Telling countries they're the worst in the world doesn't really help them
'Ranking fragile states is pointless: citizens in countries like South Sudan are better placed to address weakness than outsiders.'
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Ten things to know about democracy and elections
Recent events in Egypt remind us that the road from ballot box to stable democracy is never straightforward. This infographic cuts through the complexity, presenting ten key facts. -
Transition in Egypt
'Events developing in Egypt over the past year show us that democracy is more than a box-ticking exercise.' -
It's a risky business: aid and new approaches to political risk management
This paper focuses on political risk and argues that if international assistance is to promote political and institutional reform more effectively, it needs to become smarter – more politically aware, better attuned to context, more pragmatic and flexible, and, crucially, less risk averse. Understanding and managing political risk better and more systematically is essential to this. -
Shining a light on land deals: sharing lessons for transparency
The ‘3Ts’ of the G8 summit – tax, trade and transparency – are interlinked, especially through the axis between transparency and tax, as Kevin Watkins outlines. Discussions on tax are bringing to light the hidden worlds of corporate tax avoidance and tax evasion by individuals, whereas – led by the UK – the transparency agenda is focusing on land, open data and extractives.
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The legislator's dilemma: following or moving against the tide of perverse incentives
'Perverse incentives are everywhere in African politics: to deal with them we need to think pragmatically about who is the best actor to deliver accountability.' -
Transparency and accountability: bringing the politics back in
'Over the past two decades, citizen-led initiatives to hold power holders to account have taken the world by storm. But can they live up to the hype?' -
One small step for democracy, one giant leap for Pakistan?
Pakistan has emerged on the other side of its first attempt to transfer power from one civilian government to another through the ballot box (relatively) successfully.
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Women meeting policy makers in Rabat
Women meet with policy makers in Rabat, Morocco
License: Creative Commons
Credit: Foreign andCommonwealth Office
Source: FlickrTackling corruption: can citizens make a difference?
This event will analyse innovative civil society initiatives to combat corruption and promote greater accountability in different settings across the developing world, seeking to understand when such efforts have been successful and why.
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Paraguay: what does Cartes' victory mean?
'Cartes’ election raises significant concernsa among all Paraguayans who are concerned with politics. Under Cartes we can expect, over the next five years, continuing high levels of inequality in land ownership and social justice and poor or declining quality of our democratic institutions. This is certainly not a positive outlook for a nation in dire need of structural change.'