Publications
Child soldiers: Reasons for variation in their rate of recruitment and standards of welfare
Why do some children voluntarily join while other children are forced to join military organization in situations of conflict, and why do the organizations recruit them? How is the actual number of children determined? These are the questions raised in this paper. To address them the author draws on results and ideas from three independent lines of research; One dealing with child labour in general, another with the study of conflicts and the third with children’s decision-making powers based on child psychology.
Review of the Norwegian Program for Indigenous Peoples in Guatemala
The present review was commissioned in order to assess how the current project portfolio of the Norwegian Indigenous Peoples Program in Guatemala corresponds to the approved strategy, and to develop more concrete recommendations for the implementation of this strategy. The review concludes that while this strategy continues to be valid, it has not been followed in the selection of partner organizations and projects supported. A number of the projects fall completely outside of the thematic areas of the strategy, and as a whole the portfolio appears fragmented and unfocused. Recommendations include tighter adherence to the thematic concentration of the strategy, closer attention to the potential for having strategic impacts when selecting partner organizations, and the introduction of multiyear funding for the stronger of these organizations.
Trade Openness and Economic Growth : Do Institutions Matter?
Do lower policy-induced barriers to international trade promote economic growth in countries with poorly developed institutions? Several studies have found a general and positive relationship between trade openness and growth on average, but many of them are marred by methodological shortcomings and considerable unexplained variation in the results. I propose that good institutions of conflict management are a contingent and mediating factor that can help to explain data heterogeneity. Without such institutions, countries that integrate with world markets become vulnerable to external shocks, possibly unleashing domestic conflicts and uncertainty detrimental to growth. This hypothesis is given empirical support by analysing an interaction variable between openness and institutions, integrated in a growth regression for a sample of 94 countries. The interaction variable is positive, significant and robust to a standard list of control variables. For countries with the least developed institutions of conflict management, greater openness is ceteris paribus found to reduce growth rates. The results reveal the inadequacies of a ‘one size fits all’ approach to trade liberalisation, and indicate that complementary institutional reforms may be necessary if a country is to reap the full growth effects of openness.
Norge og multilateralt samarbeid : Mot en ny politikk?
I Soria Moria-erklæringen varslet den nye regjeringen at den multilaterale bistanden i økende grad skal forskyves fra Verdensbanken til utviklingsprogrammer og nødhjelpstiltak i regi av FN-organer. Norsk bistand skal ikke gå til programmer som stiller krav om liberalisering og privatisering. Det er imidlertid gitt lite faglig argumentasjon eller annen begrunnelse ut over det normative om hva denne omfordelingen bygger på. Dette var bakgrunnen for en workshop på NUPI den 7. mars 2006. Der søkte norske fagfolk å få frem relevante problemstillinger, hva som forelå av kunnskap og hvilke spørsmål som trengte nærmere analyse. Dette notatet summerer opp hovedkonklusjonene samt gir en statistisk oversikt over hovedstrømmene i den multilaterale bistanden, med vekt på de ressurser Norge stiller til rådighet.
Sistani, the United States and Politics in Iraq : From Quietism to Machiavellianism?
This paper discusses the two prevailing interpretations of the political attitudes of the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the leading Shiite cleric in Iraq today. It is argued that neither the traditional “quietist” paradigm nor more recent Machiavellian interpretations can satisfactorily explain Sistani’s actions. An alternative interpretation is offered which highlights Sistani’s historical oscillation between passive and activist positions. It is suggested that, after an activist intermezzo from June 2003 to December 2004, Sistani has reverted to a more secluded role, again showing an increasing reluctance to fulfil the wishes of his many wooers in Iraqi politics, and limiting his interference to matters directly connected with the Shiite faith and its institutions. It is concluded that Sistani’s professional interests as a cleric – rather than any constant desire on his part to control and manipulate domestic politics – may be the key to understanding any future intervention in the political process in Iraq. Scepticism is also expressed toward the notion of Sistani as a guarantor for a “moderate” or “secular” Iraqi political system that would supposedly be fundamentally different from that of Iran – an idea that has featured prominently in policy-making circles in the United States and in other Western countries currently involved in Iraq.
A Study of Civil Society in Nicaragua
NORAD has commissioned this study as an input to analyzing governance issues in Nicaragua. The report analyzes current civil society in Nicaragua as the product of the developments over the last decades. The sphere is dominated by a set of highly visible, professional and active NGOs – partly because of the strength of these organizations, partly because of weaknesses of other types of organizations. Unions are fragmented, private sector organizations tend to focus on sector demands, social movements are relatively non-existent, and community-based organizations are oriented towards local concerns. While Nicaraguan civil society remains politically polarized – although less so than 10-15 years ago – there are relatively advanced examples of coordination among the organizations. State – civil society relations are gradually changing as new spaces for consultations are being institutionalized and the organizations are becoming more oriented towards lobbying. Still, there is considerable way to go before these new spaces function according to intentions. The fact that civil society is dominated by NGOs – which are not membership-based – means that issues of representation and accountability pose a key challenge for Nicaraguan civil society.
WTO-forhandlingene om markedsadgang for industrivarer og fisk (NAMA)
Notatet gir en oversikt over forhandlingene om markedsadgang for industrivarer i WTO, herunder fisk. I WTO forhandles om øvre grenser for tollen, såkalt bundet toll, mens landene i praksis kan ha lavere anvendt toll. 60-70% av tollen for industrivarer og fisk er bundet på verdensbasis. For et land midt på treet er bundet toll for fisk gjennomsnittlig 34%, mens den anvendte tollen er 14%. Det må derfor betydelige tollreduksjoner til for at anvendt toll skal bli mye redusert. U-landenes andel av verdenshandelen med industrivarer har økt kraftig de senere år, og noe av denne eksporten møter høy toll. U-landene står også for mer enn halvparten av verdenseksporten av fisk. Norsk sjømateksport står i dag overfor en tollbelastning på 1.1-1.4 milliarder NOK, og en vellykket WTO-runde kan kanskje bety at 3-400 millioner av dette forsvinner. På kort sikt er gevinstene størst i store og etablerte eksportmarkeder, men på sikt kan WTO-liberalisering bidra til at nye eksportmarkeder blir tilgjengelige.
The battle for Azerbaijan : Azeri Perspectives on the Observation of the 2005 Parliamentary Elections and the Post-Election Period
This report seeks to highlight the role of international observer missions of the 9 November 2005 parliamentary election in Azerbaijan. It also presents in-depth assessments of the pre- and post-election situation in the country. The six articles that are presented in the volume have been produced by leading scholars or development practitioners in Azerbaijan. The report forms part of the ‘Network for Election Observation and Exchange’. This is project that is supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Observing or participating in regime change? Kyrgyz perspectives on the role of international election observation missions in 2005
This report offers an in-dept analysis of the role of international election observation missions in during the political upheavals in Kyrgyzstan in 2005. It presents the work of three leading, young academics from Kyrgyzstan. The report forms part of the ‘NUPI Network for Election Observation and Exchange’. This is project that is supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The starting point for the assessments presented here is the realisation that international election observer missions played a central part in the events that eventually lead to the toppling of President Askar Akaev’s administration in march 2005. Kyrgyzstan is also a case that highlights the immense challenges that face election observation missions in non consolidated democracies of the former Soviet Union. Many of these countries, Kyrgyzstan included, have developed traditions of deep-seated and sophisticated manipulation of election procedures. Given these preconditions, the three articles aim to assess from differing perspectives how election observation was conducted in the country in 2005.
Geographical spread of corruption : Policies, institutions and cross-country economic interaction. Part I: Issues, theory
The international aspects of corruption have received considerable attention in both research and policy: What determines whether a country is highly corrupt or not? Most research has sought to answer this question by considering each country as reflecting the same kind of mechanism explaining both the high and low outcomes. In this paper some of the theoretical explanations suggested in the literature are reviewed at the same time as it suggests how the question needs to be rephrased if each country’s corruption rate is influenced by an internationally open economic system.