Suchergebnisse

This paper analyzes different government debt relief programs in the European Monetary Union. I build a model and study different options ranging from debt relief to the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). The analysis reveals the following: First, patient countries repay debt, while impatient countries more likely consume and default. Second, without ESM loans, indebted countries default anyway. Third, if the probability to be an impatient government is high, then the supply of loans is constrained. In general, sustainable and unsustainable governments should be incentivized differently especially in a supranational monetary union. Finally, I develop policy recommendations for the ongoing debate in the Eurozone.

This project provides tools and knowledge to support local public and private actors in the transition towards more sustainable agricultural production (beef, milk, grains, timber, pepper, fruits,etc.), and natural resources conservation, through enhanced landscape governance in the "Green Municipality" of Paragominas, State of Pará, in the Brazilian Amazon. This research will foster innovative partnerships between the public and private spheres and help integrate production options within the cattle, timber and agricultural sectors, small and large farmers. Ultimately, this project aims to reduce deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions through the development of more intensive production and nutrient recycling. This project supports multi-stakeholder dialogue at municipal and state levels, also leading to greater social inclusion. Local multi-stakeholder platforms will receive data, analysis and options needed for more informed policy decision-making. The research will also facilitate knowledge exchange between local stakeholders and public agencies at state and federal levels, as well as business platforms supporting sustainability in the Brazilian Amazon.

Following recent theoretical and conceptual developments this paper examines the extent to which the gradual introduction and unfolding of new soft instruments in the European Union is in fact changing the EUs system of governance and the nature of the European integration process. The paper focuses on issues of effective coordination based on voluntary action and on issues of democratic legitimacy in post-parlamentarian political processes. To do that, the paper presents and discusses the theoretical aspects based on rational and sociological institutionalism, and proposes a set of assumptions about the different types of instruments. These assumptions will be tested empirically in the future.

With responses to urban violence receiving increasing academic attention, the literature on anti-gang efforts in Latin America has focused mainly on coercive mano dura policies and cooperative gang truces. Yet, there remains a paucity of studies going beyond such carrots-and-sticks approaches towards gangs. To fill this gap, this study investigates the possibilities and limitations of substitutive security governance across Latin America and the Caribbean. More specifically, this article looks at Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) programmes in Medellín, Armed Violence Reduction and Prevention (AVRP) efforts in Haiti and Security Sector Reform (SSR) in Guatemala and Rio de Janeiro. It will be argued that communities are driven to support gangs against the oppressive state when they are indiscriminately targeted through muscular operations. Likewise, engaging gangs in dialogue grants them legitimacy and further weakens the position of the state. Therefore, the only sustainable solution lies in substitutive security governance, which aims to replace the functions gangs fulfil for their members, sponsors, and the community in which they are nested with a modern and accountable state that is bound by the rule of law. Still, substitutive strategies vis-à-vis gangs have their own limitations, which can only be overcome by way of an integrated and coordinated framework.

Around the world, people are asking how we can make democracy work in new and better ways. We are frustrated by political systems in which voting is the only legitimate political act, concerned that many republics don't have the strength or appeal to withstand authoritarian figures, and disillusioned by the inability of many countries to address the fundamental challenges of health, education and economic development. If we want to create democracies in which citizens have meaningful roles in shaping public decisions and solving public problems, we should be asking a number of questions about civic tech, including: • How can online tools best support new forms of democracy? • What are the examples of how this has happened? • What are some variables to consider in comparing these examples? • How can we learn from each other as we move forward? This background note has been developed to help democratic innovators explore these questions and examine how their work can provide answers. ; DFID, SIDA, USAID, Omidyar Network