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62. Improving China's participation in resolving developing-country debt problems
- Author:
- Martin Chorzempa and Adnan Mazarei
- Publication Date:
- 05-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Peterson Institute for International Economics
- Abstract:
- The COVID-19 shock has exacerbated the struggles of many emerging-market and developing economies (EMDEs) to repay their external debt. One of the most urgent challenges relates to debt owed to China, whose lending spree under its Belt and Road Initiative and other programs has played an outsized role in what amounts to a crisis for many countries. The scope of the problem is striking. China is owed more than $100 billion, or 57 percent of all debt owed to official creditors by the countries that need help the most. China is not a member of the Paris Club of official creditors, which coordinates, within a multilateral framework, the resolution of general sovereign illiquidity or unsustainable external debt of EMDEs. There is an urgent need to put in place more effective, long-term solutions to help durably lower the risks of prolonged debt difficulties in EMDEs. These problems could be partly addressed by creating creditor committees to coordinate debt relief with China. The Group of Twenty (G20) has taken some steps to include creditor committees in the context of the Common Framework for Debt Treatments beyond the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI), but only for low-income countries that qualify for the DSSI and only for official creditors. To better address debt distress, it needs to extend the approach, especially to middle-income debtor countries.
- Topic:
- Debt, Development, Emerging Markets, and G20
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia
63. The Future Africans Want: When Optimism Is Power
- Author:
- E. Gyimah-Boadi and Joseph Asunka
- Publication Date:
- 07-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- European Union Institute for Security Studies
- Abstract:
- The middle of a pandemic that has stopped the world in its tracks may seem like a surprising time to focus our attention on Africa’s future. Covid-19 has triggered lockdowns and school closures, caused job losses, postponed elections (1) and forced us to fix our gaze on the here and now: on staying healthy today, on putting food on the table today, on protecting people’s rights and dignity today. However, a shock like this pandemic also creates an imperative for strategic foresight. As Africa prepares for a post-Covid world, we must take stock of people’s lived experiences and expectations if we are to build back better. What are Africans’ aspirations for their lives and those of their children? How are they thinking about the future and what can they do to shape it? What assets are citizens willing to invest to further their collective ambitions, and how can governments and development actors best harness them? This policy Brief taps into Afrobarometer (2) survey data to map people’s aspirations for the next decade and their willingness to take action to achieve their goals (detailed information on Afrobarometer surveys and methods can be found in endnote 2). Rather than using abstract scenarios or models to build a vision of the future, we asked people directly where they want to go and how they think they can get there (3). Our analysis is grounded in the perspectives of ordinary citizens, their views on the interactions they have with their governments and their reports of the actions they take to participate in policy processes and influence their governments, defined as ‘citizen engagement’. The responses to the surveys show that Africans’ aspirations go well beyond economic and social security: they evince a desire for self-sufficiency and autonomy as well as democratic, accountable and responsive governance. Citizens are largely ready and willing to take action and even to put their own financial resources into the pot in order to realise their ambitions. Examples abound of citizens joining together to do everything: from fighting corruption in the management of local natural resources in Ghana (4), to initiating local awareness-raising and relief campaigns in response to Covid-19 in Cameroon, Kenya, South Africa and South Sudan. (5) Yet too often, governments resist and fail to listen to citizen voices, respond to popular expectations and build the governance systems their people demand. This leaves an enormous resource— the energy and will of millions of citizens — untapped, a luxury that African governments cannot afford as they look to the future and consider how to achieve the ambitious targets of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the African Union’s Agenda 2063. If they are to make effective use of their people’s assets, decision-makers will need to increasingly engage with their publics by opening doors to information sharing and real collaboration. By expanding the space for African voice and agency in all arenas, from problem-solving to policymaking, the power of citizen actions can be unleashed across the continent. In this opening Brief of the Imagine Africa series, we consider what Africans want their future to look like 10 years down the road and then review current trends in what they say they are getting. The growing gap between ambition and reality discussed in the second and third sections highlights the need for changes in how governments and citizens interact. The fourth section showcases what African citizens can bring to the table in terms of resources, energy, activism and engagement, but also reveals that African governments are not always receptive to these inputs. We conclude with a discussion of what African decision-makers and international supporters can do to more effectively leverage the power of citizen action and engagement.
- Topic:
- Development, Domestic Policy, COVID-19, and Future
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Sahel, Horn of Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa
64. Climate of cooperation: How the EU can help deliver a green grand bargain
- Author:
- Alex Clark, Susi Dennison, and Mats Engström
- Publication Date:
- 10-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR)
- Abstract:
- The global transition away from carbon will fundamentally alter the EU’s dependencies on energy, raw materials, and new technologies. The bloc needs to manage these dependencies while maintaining the fragile consensus between member states on the European Green Deal and fulfilling its ambitions for global climate leadership. The EU should help deliver a green grand bargain by making use of all its sources of economic, multilateral, and soft power. The bloc should reframe the international debate on energy security to focus on clean energy resources and efficiency, engaging in the market reforms needed to incentivise this shift. The EU should make every effort to reassure countries in the global south that the green transition will not leave them behind. The Global Gateway provides a strong framework for doing this – as would an EU Co-innovation and Green Tech Diffusion Fund. The EU also needs to place European sovereignty at the centre of its internal narrative on the European Green Deal. This could help win support for the agreement from member states that are concerned about the economic and social effects of the green transition.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Development, Diplomacy, International Cooperation, Science and Technology, European Union, Partnerships, Multilateralism, and Trade
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Global Focus
65. Advancing the Role of the OSCE in the Field of Climate Security
- Author:
- Niklas Bremberg and Anniek Barnhoorn
- Publication Date:
- 09-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
- Abstract:
- This SIPRI Policy Brief assesses the role of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in the field of climate security, in terms of its current and possible future commitments. Despite growing political momentum among most OSCE participating states about the need to address the issue of climate security, there appear to be divergent views on how to move forward on this important issue. Based on an assessment of recent OSCE activities linked to climate-related security risks and interviews with representatives from OSCE participating states, this policy brief suggests four avenues for the OSCE to advance its role in the field of climate security: (a) agree to new commitments; (b) engage in agenda setting; (c) strengthen the mandate of institutions; and (d) develop existing resources.
- Topic:
- Security, Climate Change, Development, Risk, and Peace
- Political Geography:
- Europe
66. Impact of Colonial Institutions on Economic Growth and Development in India: Evidence from Night Lights Data
- Author:
- Priyaranjan Jha and Karan Talathi
- Publication Date:
- 09-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Many cross‐country studies find that quality of historical institutions is a major cause of disparity in present‐day economic development as measured by income per capita. Due to the unavailability of data on a comprehensive measure of development such as per capita income, studies examining the role of historical institutions on development at the subnational levels use alternate proxies of economic well‐being in their analysis. We examine the long‐term effects of British colonial institutions on overall economic development within India using satellite night lights data.
- Topic:
- Development, Economic Growth, Colonialism, Economic Policy, and Institutions
- Political Geography:
- South Asia and India
67. National Development Bank – BNDES and New Development Bank – NDB: a strategic partnership for development and sustainability?
- Author:
- Maria Elena Rodriguez Ortiz and Paz Andrés Sáenz De Santa María
- Publication Date:
- 11-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- BRICS Policy Center
- Abstract:
- The precedence afforded in recent decades to environmental issues and to the centrality of a sustainable development agenda has led financial institutions to redefine and redirect their funding as well as their institutional and market arrangements to contribute towards balanced and inclusive development, such as strategies to support national environmental targets that will secure the sustainable development goals. This research will therefore explore some elements that underline the relation between the NDB and the BNDES, the Brazilian Development Bank, which can be considered one of the main agencies implementing funding geared for Brazil, with various joint projects approved.
- Topic:
- Development, Environment, Partnerships, Banks, Sustainability, and BRICS
- Political Geography:
- Brazil and South America
68. Peace and illicit drugs at the margins: A borderland view of Afghanistan’s SDG 16
- Author:
- Orzala Nemat
- Publication Date:
- 10-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
- Abstract:
- Afghanistan is in the process of developing its national goals and targets in relation to the global sustainable development goals (SDGs). There are 17 SDGs which have been broken down into a total of 169 targets. But how are these globally agreed goals being addressed in Afghanistan? In what ways do they specifically address the particular political challenges that Afghanistan faces, and the geographical divisions of the country? Drawing from long-term research on the drug economy and the more recent research of the Drugs & (dis)order project in three borderland provinces in Afghanistan – Badakhshan, Nangarhar and Nimroz – this briefing paper argues that the current A-SDG 16 fails both to identify the challenges that these borderlands pose to the achievement of SDG 16, and to recognise the opportunities that they might offer for peace building.
- Topic:
- Development, Borders, Drugs, Illegal Trade, and Sustainability
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Middle East
69. Covid-19 prompts the EU and the Netherlands to rethink global health
- Author:
- Louise Van Schaik and Remco van de Pas
- Publication Date:
- 11-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Clingendael Netherlands Institute of International Relations
- Abstract:
- The Covid-19 pandemic prompted a strong re-engagement in global health. Because the pandemic coincided with geopolitical rifts between the US and China, but required a global response, the EU and its member states took responsibility to safeguard the World Health Organization (WHO) and initiated global arrangements for vaccine sharing for developing countries. Within the EU, mandates and global health functions have traditionally been underdeveloped and divided between the development and health sectors. For the Netherlands, this is perhaps the case to an even larger extent. Development funding has focused primarily on sexual and reproductive health and rights, and the health ministry has had limited interest and capacity on international health issues, with the exception of certain specific issues such as Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR) and medicine prices. Spending on global health by both the EU and the Netherlands has been fragmented, with mainly ad hoc budgets being made available for the international pandemic response. This policy brief calls for a structural response and more coherent outlook on global health.
- Topic:
- Development, European Union, COVID-19, and Global Health
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Netherlands
70. ‘If you want to go far, go together’ Community engagement and infrastructure development in fragile settings
- Author:
- Guido Lanfranchi
- Publication Date:
- 12-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Clingendael Netherlands Institute of International Relations
- Abstract:
- In fragile and conflict-affected settings (FCAS), infrastructure development is a sharp double-edged sword: it can foster sustainable and inclusive development, but it can also exacerbate fragility and conflict. This brief argues that a substantial engagement of local communities has the potential to improve the conflict sensitivity of infrastructure efforts in FCAS. To ensure that these efforts have a positive impact on fragility dynamics, however, due attention should also be paid to the specific choices made in terms of project design and implementation. The brief offers a set of pragmatic considerations aimed at supporting practitioners navigating such choices. In addition, to ensure a proper tailoring of project choices to the specific context, practitioners should also rely extensively on conflict sensitivity analyses, monitoring the interaction between the project and the context’s underlying drivers of fragility throughout the whole project cycle. While so far CDD projects have mostly focused on small-scale infrastructure, efforts should be devoted to explore whether and how CDD approaches can be applied to larger infrastructure projects.
- Topic:
- Development, Infrastructure, Conflict, and Fragility
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
71. Building a Climate-Ready Indian State: Institutions and Governance for Transformative Low-Carbon Development
- Author:
- Aditya Valiathan Pillaj, Navroz K. Dubash, and Parth Bhatia
- Publication Date:
- 06-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for Policy Research, India
- Abstract:
- This brief lays out a new approach to Indian climate governance. We suggest India’s institutional structure should be aimed at generating and adopting low-carbon development pathways. Doing so implies going beyond energy and emissions policies to also look at deeper economic structures such as patterns of urbanisation, industrialisation, and job creation. We propose a new, independent, non-executive, multi-stakeholder Low-Carbon Development Commission backed by law, to bring both analytical credibility and mechanisms to ensure policy relevance. We further propose the Commission interface with an enhanced set of bodies within the executive branch, interacting through a set of annual reporting requirements and incentives for climate action. By laying out a set of principles, institutions, and mechanisms for interaction, we suggest a path to analytical credible and policy relevant Indian climate governance.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Development, Governance, Institutions, and Carbon Emissions
- Political Geography:
- South Asia and India
72. Diving Deeper: Under the surface of LBQTI Funding
- Author:
- Global Philanthropy Project (GPP)
- Publication Date:
- 06-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Global Philanthropy Project (GPP)
- Abstract:
- Diving Deeper: Under the surface of LBQTI funding data explores gaps and improvements over time and identifies opportunities to increase funding for LBQ, trans, and intersex communities and movements. The brief also identifies top LBTQI funders and shares good practice examples of government and multilateral funders integrating LBQTI issues into their gender equality development programming.
- Topic:
- Development, LGBT+, Equality, Philanthropy, Funding, and Gender
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
73. Diving Deeper: Under the surface of Intermediary Funding
- Author:
- Global Philanthropy Project (GPP)
- Publication Date:
- 06-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Global Philanthropy Project (GPP)
- Abstract:
- Diving Deeper: Under the surface of Intermediary funding data compares data on different types of intermediaries in order to provide greater understanding to the field about how, where, and to whom intermediaries are distributing resources. The brief also examines how government, multilateral, and private foundation funders partner with intermediaries to support global LGBTI rights and development.
- Topic:
- Development, Human Rights, LGBT+, Data, Philanthropy, and Funding
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
74. Diving Deeper: Under the Surface of Embassy Funding
- Author:
- Global Philanthropy Project (GPP)
- Publication Date:
- 06-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Global Philanthropy Project (GPP)
- Abstract:
- Diving Deeper: Under the surface of LGBTI embassy funding data examines the extent to which embassies are providing resources for local LGBTI movements, the types of organizations and issues that are supported, as well as best practice examples. At a time when major development assistance streams supporting LGBTI issues are being stretched and in some instances reduced, and when LGBTI organizations face funding shortages, this brief provides government donors and other advocates with evidence about how embassy funding can be used to support and strengthen local movements.
- Topic:
- Development, LGBT+, Data, Funding, and Embassies
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
75. Increasing Access to Affordable Agricultural Microinsurance in Sub-Saharan Africa
- Author:
- Brenden McKinney
- Publication Date:
- 01-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
- Abstract:
- The effects of climate change are causing risk management to become an increasingly essential tool to help farmers anticipate and react to weather-related shocks like droughts and floods. When an efficient risk management system is implemented, it improves the standard of living of those who depend on farming, strengthens agricultural businesses, and supports investment; such a system can decrease the overall risk profiles of individuals and increase the confidence of farmers in their ability to take on risks that could improve their income. 1 While risk mitigation plays a key role in socio-economic development, the system must be affordable in order to successfully reduce poverty levels for those at the base of the economic pyramid.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Climate Change, Development, and Microinsurance
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa
76. Firm performance, trade linkages, and the growth of SMEs in Tanzania
- Author:
- Josaphat Kweka, Julian Boys, and Amrita Saha
- Publication Date:
- 03-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- The private sector and enterprises have a key role to play in the development of the Tanzanian economy. This Policy Brief provides insights and solutions that could offer business sectors the vital policy support that they need to develop and grow.
- Topic:
- Development, Economy, Economic Growth, and Trade
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Tanzania
77. How difficult is China’s business environment for European and American companies?
- Author:
- Uri Dadush and Pauline Weil
- Publication Date:
- 05-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Bruegel
- Abstract:
- Despite tensions over China’s discriminatory business practices, China’s trade continues to thrive, and the country has taken over from the United States as the first destination for foreign investment. American and European businesses continue to be engaged in China’s large and growing market, even amid a trade war between China and the United States. Drawing on surveys of companies and international comparisons, we show that – contrary to the prevailing narrative – China’s business practices have improved significantly in recent years. China’s business environment is today generally more favourable than that in other large countries at similar levels of development and, in some though certainly not all aspects, is in line with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development average. Differences over geopolitics and human rights must be addressed, but it is clear that trade and investment agreements conditioned on accelerated reforms in China would yield substantial dividends. The benefits of such deals would accrue not only to foreign investors in China and exporters to China, but also to consumers and importers in the European Union and, especially, in the US, where punitive tariffs on China remain in effect. Critical aspects in the negotiations would include better access for American and European investors to China’s market for services and improved enforcement of rules and regulations in China. As in many middle-income countries, uneven enforcement of the law (rather than the law itself) remains a critical problem in China.
- Topic:
- Development, Bilateral Relations, European Union, Business, and Investment
- Political Geography:
- China, Europe, Asia, North America, and United States of America
78. To Beat China On Tech In Emerging Markets, Learn From It: Competing with China on 5G and future technologies
- Author:
- Luke Patey
- Publication Date:
- 05-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
- Abstract:
- Recommendations: The US, South Korea, Japan, and the EU can pool resources to level the playing field with China and offer new finance options for developing countries seeking to upgrade their communications and technology infrastructure. The US should look to the India and Vietnam model and help other nations develop domestic capacities that lower dependencies on Huawei and other foreign tech providers over time. Open RAN is no silver bullet to compete with China. Its potential will only be fully realized in the mid and long run, after high integration costs, security gaps, and other problems are worked out.
- Topic:
- Security, Foreign Policy, Development, Politics, Science and Technology, Power Politics, Economy, and Cyberspace
- Political Geography:
- Japan, China, Asia, North America, and United States of America
79. Risks of technology use in humanitarian settings: Avoiding harm, delivering impact
- Author:
- Adam Moe Fejerskov, Maria-Louise Clausen, and Sarah Seddig
- Publication Date:
- 08-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
- Abstract:
- The use of emerging technology in humanitarian settings carries significant risks. The complexity of these risks entails a need to understand and imagine risks beyond those commonly associated with a particular technology, field, or implementing organization. Recommendations: Apply an extensive interpretation of what risks may look like, where, when, for whom, and how they might occur. The indiscernible nature of risks related to technology use means identifying or imagining these moves beyond existing organizational experiences. Recognize that technology-related risks can emerge across the data chain and are not only relevant for engineering or operational staff.
- Topic:
- Security, Democratization, Development, Migration, Poverty, Science and Technology, Capitalism, Inequality, Conflict, Borders, Violence, and Peace
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
80. Recognising diaspora humanitarianism: What we know and what we need to know more about
- Author:
- Mohamed Aden Hassan, Sahra Ahmed Koshin, Peter Albrecht, Mark Bradbury, Fatima Dahir Mohamed, Abdirahman Edle Ali, Karuti Kanyinga, Nauja Kleist, George Michuki, Ahmed Musa, Jethro Norman, and Obadia Okinda
- Publication Date:
- 02-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
- Abstract:
- Diaspora humanitarianism is characterised by rapid mobilisation and engagement that is built upon social networks, affective motivations, informal delivery and accountability mechanisms. This has implications for how it fits into the broader international humanitarian system. KEY TAKEAWAYS: ■ Diaspora humanitarianism grows out of transnational connections that link diaspora groups with their families and homelands. This relational and affective dimension enables rapid mobilisation and delivery to hard-to-reach areas. ■ Remittances to conflict-affected countries surpass official humanitarian aid six times, blurring boundaries between short-term emergency relief and long-term development. ■ Accountability practices tend to be informal and trust-based, structured around reputation. Overall coordination with formal political or humanitarian systems is usually absent.
- Topic:
- Development, Humanitarian Aid, Migration, Poverty, Diaspora, Inequality, Fragile States, Economy, and Conflict
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus