WORLD DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2011

Conflict, Security and Development

The Challenge

Violent conflict and state fragility are major development challenges: conflict causes misery, destroys communities and infrastructure, and can cripple economic prospects. A quarter of states eligible for assistance from the International Development Association (IDA) are experiencing conflict, and poverty rates in these countries are far worse than in IDA countries as a whole. Many other IDA countries are considered fragile, and thereby at risk of violent conflict. Nor is conflict confined to poor countries: a number of middle- and high-income nations are affected by severe sub-national and crime-related violence. Conflict does not respect borders, with serious spillovers from conflict-affected countries contributing to regional destabilization, globalized terrorism, drug trafficking and refugee flows.


Addressing Conflict and Fragility
Building peaceful nation-states which respond to the aspirations of their citizens takes strong leadership, both international and domestic. The international community has an important role to play in assisting countries to avoid, contain and recover from conflict, and the recent past demonstrates how much can be achieved when global and national incentives align, and program implementation is appropriately designed and well-managed. Too often, though, efforts have failed to decisively address the motives and opportunities which help to mobilize violent conflict; to integrate political, security and development approaches; or to align local, national, regional and global actions. As a result, some areas have seen new waves of conflict and violence in recent years and some “post-conflict countries” have not yet managed to make a decisive shift to successful and stable development.


The goal of the World Development Report 2011 is to contribute concrete, practical suggestions to the debate on how to address conflict and fragility. Since solutions involve cooperation between a wide variety of actors at local, national, regional and global levels, the WDR process will invest considerable effort in reaching out to a range of different players and communities . ...Read more/less


The report will discuss:

• Trends, Causes, Consequences: The WDR will review key thinking on the evolution of violent conflict and fragility and on its causes; it will also assess the human and economic devastation caused by various types of conflict.
  
• Key Ingredients of Successful short and Medium Term Responses:Among the key contributors to stability and prosperity are strong leadership, popular legitimacy, and policy approaches which can successfully integrate security, justice, voice and opportunities for economic advancement. The WDR will analyze the evolution of policies designed to address conflict and fragility, and will assess the extent to which they have been effective in helping prevent or resolve conflict. This involves paying particular attention to:

.Short-term confidence building in the political, development and social spheres. While each context is different and there is no blueprint, the WDR will look for general lessons on short terms actions which help to generate confidence (and, importantly, those which undermine confidence); adaptation of programs to political goals; and delivery of results on the ground in decentralised locations.

.Medium-term confidence building to prevent risks of lapse or relapse through institutional and state-building approaches. To facilitate a long-term exit from fragility and sustain peace and development, two elements emerge as requiring further consideration. These are building the institutions which can sustain productive citizen-state engagement, and decreasing the opportunity to mobilize financial, human and other resources for purposes of conflict, crime and violence.

• Gaps in Policy and Implementation, and Proposed Remedies: Among the issues likely to be addressed are more effective ways to support responsible local leadership, develop conflict prevention strategies at both national and regional levels, improve coordination between policy communities (in particular, security, state-building and development actors), nurture institutions suited to specific local contexts, implement critical but under-funded interventions and focus attention on the decentralized provision of basic services and economic opportunities.
  

Approach and Methodology
In addition to reviewing the state of research and policy-formation on fragility and conflict, the WDR will research a series of case studies of historical and ongoing conflicts. Given the multiplicity of stakeholders, several complimentary approaches will be used to ensure that a sufficient number of actors are consulted over the 12-month WDR cycle. The consultation process takes account of the progressive engagement on these issues by the regional institutions and middle income countries, which now play important roles in conflict response, peace-keeping and state-building.

• A WDR Advisory Council will be formed to offer guidance and comment on emerging WDR thinking; the Council will consist of leaders and individuals of global repute from countries and organizations across the globe.
• While carrying out case studies, the WDR team will hold a series of in-field roundtables and colloquia, thereby capturing a broad spectrum of informed local experience and opinion.
• A series of expert brainstorming sessions will be held in locations in different regions, to which prominent academics, practitioners, policy-makers and civil society representatives will be invited in order to share their knowledge and discuss WDR perspectives.
• The WDR team will interact intensively with international and bilateral organizations involved in peacekeeping, state-building and the economic development of fragile and conflict-affected states, including the United Nations, regional political and economic organizations, international financial institutions, NGOs and the private sector. This will help the WDR reflect new interagency approaches to conflict and fragility.

With the report itself as the centerpiece, this WDR is aiming to stimulate a wide-ranging debate on issues considered critical at this juncture of history, and to capitalize on the current surge in attention to this topic. Key to this will be an intensive communications strategy, designed both to help the WDR team access a range of good thinking and to increase popular access to the subjects under discussion. To enrich the WDR’s empirical base and to communicate with diverse audiences, the WDR will make use of the web and social media, will conduct and publish interviews with leaders and individuals impacted by conflict, and will use video and film to underline the realities of conflict and the development challenge it poses.

THE WORD

"Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house." (Haggai 1:9)

Churlish souls stint their contributions to the ministry and missionary operations, and call such saving good economy; little do they dream that they are thus impoverishing themselves. Their excuse is that they must care for their own families, and they forget that to neglect the house of God is the sure way to bring ruin upon their own houses. Our God has a method in providence by which He can succeed our endeavours beyond our expectation, or can defeat our plans to our confusion and dismay; by a turn of His hand He can steer our vessel in a profitable channel, or run it aground in poverty and bankruptcy. It is the teaching of Scripture that the Lord enriches the liberal and leaves the miserly to find out that withholding tendeth to poverty. In a very wide sphere of observation, I have noticed that the most generous Christians of my acquaintance have been always the most happy, and almost invariably the most prosperous. I have seen the liberal giver rise to wealth of which he never dreamed; and I have as often seen the mean, ungenerous churl descend to poverty by the very parsimony by which he thought to rise. Men trust good stewards with larger and larger sums, and so it frequently is with the Lord; He gives by cartloads to those who give by bushels. Where wealth is not bestowed the Lord makes the little much by the contentment which the sanctified heart feels in a portion of which the tithe has been dedicated to the Lord. Selfishness looks first at home, but godliness seeks first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, yet in the long run selfishness is loss, and godliness is great gain. It needs faith to act towards our God with an open hand, but surely He deserves it of us; and all that we can do is a very poor acknowledgment of our amazing indebtedness to His goodness.

GOVERNANCE

WHAT IS GOOD GOVERNANCE?
Recently the terms "governance" and "good governance" are being increasingly used in development literature. Bad governance is being increasingly regarded as one of the root causes of all evil within our societies. Major donors and international financial institutions are increasingly basing their aid and loans on the condition that reforms that ensure "good governance" are undertaken.

This article tries to explain, as simply as possible, what "governance" and "good governance" means.

GOVERNANCE
The concept of "governance" is not new. It is as old as human civilization. Simply put "governance" means: the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented (or not implemented). Governance can be used in several contexts such as corporate governance, international governance, national governance and local governance.

Since governance is the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented, an analysis of governance focuses on the formal and informal actors involved in decision-making and implementing the decisions made and the formal and informal structures that have been set in place to arrive at and implement the decision.

Government is one of the actors in governance. Other actors involved in governance vary depending on the level of government that is under discussion. In rural areas, for example, other actors may include influential land lords, associations of peasant farmers, cooperatives, NGOs, research institutes, religious leaders, finance institutions political parties, the military etc. The situation in urban areas is much more complex. Figure 1 provides the interconnections between actors involved in urban governance. At the national level, in addition to the above actors, media, lobbyists, international donors, multi-national corporations, etc. may play a role in decision-making or in influencing the decision-making process.

All actors other than government and the military are grouped together as part of the "civil society." In some countries in addition to the civil society, organized crime syndicates also influence decision-making, particularly in urban areas and at the national level.

Similarly formal government structures are one means by which decisions are arrived at and implemented. At the national level, informal decision-making structures, such as "kitchen cabinets" or informal advisors may exist. In urban areas, organized crime syndicates such as the "land Mafia" may influence decision-making. In some rural areas locally powerful families may make or influence decision-making. Such, informal decision-making is often the result of corrupt practices or leads to corrupt practices.

Figure 1: Urban actors

GOOD GOVERNANCE
Good governance has 8 major characteristics. It is participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive and follows the rule of law. It assures that corruption is minimized, the views of minorities are taken into account and that the voices of the most vulnerable in society are heard in decision-making. It is also responsive to the present and future needs of society.

Figure 2: Characteristics of good governance

Participation
Participation by both men and women is a key cornerstone of good governance. Participation could be either direct or through legitimate intermediate institutions or representatives. It is important to point out that representative democracy does not necessarily mean that the concerns of the most vulnerable in society would be taken into consideration in decision making. Participation needs to be informed and organized. This means freedom of association and expression on the one hand and an organized civil society on the other hand.

Rule of law
Good governance requires fair legal frameworks that are enforced impartially. It also requires full protection of human rights, particularly those of minorities. Impartial enforcement of laws requires an independent judiciary and an impartial and incorruptible police force.

Transparency
Transparency means that decisions taken and their enforcement are done in a manner that follows rules and regulations. It also means that information is freely available and directly accessible to those who will be affected by such decisions and their enforcement. It also means that enough information is provided and that it is provided in easily understandable forms and media.

Responsiveness
Good governance requires that institutions and processes try to serve all stakeholders within a reasonable timeframe.

Consensus oriented
There are several actors and as many view points in a given society. Good governance requires mediation of the different interests in society to reach a broad consensus in society on what is in the best interest of the whole community and how this can be achieved. It also requires a broad and long-term perspective on what is needed for sustainable human development and how to achieve the goals of such development. This can only result from an understanding of the historical, cultural and social contexts of a given society or community.

Equity and inclusiveness
A society’s well being depends on ensuring that all its members feel that they have a stake in it and do not feel excluded from the mainstream of society. This requires all groups, but particularly the most vulnerable, have opportunities to improve or maintain their well being.

Effectiveness and efficiency
Good governance means that processes and institutions produce results that meet the needs of society while making the best use of resources at their disposal. The concept of efficiency in the context of good governance also covers the sustainable use of natural resources and the protection of the environment.

Accountability
Accountability is a key requirement of good governance. Not only governmental institutions but also the private sector and civil society organizations must be accountable to the public and to their institutional stakeholders. Who is accountable to who varies depending on whether decisions or actions taken are internal or external to an organization or institution. In general an organization or an institution is accountable to those who will be affected by its decisions or actions. Accountability cannot be enforced without transparency and the rule of law.

CONCLUSION
From the above discussion it should be clear that good governance is an ideal which is difficult to achieve in its totality. Very few countries and societies have come close to achieving good governance in its totality. However, to ensure sustainable human development, actions must be taken to work towards this ideal with the aim of making it a reality.

LOVE

QUESTIONS FOR YOU;

#1   What is it? ...........................................................................................

#2   Its Origin? ...........................................................................................

#3   How it Works? ....................................................................................

#4    What it Does? ....................................................................................

#4   Its Destination? ..................................................................................



FROM ME
"Love is any of a number of emotions and experiences related to a sense of strong affection[1] and attachment. The word love can refer to a variety of different feelings, states, and attitudes, ranging from generic pleasure ("I loved that meal") to intense interpersonal attraction ("I love my boyfriend"). This diversity of uses and meanings, combined with the complexity of the feelings involved, makes love unusually difficult to consistently define, even compared to other emotional states."


As an abstract concept, love usually refers to a deep, ineffable feeling of tenderly caring for another person. Even this limited conception of love, however, encompasses a wealth of different feelings, from the passionate desire and intimacy of romantic love to the nonsexual emotional closeness of familial and platonic love to the profound oneness or devotion of religious love. Love in its various forms acts as a major facilitator of interpersonal relationships and, owing to its central psychological importance, is one of the most common themes in the creative arts.

What you owe?
So long as we love we serve;/ So long as we are loved by others,/ I would almost say that we are indispensable;/ And no one is useless while they have a friend.

I must need tell you that you are indebted indeed! To me, someone besides you, your boss, Your surbodinate, your world, and @ large to GOD................ if not your reasons...........
Submit @ http://www.bodylonnetworks.blogspot.com/


Gift
I dont know best gift to give you out there, kindly accept this hearty gift of LOVE....
"Some gifts are big, others are small. Gifts from the heart are the best gifts of all."

Impatiently, waiting to read you... in love as you contribute to this ...........
Paul.