Securing the Future of Multilateral Development Finance: Time for Europe to take the Initiative

Declaration of the Global African Diaspora Summit

Foreign Ministries in Developing Countries and Emerging Markets

Making Education a Priority in the Post-2015 Development Agenda

Ahead of the Curve? UN Ideas and Global Challenges

Ideas and concepts are arguably the most important legacy of the United Nations. Ahead of the Curve? analyzes the evolution of key ideas and concepts about international economic and social development born or nurtured, refined or applied under UN auspices since 1945. The authors evaluate the policy ideas coming from UN organizations and scholars in relation to such critical issues as decolonization, sustainable development, structural adjustment, basic needs, human rights, women, world employment, the transition of the Eastern bloc, the role of nongovernmental organizations, and global govern...

The Dragon’s Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa

Why modernise official development assistance?

Most ODA continues to be provided in the form of grants. Nonetheless, concessional loans – in other words, loans provided on favourable terms to developing countries – are also important, and will continue to play a key role in mobilising resources to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The concept of ODA was developed by the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) in 1969, yet until recently the definition of what made a loan “concessional in character” – which in turn determines the extent to which a loan can be reported as ODA – was open to interpretation. ...

The Environmental Movement in the Global South

Leaving No One Behind in the Data Revolution (Briefing Paper #5)

The Foreign Policies of the Global South: Rethinking Conceptual Frameworks

Australian aid: Promoting prosperity, reducing poverty, enhancing stability

Small states in the global politics of development

Much of the discussion surrounding small states has treated them as a discrete category, with common vulnerabilities and opportunities. However, a productive approach is to look at the global politics of development, and then see where small states fit in. The author looks in turn at the global politics of finance, trade and the environment. He concludes that small states have been largely unsuccessful in asserting their own interests in global politics, and that (to the extent that it is possible to generalize about states which differ greatly) vulnerabilities rather than opportunities are th...

The network neutrality debate and development

This study focuses ont he Net Neutrality controversy. It aims to answer a number of questions including - If Net Neutrality deserves protection, the question is how? Should a political or legal solution be enacted at national or international levels? Can we trust an informal free-market solution that may develop on its own, or should legal and political means be used to enunciate this principle? Will market forces ensure the best outcome, whatever this may be?

Multilateral Aid 2015: Better Partnerships for a Post-2015 World

Outcome document of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development: Addis Ababa Action Agenda

Promoting e-Commerce in developing countries

This study examines the advantages and possibilities for the use of digital signatures to carry out electronic transactions. It focuses on developing and transition countries that have not fully implemented the use of digital signatures in their economic, commercial and productive processes. An important aim of this research is to create awareness on the likely effects for enforcing the use of digital signatures to carry out e-commerce transactions on the economies of developing and transition countries. The study also proposes key issues to be considered for policy-makers in countries in orde...

Developing a Road Map for Engaging Diasporas in Development

Governments of countries of migrant origin and migrant destination recognize the value that diaspora populations may bring to development efforts in their countries of origin. The Global Forum on Migration and Development has, since its first meeting in 2007, looked for ways to highlight the kinds of policies and programs that can magnify the resources, both human and financial, that emigrants and their descendants contribute to development. This handbook continues that effort on the basis of earlier investigations by the collaborating institutions, the academic and policy literature, ...

Cloud computing: Opportunities and issues for developing countries

This paper looks at how cloud computing will surpass the Internet in adoption and usage as this technology’s users are on the other side of the digital divide. It looks at the diffusion of mobile phones and devices in developing countries and its continuous dramatic rise and at some popular mobile applications that are helping development efforts, such as m-Banking, m-Education, m-Health, m-Agriculture, and others that already exist and are popular within developing countries.

Education Counts: Towards the UN Development Goals

New’ Actors and Global Development Cooperation

The global financial crisis has reinforced trends of shifting wealth and power in the world economy. One expression of this changing global context is the rising role of so-called ›new‹ actors as development assistance providers. The ›new actors‹ term is a convenient (though not entirely accurate) label to describe a heterogeneous group of state and nonstate actors that OECD-DAC donors increasingly recognise as interesting partners for engagement. For many partner countries these new actors have provided a welcome source of additional development finance. In the context of this wo...

The United Nations and Development: From Aid to Cooperation

Global Health, Aid Effectiveness and the Changing Role of the WHO

Report of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing

Report of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing.

Achieving Zero Hunger: The Critical Role of Investments in Social Protection and Agriculture

The Death of Distance: How the Communications Revolution Is Changing Our Lives

China’s soft power in Africa: From the ‘Beijing Consensus’ to health diplomacy

China’s relations with Africa have steadily deepened and strengthened since the founding of “new China” in 1949. Evolving from ideologically-driven interactions during the Cold War, today’s China-Africa relations combine pragmatic economic and political means to achieve China’s objective of establishing a world order that is peaceful and conducive to continued economic growth and stability at home. In the 1960s and 1970s, China supported liberation movements in several African countries, gave aid to socialist nations to build stadiums, hospitals, railroads and other infrastructure, a...

Pricing the right to education: The cost of reaching new targets by 2030

This paper shows there is an annual nancing gap of US$39 billion over 2015-2030 for reaching universal pre-primary, primary and secondary education of good quality in low and lower middle income countries.

Information and communications technologies for development

Re-imagining the future

‘There is so much work still to be done. There are so many unraveling threads. There is so much still to create. There is much need to better use the Internet for development.’ - Sheba Mohammid from Trinidad and Tobago

Is a special treatment of small island developing States possible?

Developing Countries: Victims or Participants? Their Changing Role in International Negotiations

Triangular Co-operation and Aid Effectiveness: Can triangular co-operation make aid more effective?

The African Diaspora Program: Mobilizing the African Diaspora for Development

Development Co-operation Report 2014: Mobilising Resources for Sustainable Development

Enyclopedia of International Development

Development Aid and Nigeria’s Poverty Challenge: Millenium Development Goals 4 and 5 in Focus

The quest to eradicate poverty has been identified as the most critical challenge facing development in the world today. Women and children are disproportionately affected by poverty.

Message on Switzerland’s International Cooperation in 2013-2016

The Education Millennium Development Goal Beyond 2015: Prospect for Quality and Learners

The Milennium Development Goals Report 2015

The Clash of Globalizations: Essays on the Political Economy of Trade and Development Policy

EU Support to peace mediation: developments and challenges

Modern Diplomacy – Opening address

Opening address of the Honourable Dr. George F. Vella, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Environment of Malta.

Post-2015 and the Global Governance of Education and Training

Knowledge management and change in international organisations: Learning from the private sector

In this paper, John Harper and Jennifer Cassingena Harper talk about knowledge as a vital resource, and the necessity of building competencies and establishing new skills. Analysing the theories by Ernst B. Haas in When Knowledge is Power: Three Models of Change in International Organisation, the authors trace the development of knowledge-oriented activities in the private sector, and its implications for organisations in the public and international domain.

Oslo Summit: Financing Education in Developing Countries

Outcome Mapping: Building, learning and reflection into development programs

DAC High Level Meeting: Final Communiqué

On 15-16 December 2014 the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) came to an important and historic consensus on how to modernise its statistical framework for measuring development finance to developing countries. It paved the way for the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The road to dignity by 2030: ending poverty, transforming all lives and protecting the planet

Reshaping the Future: Education and Postconflict Reconstruction

Major country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics

On July 30, Xi Jinping oversaw a meeting of the Politburo to discuss economic reform, ahead of the widely-anticipated discussions at Beidaihe leading up to the release of a new economic reform package at the Third Plenum in October (Xinhua, July 30). The official press provides no further detail about the meeting, but Premier Li Keqiang has described the center’s economic priorities at great length in recent months. Meanwhile, Xi has been busy consolidating power, gaining hold of what appears to be an unusually strong grasp of the party’s central apparatus. It remains unclear, howev...

EU Strategy for Africa

Knowledge and Diplomacy

Knowledge and Diplomacy presents papers on knowledge and knowledge management from the January 1999 Conference on Knowledge and Diplomacy in Malta. The papers in this book, examining the topic from a variety of backgrounds, academic interests and orientations, reflect the multidisciplinary character of knowledge management. This publication is only available online.

Conditionality in development aid policy

Uncertain Times

Not long ago, Latin America was a success story of economic growth. While advanced economies suffered a severe recession during the 2008–09 financial crisis in the United States and western Europe, followed by a weak recovery, emerging market economies were seen as the promise for renewed world economic growth. Latin America was viewed as part of that promise.

The World Bank’s Contribution to Poverty Reduction in Peru

Peru’s economy has improved significantly, however poverty is an imperative issue that is not progressing as expected.

Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

The Vulnerability of the Small Island Developing States of the Caribbean

Development diplomacy by non-state actors

Raymond Saner addresses the growing influence non state actors are having on policy dialogue and policy negotiations in international development. Saner highlights how non state actors have become increasingly involved in the development policy field usually occupied by ambassadors and envoys representing Ministries of Foreign Affairs.

Global Public Goods: International Cooperation in the 21st Century

This collection of papers offers a new rationale and framework for international development cooperation. Its main argument is that in actual practice development cooperation has already moved beyond aid. In the name of aid (i.e., assistance to poor countries), we are today dealing with issues such as the ozone hole, global climate change, HIV, drug trafficking, and financial volatility. All of these issues are not really poverty related. Rather, they concern global housekeeping: ensuring an adequate provision of global public goods. Many important lessons could be drawn by first recognizing t...

Dead Aid: Why Aid is Not Working and How There is a Better Way for Africa

The Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and the Accra Agenda for Action

The Role of Diplomacy in the Challenges to Maritime Security Cooperation in the Gulf of Guinea: Case Study of Nigeria

There is presently a pervading feeling that the West and Central African states are long overdue to take control of their maritime environment. However, these expectations show no indication of materialising in the short term.

Digital Opportunities for All: Meeting the Challenge

Development diplomacy and poverty reduction strategy

Lichia Yiu and Raymond Sanner describe in detail the application of development diplomacy in the context of international co-operation for poverty reduction in Highly Indebted Poor Countries. In particular, the authors describe the goal of the International Labour Organisation – a non-state actor – in advocating the inclusion of employment and Decent Work Agenda policies in Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers, an instrument developed by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Economic Geography and International Inequality

Reducing Disaster Risk: A Challenge for Development

Special Ministerial Event on Food Security and Sustainble Development in Small Island Developing States

Diplomacy and Developing Nations: Post-Cold War foreign policy-making structures and processes

The European Union and the Latin American and the Caribbean Dialogue: Building a Strong Partnership

A World to Gain: A New Agenda for Aid, Trade and Investment

Changing with the World: UNDP Strategic Plan 2014-17

With the changing world as the backdrop, and building on our core strengths, our vision is focused on making the next big breakthrough in development: to help countries achieve the simultaneous eradication of poverty and significant reduction of inequalities and exclusion. This is a vision within reach, with the eradication of extreme poverty and major reductions in overall poverty feasible within a generation. It should be possible as well to make significant inroads against income and non- income measures of inequality and exclusion within this time frame.

Securing the Future of Multilateral Development Finance: Time for Europe to take the Initiative

Caribbean Development Report, Volume I

The Oxford Handbook on the United Nations

A Future for Small States: Overcoming Vulnerability

Knowledge management and international development – the role of diplomacy

In this chapter, Walter Fust talks about the role of knowledge management, and knowledge for development, in diplomacy. He describes various methods to assess what knowledge should be stocked, and explains the need for managers who are assigned the task of deciding what should be stocked. These decisions need to be guided by principles, or guidelines - referred to as value management.

Current developments in South African diplomacy

As the new South Africa adapts to an ever-changing regional, continental and global environment, this paper reviews current developments against the background of the historic situation and of the evolution of diplomacy world-wide.

Understanding the Digital Divide

Development Co-operation Report 2015: Making Partnerships Effective Coalitions for Action

Economic Diplomacy: The Level of Development and Trade

Common African Position on the Post-2015 Development Agenda

The participatory approach that led to the elaboration of the Common African Position (CAP) on the post-2015 Development Agenda involving stakeholders at the national, regional and continental levels among the public and private sectors, parliamentarians, civil society organizations (CSOs), including women and youth associations, and academia. This approach has helped address the consultation gap in the initial preparation and formulation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Development Effectiveness: What Have We Learnt?

Towards a Single Development Vision and the role of the Single Economy

Exploring the need for speed in deploying information and communications technology for international development and bridging the digital divide

This paper comes on the eve of the millennium development goals deadline of 2015 which acknowledges ICT as the enabler for speeding towards the finish line. The quest is to explore whether we are all speeding towards a clearly defined goal, given our varied capacities and affinities.