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States can do much to tap community-level energies & resources for development if they seek to interact more synergistically with local communities. The broader spin-off is the creation of a developmental society & polity. Using case studies from Asia & Latin America, we illustrate how (1) state efforts to bring about land reform, tenancy reform, & expand noncrop sources of income can broaden the distribution of power in rural communities, laying the basis for more effective community-driven collective action; & (2) higher levels of government can form alliances with communities, putting pressure on local authorities from above & below to improve development outcomes at the local level. These alliances can also be very effective in catalyzing collective action at community level, & reducing "local capture" by vested interests. There are several encouraging points that emerge from these case studies. First, powerful institutional changes do not necessarily take long to generate. Second, they can be achieved in a diversity of settings: tightly knit or open communities; war-ravaged or relatively stable; democratic or authoritarian; with land reform or (if carefully managed) even without. Third, there are strong political payoffs in terms of legitimacy & popular support for those who support such developmental action. 1 Figure, 1 Appendix, 101 References. Adapted from the source document.

States can do much to tap community-level energies and resources for development if they seek to interact more synergistically with local communities. The broader spin-off is the creation of a developmental society and polity. Using case studies from Asia and Latin America, we illustrate how: (1) state efforts to bring about land reform, tenancy reform, and expanding non-crop sources of income can broaden the distribution of power in rural communities, laying the basis for more effective community-driven collective action; and (2) higher levels of government can form alliances with communities, putting pressure on local authorities from above and below to improve development outcomes at the local level. These alliances can also be very effective in catalysing collective action at community level, and reducing "local capture" by vested interests. There are several encouraging points that emerge from these case studies. First, powerful institutional changes do not necessarily take long to generate. Second, they can be achieved in a diversity of settings: tightly knit or open communities; war-ravaged or relatively stable; democratic or authoritarian; with land reform or (if carefully managed) even without. Third, there are strong political pay-offs in terms of legitimacy and popular support for those who support such developmental action. (Original abstract)

Explores the interplay of gender & religious community in Bijnor, India, where "Hindu" & "Muslim" are not just religious identities, but also distinct social & political categories. The articulation of communal harmony is described, along with the reality that communalism is not only thriving; it is institutionalized in ways that impact the Hindu minority's access to important resources & has occasionally erupted into violent conflict. Communal differences in dress, diet, & customs are described, along with social & political processes that hinder Muslim women more than their Hindu counterparts. Stereotypes that strengthen everyday sexism & communalism are explored, noting that both Muslim & Hindu women are expected to be subservient to men, not allowed to control economic resources, & told not to work outside the home. However, different identities of Muslim & Hindu women are essentialized in communalized rhetoric based on religious doctrine. Examples discussed include media images of Muslim women as victims of Islam, political manipulation of the Shah Bano case, & portrayals of Hindu women as torchbearers of tradition. 61 References. J. Lindroth

This paper argues that the city is a neglected unit in development, international relations and conflict resolution studies. Yet, in a world after the terrorist bombings of 11 September 2001 and on the London Underground on 7 July 2005, the city is a critical site where the struggle to enable positive interreligious and interethnic relations occurs. Bradford, in the north of England, is home to a large and increasing number of British Muslims, the majority being of Pakistani ancestry. This paper is offered as a case study mapping a number of initiatives that seek to create the conditions and actors for a more peaceful city. These projects involve Christians and Muslims working in collaboration with secular institutions and agencies. A conclusion suggests a few lessons from which other cities might learn.

Examines religious freedom in the US & identifies potential risk factors. These risks include the faith-based initiative proposed by George W. Bush & alignment of religious communities with political parties. Suggestions for enhanced religious tolerance & understanding in the US are presented. L. Collins Leigh

This paper examines the relationship between the Chinese state and Protestantism. It demonstrates that it varies widely from place to place; moreover, the actual relationship between individual churches and the local authorities that are supposed to govern them paints a quite different picture from that implied by the laws and regulations. The paper also argues that the state faces a dilemma: On one hand it feels threatened by the appearance of autonomous organizations such as unregistered churches, while on the other it values the contributions they make to society and recognizes that subjecting them to the Three-Self Patriotic Movement and China Christian Council would require a good deal of force and be very socially disruptive. (JCCA/GIGA)

Over the last 30 years, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have become increasingly present in international discourses and active in international decision-making. Among the estimated several million NGOs in existence today, an increasingly visible number of organizations are defining themselves in religious terms - referring to themselves as "religious", "spiritual", or "faith-based" NGOs. This book documents the initial encounters between the particularly international segment of those organizations and the UN while at the same time covering the Protestant and Catholic spectrum that dominated the early years of their activities in the UN-context. This book focuses on the construction of the human rights discourse inside two religiously affiliated organizations: The Commissions of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) and Pax Romana (IMCS / ICMICA). These organizations have been formally accredited as NGOs by the UN, label themselves as religious, and look back upon a long and intense cooperation with the UN. Lehmann presents material from the archives of those two organizations that has so far rarely been used for academic analysis