- Thomas Adisorn (2016):
Paving the Way for Investment in Geothermal Power Deployment in Developing Countries. - 92 S. [Abstract] Geothermie-basierte Stromproduktion ist einzigartig, beispielsweise aufgrund geringer Emissionen und gleichzeitiger Bereitstellung von Grundlastelektrizität. Einige Entwicklungsländer haben enorme geothermische Potenziale und sind somit in der Lage, klimaneutralen Strom für ihre wachsenden Ökonomien und Bevölkerungen bereitzustellen. Allerdings erschweren Barrieren die Umsetzung von geothermie-basierter Stromproduktion. Im Zuge der Studie wurden folgende Barrieren bestimmt: Finanzierungsbarrieren, institutionelle Barrieren und Unsicherheit, Mangel an Humankapital, Informationsbarrieren und sozialer Widerstand. Durch Literatur-gestützte Analyse für die Fallstudien Indonesien und Kenia, die bereits über enorme geothermische Kapazitäten verfügen, werden Handlungsoptionen identifiziert, die dazu beitragen, die genannten Barrieren zu überwinden. Folglich bietet diese Studie Empfehlungen v.a. für Entwicklungsländer, um geothermie-basierte Stromproduktion umzusetzen und damit einen Beitrag gegen den Klimawandel zu leisten. [Download]
- Franziska Perlick (2016): Corruption and Political Stability in Post-Conflict Countries: Is there really a Trade-Off? - 92 S.
[Abstract] Die Annahme, dass es einen Trade-Off zwischen dem Korruptionsniveau und der politischen Stabilität in einer Nachkriegssituation geben könnte, besteht seit längerem in der Peacebuilding Debatte. Aber hinsichtlich der Wirkung von Korruption auf politische Stabilität gehen die Expertenmeinungen stark auseinander. Die vorliegende Studie geht anhand von Nachkriegsgesellschaften der Frage nach, ob Korruption ein nennenswertes Hindernis für Peacebuilding darstellt oder aber eher einen stabilisierenden Effekt hat. Hierbei wird das Konzept der Hybriden Politischen Ordnung genutzt, um Nachkriegsgesellschaften zu modellieren. Die Grundannahmen der Literaturanalyse zentraler Konzepte des Peacebuilding sowie der Korruptionsbekämpfung werden anhand der Fallstudie Sierra Leone im Zeitraum 2002-2012 geprüft. Ausgehend von unterschiedlichen Konzepten von Faktoren politischer Stabilität, wie beispielsweise Legitimität, wird deutlich, dass der Effekt von Korruption je nach sozio-ökonomischem und sozio-kulturellem Kontext, sehr unterschiedlich ist und nicht notwendigerweise destabilisierend sein muss. [Download]
- Simon Striegel (2015): Building inclusive smallholder agricultural finance. With evidence from coffee producers and financial institutions in Tanzania. - 125 S.
[Abstract] Despite the increasing liberalization and penetration of rural financial markets in the global South, small-scale agricultural producers’ scarce access to formal financial services still constitutes a fundamental roadblock to improving financial inclusion and, thus, rural livelihoods. High transaction costs combined with covariant risks, a lack of financial literacy and the prevalence of moral hazard in agicultural lending impair the profitability and, hence, the availability of smallholder agricultural finance. Based on the theoretical concept of New Institutional Economics and underpinned by empirical evidence from small-scale coffee producers and financial institutions in Tanzania, this paper identifies major challenges of smallholder finance in the country and possible pathways through which financial inclusion can be elevated. The assessment of Tanzania’s smallholder-based coffee sector and financial system reveals that while organizational development among small-scale producers is clearly insufficient, inclusive rural financial systems, above all, depend on cohesive, well-governed and – managed producer organizations which qualify and act as intermediation points between small-scale producers and financial institutions. [Download]
- Anika Mahla (2015): Der deutsche Mediendiskurs zur (Neuen) Grünen Revolution. "Technologischer Triumphialismus" vs. agrarökologische Landnutzung. - 112 S.
[Abstract] This study reconstructs the latest discourse on the (New) Green Revolution on the German press by using an argumentative and narrative approach of discourse analysis. The revival of the Green Revolution aims to eradicate hunger in sub-Saharan Africa. The result are two different stories: on the one hand an affirmative coalition of actors in favor for the industrialization of agriculture and on the other hand a critical coalition which prefers agroecological alternatives. The similarities and differences between the stories are outlined on the basis of the underlying actant structures and value-oppositions. In result a hegemony of the affirmative story can be shown. [Download]
- Katharina Nett (2015): Enhancing climate change resilience in fragile states. Adaption strategies in contexts of state fragility and increased climate change vulnerability: Linked responses to linked risks. - 73 S.
[Abstract] Climate change is increasingly perceived as a threat to human security and a challenge to the problem-solving capacity of states and societies, particularly in fragile states. While there is substantial literature on climate change adaptation in conflict-affected contexts, much less attention has been paid to how to enhance resilience in contexts of fragility and low state capacity. This paper argues that in order to effectively address the complex, intertwined risks resulting from the interplay of state fragility and climate change, a comprehensive approach to resilience is needed that encompasses both climate change adaptation and state-building. An analysis of the climate change adaptation strategies and instruments of the UNFCCC and the EU shows that while there are some promising first approaches, donors and international organisations working in the field of climate change adaptation need to build their adaptation strategies on a thorough understanding of the fragile context und take more action to adjust their policy instruments to the special needs of fragile states. [Download]
- Neda Noraie-Kia (2014): Sensitive to Conflict? Development Cooperation and Peacebuilding in the Palestinian Context. - 68 S.
[Abstract] Development organisations face numerous challenges in the context of violent conflict. Development cooperation has to be sensitive to conflict in order to be effective and do no harm. PCIA as developed by Kenneth Bush is one approach among others to ensure conflict sensitivity for development and peacebuilding efforts. This working paper applies Bush’s concept of PCIA to the Palestinian case in order to analyse benefits, limitations and potential improvements of his approach. His specific method will be discussed critically based on a literature review and expert interviews conducted with practitioners from the most relevant state and multilateral development agencies. Considering the specific challenges in the Palestinian context this study aims to contribute to the debate on conflict sensitive development cooperation. The analysis of the Palestinian case eventually should help to identify gaps and potential fields for future research. [Download]
- Julia Bastian (2014): Local accountability in Mosambik: Untersuchung der Funktionsweise und Effektivität von accountability-Mechanismen am Beispiel der Munizipien Beira und Catandica. - 95 S.
[Abstract] The debate on decentralization has identified local accountability as a key factor for successful decentralization processes in developing countries, stressing that the accountability of sub-national governments towards the national level may prove detrimental to their accountability to the citizens. Based on the distinction of formal and informal institutions and the discussion of accountability as a concept, this Working Paper identifies accountability mechanisms relevant at the local level and analyses their functioning, interaction and factors that influence their effectiveness. This analytical grid is then applied to the case study of Mozambique, in a structured and focused comparison of the municipalities of Beira and Catandica. The analysis shows that accountability mechanisms at national level do not necessarily undermine accountability towards the citizens, but even may have an activating effect on other accountability mechanisms. Funding, access to information, ppolitical competition at the local level and informal influences that emanate from formal organizations, such as political parties, are factors that influence the effectiveness of accountability mechanisms at the local level. [Download]
- Paul Kriews (2014): Ressourcensegen - Ressourcenfluch? Fallstudie der entwicklungspolitischen Chancen und Risiken des Ressourcenbooms in der Mongolei. - 77 S.
[Abstract] Natürliche Ressourcen besitzen ein erhebliches Potenzial in Bezug auf die Entwicklung eines Landes: Die positive Dynamik eines prosperierenden Rohstoffsektors galt daher lange als einer der wesentlichen Faktoren für eine positive wirtschaftliche Entwicklung. Paradoxerweise kann jedoch gerade bei ressourcenreichen Ländern vergleichsweise häufig keine positive, sondern eine negative Entwicklung festgestellt werden. Die Annahme, dass rohstoffreiche Länder ihren Reichtum für die Förderung einer nachhaltigen Entwicklung einsetzen, stellt sich damit als verkürzt dar. Dieser Beitrag benennt die grundlegenden Probleme und Gefahren im Zusammenhang mit Ressourcenreichtum; mögliche Handlungsoptionen werden aufgezeigt und am Fallbeispiel der Mongolei nachvollzogen. Die zentrale Frage ist, ob die Mongolei dem sogenannten Ressourcenfluch entgehen kann. Dafür wird anhand eines Kriterienkatalogs untersucht, ob die hierfür notwendigen Voraussetzungen für einen verantwortungsvollen Umgang mit dem vorhandenen Ressourcenreichtum in der Mongolei gegeben sind. [Download]
- Anne Siebert (2014): Die Global Governance des Wassers: Eine Untersuchung der Wasserpolitik und städtischen Versorgungslage in Uganda. - 83 S.
[Abstract] Over the past decade, Uganda has developed strong water and sanitation sector reform policies grounded in a constitutional guarantee to the human right to water. This yielded not yet to comprehensive results in improvement of the supply situation. This Working Paper analyzes and critically evaluates this rights-based water reform process on global and national level to identify the context-specific conditions in Uganda for the successes and failures. It investigates the related policies in Uganda; and also has a look at formal and informal sectors of society. In particular, the paper asks whether and how human rights-based arrangements and strategies can serve as a model for addressing the urgent water sector challenges. Furthermore, the paper discusses how policy transfer, rights awareness, and community participation in context of water supply and sanitation might be influenced in a sustainable way. [Download]
- Martin David (2014): Bedingungen nachhaltigen Handelns: Eine Fallstudie über die Implementierung eines landwirtschaftlichen Klimaanpassungsprogramms im bolivianischen Tiefland. - 108 S.
[Abstract] The adverse effects of climate change are a genuine risk for global food security. Especially the populations of low income countries are highly depending on the agricultural sector and so particularily vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. This paper evaluates a local program of adaptation to climate change in the Bolivian lowlands. The departmental government of Santa Cruz began a pilot-program to secure departmental food security and to acquire knowledge for the design of future politcie of adaptation to climate change. In a Farmer Field School, implemented by a cooperating Nongovernmental Organisation, farmers were taught sustainable agricultural practices to make their crops more resistent against natural distasters, related to the effects fo climate change. This theory-based cased study examines – using the method of fuzzy-set- Qualitative Comparative Analysis those conditions, which enabled and disabled the implementation of the program. It thus tries to shed light on the question, if transferred knwoledge can lead to action. Based on this analysis recommendations are made for future designs of such types of cooperation. [Download]
- Sergio Gemperle (2013): Determinanten erfolgreicher Dezentralisierung: Eine komparative Analyse unterschiedlich ausgestalteter Dezentralisierungsprozesse in den Bundesstaaten Indiens. - 91 S.
[Abstract] Decentralisation understood as a complex multi-dimensional process of reform involves different actors which influence the sequence of individual steps of decentralisation on the basis of their interest constellation. According to the sequential theory of decentralisation, the magnitude of the shift of power to subnational governments depends on the different sequences of political, administrative and fiscal decentralisation. In this study, generalisations about the effects of different decentralisation sequences on the shift in the balance of power resulting for subnational authorities is tested in a comparative analysis of Indian states. The results and the subsequent case study on the Indian state Sikkim reveal an important weakness in the theory: the deterministic inference between the bargaining position of actors in the process of decentralisation and the resulting shift of power in favour of local governments. [Download]
- Lisa-Marie Althaus (2013): Green Transformation towards Sustainable Development? A Comparative Analysis of the Green Transformation Concepts by UNEP, OECD, and WBGU through the Lens of Sustainable Development. - 100 S.
[Abstract] Both the concept of sustainable development (SD) and the new green transformation concepts (GTC) aim for the integration of environmental protection and development. Previous comparative research on these GTC is not based on theoretically founded criteria that are related to the established development paradigm of SD. The study closes this research gap by providing a conceptual comparison of different GTC versions as published by UNEP, the OECD, and the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU). The analysis reveals that GTC concepts are indeed based on central goals and principles of SD. Unlike the concept of SD, the GTC acknowledges planetary boundaries as limits to growth. However, the more economy-focused concepts of UNEP and the OECD do not only disregard important social goals but also concerns of intergenerational equity and the globality principle of SD. In contrast, the WBGU focuses on civil society participation and both intra- and intergenerational equity by aiming for decisive institutional changes. It is shown that this GTC partly extends beyond the scope of SD and thus could mark an important step with regard to the further development of the concept. [Download]
- Bastian Knebel (2013): "Good is not enough": Neue Governance-Voraussetzungen für erfolgreiche Privatsektorentwicklung in Ländern niedrigen Einkommens. - 70 S.
[Abstract] A prosperous private sector is increasingly valued as a pivotal engine for long-term and sustainable economic development by development scholars and policy makers alike. The success of strategies to promote dynamic private sector development, however, remains highly dependent on characteristics of national governance frameworks. Most low-income countries rank low in indicators of good governance. Nevertheless, recent empirical studies reveal success stories of countries which have realized remarkable private sector growth despite their poor performance in categories such as accountability, regulatory quality, rule of law or control of corruption. This paper questions whether good governance can be viewed as an indispensable precondition for private sector development in low-income countries. Instead, it develops a theoretically grounded model of alternative governance prerequisites which takes into account the specific challenges for an effective insertion of developing economies into the 21st century’s highly competitive world markets. The paper argues for a proactive role of public agencies and highlights procedural facets of national governance systems, like regular public-private information exchange and experimental approaches to industrial policy making. Its theoretical model is empirically illustrated by a comparison of governance patterns and industrial policy performances in Sri Lanka and Vietnam, from 1996 to 2006. [Download]
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