Suchergebnisse

This inspiring collection analyzes the contribution of EU development policy to poverty reduction and provides suggestions to enhance its effectiveness. It focuses on various aspects of the policy - trade, agriculture and food security, and modes of policy making and implementation - and concludes with practical recommendations for improvement.

This paper focuses on the notion of 'pockets of effectiveness' in the light of the theorisation of regulated neopatrimonialism. The attention to pockets of effectiveness – understood as public organisations which deliver public goods and services relatively effectively in contexts of largely ineffective government – adds to the understanding of regulated neopatrimonialism by focusing on the conditions under which conditions public sector organisations may contribute to development. The literature emphasises that two sets of factors contribute to the creation of pockets of effectiveness. Contextual political-economic factors relate to: political processes, political institutions and material interests and power positions of social groups. Internal factors concern organisational leadership and management, and the functions and attributes of organisations. The paper analyses the operations of several oil and gas companies in Russia and Kazakhstan in order to see how these firms are influenced by their political-economic environment and how they manage, or fail, to establish developmental potential. Russia's political system is an example of regulated neopatrimonialism, while Kazakhstan is an example of a predatory form of neopatrimonialism. The paper concludes that the establishment of pockets of effectiveness in post-Soviet countries is rather difficult but not impossible in the case of Russia. The relative success of certain companies seems to result from the leadership's adjustment to external political-economic realities and the establishment of a modus vivendi with the incumbent regime.

This chapter analyses the conditions under which the Surinamese State Oil Company (Staatsolie) has been consolidated, not only as a firm oriented at the production of oil, but also as a development agent. Staatsolie's chances to success seemed rather slim at its creation in the beginning of the 1980s, mainly because of the non-developmental, patrimonial character of Surinamese politics and the nature of Suriname's state, which has traditionally been oriented toward patronage and clientelism. The chapter documents the origins of Staatsolie and focuses on its commitment to the acquisition and further development of technological and managerial expertise. It is argued that Staatsolie has become a true pocket of effectiveness: it ranks among the most successful companies in Suriname and its contributions to the economy of this small middle-income country are considerable. The success of Staatsolie's attempt to become a development agent is attributed, in particular, to the company's double strategy. The internal part of this strategy, derived from the management vision and ideological commitment of the company's leadership, was aimed at developing technological and management skills. The external part of the strategy was aimed at steering away from political influences on the company and playing out politically the formal-legal position of the firm in the petroleum sector. After more than 30 years of Staatsolie, it is argued that the factors that were responsible for the company's success may turn out to be the main challenges for the years ahead.