the entire country from the clutches of terrorism. We have been able to defeat one of the most heinous terrorist groups in the world.' What President Rajapaksa says is true. The Tigers have been carrying out attacks over land and sea since the war began in 1983. In more recent years, suicide bombings have become a notorious feature of the Tigers' strategy. Over the course of the war, they successfully set up and ran a separate administration in the north and east of the island which we only got some glimpse of when the army liberated Kilinochchi earlier this year.
Santa Cruz de la Sierra legitimizes institutional crisisBy Thiago de Aragao.
Nobody should be surprised at the result of the referendum on autonomy held on Sunday, May 04, in the province of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. The highly anticipated "Yes" victory, to be confirmed by the end of the week when the vote's official results are due to be released, has led to reactions by Bolivia's central government and by the Santa Cruz government too, which did not expect a different result.
A Very Sporting CoupBy Alex Bigham. Source: The Guardian's Comment is Free
After meeting on the rugby pitch for their annual match, Fiji's police and army found themselves on opposite sides of a coup d'etat.
The UN — Out of Africa and Into Asia?By Richard Gowan, Richard Gowan. Source: The Globalist
As the United Nations prepares to replace its leader of the past ten years, Ghana's Kofi Annan, with Ban Ki Moon of South Korea, the organisation may be experiencing an eastward shift in more than just the Secretary General's office. As Richard Gowan notes, the UN's peacekeeping focus is already shifting from Africa to the Middle East.
Less is MoreBy Alex Bigham, Alex Bigham. Source: The Guardian Comment is Free
The United Nations needs to realise that it can't solve all the world's problems. There are better and more effective agencies to do the tasks of peace building and peace keeping.
The West must recognise Latin America's new leadersBy James Royston, James Royston. Source: Diplo Magazine
The West must recognise the legitimacy of Latin America's new generation of democratically elected leaders, despite their divergent politics.
Brazilian Political Scenarios: 21st May 2006By Thiago de Aragao, Thiago de Aragao.
Recent events in Brazilian politics are analysed, and potential future scenarios are assessed.
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Brazilian Political Scenarios: 14th May 2006By Thiago de Aragao, Thiago de Aragao.
Recent events in Brazilian politics are analysed, and potential future scenarios are assessed.
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Brazilian Political Scenarios: 8th May 2006By Thiago de Aragao, Thiago de Aragao.
Recent events in Brazilian politics are analysed, and potential future scenarios are assessed.
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Brazilian Political Scenarios: 10th April 2006By Thiago de Aragao, Thiago de Aragao.
Recent events in Brazilian politics are analysed, and potential future scenarios are assessed.
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Brazilian Politics: 2nd April 2006By Thiago de Aragao, Thiago de Aragao.
A review of the past week in Brazilian politics.
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South American Political Reforms TableBy Thiago de Aragao, Thiago de Aragao.
Thiago de Aragao lays out the proposed reforms of nine South American states, and explains their characteristics.
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Kofi Annan and the Real Need for UN ReformBy Greg Austin, Ken Berry, Dr Greg Austin. Source: 31 March 2005, The Globalist
Is the United Nations in any shape to face current global security challenges? Or has the gap between the West and the rest become too wide to realistically reflect the demands of a changing international order? Greg Austin and Ken Berry argue that the UN's High Level Panel on Reform falls far short of the full-scale reformation really needed.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has had his High Level Panel on UN Reform. And Jeff Sachs has issued his report on accelerating progress towards achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
An Open Letter to the Heads of State and GovernmentSource: The Moscow Times, 30 September 2004
As citizens of the Euro-Atlantic community of democracies, we wish to express our sympathy and solidarity with the people of the Russian Federation in their struggle against terrorism. The mass murderers who seized School No. 1 in Beslan committed a heinous act of terrorism for which there can be no rationale or excuse. While other mass murderers have killed children and unarmed civilians, the calculated targeting of so many innocent children at school is an unprecedented act of barbarism that violates the values and norms of our community and which all civilized nations must condemn.
At the same time, we are deeply concerned that these tragic events are being used to further undermine democracy in Russia.
Book Review: Suits and Uniforms: Turkish Foreign Policy since the Cold War, Philip RobinsBy Ceren Coskun.
Suits and Uniforms: Turkish Foreign Policy since the Cold War, Philip Robins
Managing Migration: a Southern perspectiveBy Phoebe Griffith, Phoebe Griffith. Source: March 2004, The Foreign Policy Centre
One of the earliest announcements of the Bush camp's re-election campaign was the introduction of a temporary worker scheme. Although questions about the reality of the promise started to emerge soon after, at the time this transparent attempt to win over the Latino vote was declared a landmark victory for US business and migration activists. But judging from the beam on the face of his Mexican counterpart, President Vicente Fox, Mexico's government seems to have emerged as the biggest winner.
Can There be a New Compact Between Diplomats and Aid Agencies?By Richard Gowen, Phoebe Griffith, Richard Gowan, Phoebe Griffith. Source: Tuesday 13th April 2004
There is a widely held belief among development practitioners that foreign policy makers are out to get them 'in the national interest', argue Richard Gowan and Phoebe Griffith.
The main reason for this is that the political function of aid is deeply resented by aid practitioners. In the ultimate analysis, development is inevitably political: it shapes the capacity and accountability of governments and helps to define the place of recipient and donor states in the international system. This does not mean that we should further politicise aid. It does, however, imply that there is need for a fuller dialogue between the development and foreign policy communities.
Civil Society speechBy Michael Edwards.
Nowadays, it is difficult to have a conversation about politics or public policy without mentioning the words "civil society", so one might assume that politicians and policy makers are clear about what they mean when they use these words, and why civil society is so important. Unfortunately clarity and rigor are conspicuous by the absence in the civil society debate…
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The Losers of LiberalisationBy Jack Thurston, former politcal advisor to the Ministry of Agriculture, Jack Thurston.
Jack Thurston argues that removing protectionist barriers in agriculture could harm the developing countries its trying to help.
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African Priorities: Democracy isn't the place to start.By Marina Ottaway. Source: The International Herald and Tribune
July 2003
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The perverse logic that divides impoverished AfricaBy Alex de Waal. Source: The Guardian, 16 July 2003
Alex de Waal is programme director for the Commossion for HIV/Aids and governance in Africa, and a director of Justice Africa. A longer version of this essay appears in "Unbinding Africa"
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High Stakes in the New Global PoliticsBy Michael Edwards. Source: Published in the Toronto Globe and Mail
Michael Edwards examines the future of NGOs and the anti-globalisation movement in a post September 11 world.
Africans on AfricaSource: Global Thinking, The FPC Newsletter
In the wake of the Prime Minister's whistle-stop tour of Africa, we canvassed opinion formers across the continent on what the West should be doing, what Africans should be doing themselves, and what the continent will look like in ten years.
The Lessons from Genoa and the Changing Role of NGOsSource: Event Report
On 11 September, The Foreign Policy Centre held a high-level seminar aiming to set out the key lessons to be learned from Genoa and to re-think the role of NGOs in the global governance structure. Click here to read the full report.
The Future of International DevelopmentBy Andrew Howard, Phoebe Griffith. Source: Event Report
With the tear gas still hanging in the air over Genoa, the Foreign Policy Centre hosted a timely lecture by Clare Short, Secretary of State for International Development. Chaired by Zeinab Badawi, BBC broadcaster and member of the Foreign Policy Centre's advisory council, the lecture tackled a range of issues concerning the role of international development in an increasingly globalised world. Emphasis was placed upon the need for development policies to empower poor countries to help themselves and build sustainable, effective, modern states capable of exploiting the benefits of globalisation.
Liberty, equality, propertyBy Mark Leonard, Mark Leonard. Source: New Statesman, 4 September 2000
The third-world poor hold assets worth as much as all the companies listed on the world's main stock exchanges. So why are they poor? Mark Leonard explains.