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Begin New Search Topic Civil Society Political Geography Global Focus Content Type Special Report Publication Year within 10 Years Publication Year within 5 Years

1. Global Resources Report: A Francophone Perspective

Author:
Global Philanthropy Project (GPP)
Publication Date:
05-2023
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Global Philanthropy Project (GPP)
Abstract:
We are pleased to present this special brief for the Global Resources Report: Government and Philanthropic Support for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex Communities, with a Francophone perspective. The Global Resources Report is a comprehensive report on the state of funding by foundations, corporations, NGO intermediaries, and government and multilateral agencies for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) issues. The Global Resources Report has published four biennial editions to date, analyzing data from the years 2013 to 2020. Such remarkable research work allows us to release this special report, which aims to document the funding specifically awarded to LGBTI communities in Francophone countries or territories, showing comprehensive data across eight years. This edition covers 1,002 grants awarded by 84 foundations, intermediary NGOs, corporations, and 10 donor governments, and multilateral agencies. The report details the distribution of LGBTI funding by geography, issue, population focus, and donor type.
Topic:
Civil Society, LGBT+, Philanthropy, Funding, and Resources
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2. 2019-2020 Global Resources Report: Government & Philanthropic Support for LGBTI Communities

Author:
Global Philanthropy Project (GPP)
Publication Date:
06-2022
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Global Philanthropy Project (GPP)
Abstract:
The 2019–2020 Global Resources Report: Government & Philanthropic Support for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex Communities is the most comprehensive report to date on the state of global funding for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) issues. This report documents data on over 15,800 grants awarded by 499 foundations, intermediary NGOs, and corporations and by 17 donor government and multilateral agencies over the two-year period of 2019–2020. LGBTI communities worldwide face urgent conditions, and grantmakers must mobilize together to financially resource the movements that can meet those needs. This report provides the data to make the case for strategic and impactful funding. Building on three previous editions, and now documenting a combined 8 years, this report provides detailed data on the distribution of LGBTI funding by geography, issue, strategy, population focus, and donor type, offering a tool for identifying trends, gaps, and opportunities in the rapidly changing landscape of LGBTI funding. This new edition documents a total of $576 million, showing that global LGBTI funding grew by 3%, or over $16 million (USD). Notably, this edition of the report also documents a 38% increase in the number of grantees.
Topic:
Civil Society, International Organization, LGBT+, NGOs, and Philanthropy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

3. Guardrails for Democracy

Author:
Erica Shein and Katherine Ellena
Publication Date:
12-2022
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
International Foundation for Electoral Systems
Abstract:
Democracy thrives on the vibrant exchange of ideas, transparency, and confidence in government institutions. Corruption can have disastrous effects on democracy, from derailing a government’s response to a public emergency to driving distrust in democratic institutions and damaging the credibility of governments, both at home and abroad. Holding governments accountable and limiting opportunities for abuse is instrumental to maintaining public trust and to helping countries weather shocks to democracy. Independent governmental institutions – including Supreme Audit Institutions, National Human Rights Institutions, Anti-Corruption Authorities, Ombuds Institutions, and Election Management Bodies — are an essential part of the democratic fabric. These institutions should serve as guardrails to keep democracy on track, but, absent safeguards, can become ineffective, irrelevant, or even tools for state capture. This Guide draws on IFES’ evidence-based Autonomy and Accountability Framework (AAF) to support an assessment of threats, risks, and weaknesses in the autonomy and accountability of independent institutions at any stage of establishment or development. An institution can use the assessment to help insulate itself from political interference and conflicts of interest, shore up its ability to execute its mandate effectively and efficiently, and build or preserve public trust. The AAF also provides a blueprint for legislatures seeking to enshrine effective protections for new institutions in the law. This Guide can be used by an institution on its own or in collaboration with partners to conduct a thorough, introspective review of its own autonomy and accountability mechanisms, or by a civil society organization seeking to advance the work of a specific institution or inform the design of advocacy campaigns. Constitutional or legal drafting committees might also find this resource useful to identify key elements for reform. The Guide includes a series of question sets to identify and understand strengths and threats to autonomy and accountability, and to assist in identifying the specific considerations that may apply given the institution’s unique mandate, structure, or legal context. The Guide also includes sample strategies to fill the gaps identified in the assessment and build institutional resilience.
Topic:
Civil Society, Democracy, Institutions, and Legal Sector
Political Geography:
Global Focus

4. Digital Technologies, Peacebuilding and Civil Society

Author:
Julia-Silvana Hofstetter
Publication Date:
01-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Institute for Development and Peace
Abstract:
The wide availability of digital technologies is increasingly impacting the work of peacebuilders, altering both peacebuilding practices and conflict dynamics. The malicious use of technology – from the weaponization of social media to digital authoritarianism and cyberattacks – poses new threats to peaceful societies and urges peacebuilders to consider new fields of action in cyberspace. However, digitalization has also brought major innovations to the work of peacebuilders, establishing a new field of practice, ‘digital peacebuilding’. Many of the innovative uses of peace technologies – for conflict prevention, transformation and reconciliation – have been driven by civil society organizations, who are at the forefront of addressing the rising threat of digital conflict drivers, too. This report provides an overview of the opportunities and challenges digital technologies create for peacebuilders, discusses how they alter the role of civil society, and proposes future directions for the digital peacebuilding agenda.
Topic:
Civil Society, Science and Technology, Cybersecurity, Peace, and Digitization
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5. The Future of Mass Atrocities and Atrocity Prevention: Report from the 2020 Sudikoff Interdisciplinary Seminar on Genocide Prevention

Author:
Lawerence Woocher and Jonathan Strauss
Publication Date:
02-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Abstract:
This report compiles essays from several leading experts who participated in the seminar series. We asked them to reflect on one or more key themes and offer recommendations for research and/or policy initiatives that could help current and future leaders address mass atrocities. The collection of essays reflects the breadth and diversity of issues that are likely to affect mass atrocities and their prevention over the next decade. Reflecting on changes in the distribution of political power and weakening anti-atrocity norms, Scott Straus identifies four significant challenges for the atrocity prevention agenda. Dara Kay Cohen highlights an often-neglected factor--sex and gender inequalities-- and argues that it is likely to worsen over the next decade in ways that will exacerbate risks of mass atrocities. Roudabeh Kishi discusses how monitoring and early warning initiatives must adapt to changes in the information environment and the changing nature of atrocities. Dismas Nkunda focuses on how COVID-19 has affected civil society efforts to address mass atrocities. Finally, Jennifer Welsh discusses war crimes, “extreme atrocity,” and political barriers to effective prevention—three key issues for the prevention of mass atrocities over the coming decade.
Topic:
Civil Society, Politics, War Crimes, Inequality, Norms, Atrocities, COVID-19, and Gender
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6. Civil Society Recommendations to the Compact on Women, Peace, and Security and Humanitarian Action

Author:
Global Network of Women Peacebuilders
Publication Date:
07-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP)
Abstract:
This document was prepared by the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP) based on the inputs of the members of the civil society-led Action Coalition on WPS and YPS. It presents a set of recommendations on the points raised in the concept note of the Compact on Women and Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action in the Generation Equality Forum. The recommendations were generated from the Zoom meeting of the civil society-led Action Coalition on WPS and YPS on June 10, 2020, and a series of phone, Zoom, WhatsApp, and email consultations between June 19 –30, 2020. Local, national, regional and global CSOs from Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Haiti, Iraq, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, Rwanda, Serbia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sweden, Uganda, Ukraine, UK, and the USA participated in these consultations. Representatives of the Office of the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy Youth, UN Department of Peace Operations, UNDP, UNFPA and UN Women also participated at the Zoom meeting on June 10, 2020. Many of the recommendations echo those presented by civil society and local women peacebuilders in the Vienna Declaration 2020, the outcome document of the Global Women’s Forum on Women Peacebuilders & Humanitarian Actors, organized by the Austrian Development Cooperation, the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders and the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fundin Vienna on February 19-20, 2020; the 2018-2019 Global Study of Civil Society And Local Women’s Perception of Sustaining Peace conducted by GNWP with support from UN Women; and the report from the Local consultations with women from civil society on WPS and Sustaining Peace in Colombia, Northern Ireland, South Africa, and Uganda prepared by GNWP with support from Ireland and UN Women as a contribution to the Peacebuilding Architecture Review in 2020.”
Topic:
Civil Society, International Cooperation, United Nations, and Peace
Political Geography:
Global Focus

7. Beijing+25: Accelerating Progress for Women and Girls

Author:
Peace and Security (GIWPS) Georgetown Institute for Women and Jeni Klugman
Publication Date:
09-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS)
Abstract:
Beijing+25: Accelerating Progress for Women and Girls is a roadmap to advance global gender equality authored by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security (GIWPS), with support from The Rockefeller Foundation and in collaboration with Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton. Marking the 25th anniversary of the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, which took place in Beijing, China in 1995, the new report builds upon the original Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Since 1995, there have been some important gains for women and girls, including parity in education in many countries, far fewer deaths in childbirth, more women elected to parliament and leadership positions in government and business, and reduced discrimination under the law. Yet major inequalities have persisted, only to be exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Part I of the report documents serious challenges such as the stagnation of women’s income and wages, discrimination depriving women of fair wages, and how women still carry the burden of unpaid work at home. Violence against women also remains a global scourge, and women remain largely excluded from decision-making in governments (from local to the highest levels), in peace negotiations, and in corporate leadership. With this as the backdrop, Part II provides a deeper dive into five key areas for progress including: (1) changing problematic gender norms; (2) enforcing and resourcing policies that promote equality; (3) countering growing backlash to gender equality; (4) fostering inclusive democracy and climate justice; and (5) harnessing technology as a means to promote women’s economic empowerment and protection from violence. Part III proposes a course of action to leverage multiple actors—from civil society and youth, male allies and traditional authorities, through to the business community and multilateral agencies. When taken together, they not only accelerate progress for women and girls, but also build a better world for all. The report was written by a GIWPS team led by Dr. Jeni Klugman, Managing Director of GIWPS.
Topic:
Civil Society, Science and Technology, United Nations, Women, Inequality, Income Inequality, Economy, Youth, COVID-19, Girls, Empowerment, and Gender
Political Geography:
Global Focus

8. What Works in Youth Projects? Lessons for the Youth, Peace, and Security Field

Author:
Rebecca Ebenezer-Abiola and Jeremy Moore
Publication Date:
10-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
Until the adoption of U.N. Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2250 in 2015, the international community had no comprehensive framework with which to address the specific needs and opportunities of a key demographic group—young people. This report presents the findings of a meta-review assessing fifty-one youth projects supported or implemented by USIP between 2011 and 2018 and offers recommendations for continuing to develop and support peacebuilding activities with effective engagement, cooperation, and flexibility among civil society organizations and funders.
Topic:
Security, Civil Society, Demographics, United Nations, Youth, and Peace
Political Geography:
Global Focus

9. A Source of Escalation or a Source of Restraint? Whether and How Civil Society Affects Mass Killings

Author:
Erica Chenoweth and Evan Perkoski
Publication Date:
07-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Abstract:
Why do some state-led mass killings end quickly while others endure for over a decade? And why do some states murder millions of constituents during the course of mass killings, whereas other states seem to retreat from the brink after killing hundreds? A large body of work has focused on the important role played by civil society and nongovernmental actors in initiating different forms of rescue, evasion, and assistance in the midst of different cases of mass killings, as well as on the political pressure they have applied in bringing about the end of civil conflicts. Despite many inspiring and hopeful cases of collective action under systems of intense repression, other research finds civil society can accelerate or exacerbate mass killings. In this paper, we test some basic mechanisms that emerge from the literature on the connection between civil society and mass killings, and we find that a complex albeit meaningful relationship exists. We find that, in general, a relatively participatory and autonomous civil society is correlated with shorter periods of mass killings. However, we also find that active civil societies are associated with higher rates of lethality, particularly when the society has high levels of inequality. Because most mass killing events are relatively short, our findings suggest that civil societies in states with uneven access to power are more commonly correlated with longer, deadlier spells of government violence. This conclusion seemingly supports the view of civil society skeptics, at least in highly unequal contexts where mass killings have already begun.
Topic:
Civil Society, Atrocities, Escalation, and Massacre
Political Geography:
Global Focus

10. The Role of Civilians and Civil Society in Preventing Mass Atrocities

Author:
Zachariah Mampilly, Daniel Solomon, Anushani Alagarajah, Dharsha Jegatheeswaran, Nyathon H. Mai, and Congo Research Group
Publication Date:
07-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Abstract:
This paper synthesizes the results of a one-year, multicountry exploration of the role that civilians play in preventing and mitigating the trajectory of mass atrocity episodes. It is the culmination of a unique collaboration between the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide and three partner organizations: Congo Research Group, the Adayaalam Centre for Policy Research, and the Sudd Institute. In consultation with the Simon-Skjodt Center, each country team conducted a subnational comparative study of civilian involvement in mass atrocity episodes. This paper brings together the findings from each country study to offer a general framework for understanding civilian agency and assesses how well existing theories of civilian action can account for the outcomes across cases. In addition, it addresses the conceptual and methodological challenges of studying civilian agency and the role of civil society cross-nationally. The study calls for a reconceptualization of civil society that moves away from traditional concepts in favor of foregrounding the political and economic contexts that civilians navigate during a conflict and its aftermath.
Topic:
Civil Society, Conflict, Civilians, Atrocities, and Atrocity Prevention
Political Geography:
Global Focus