Past Highlights

SDG progress: fragility, crisis and leaving no one behind

09 Nov 2018

2018/09 – Overseas Development Institute (ODI); research paper; Author(s): Emma Samman, Paula Lucci, Jessica Hagen-Zanker, Tanvi Bhatkal, Amanda Telias Simunovic, Susan Nicolai, Elizabeth Stuart and Charlotte Caron.

"People caught in crisis – those living in conflict, and those who are displaced within their own countries or across borders – often fall through the cracks of different authorities’ responsibilities or are explicitly excluded by governments in their national and sectoral plans. Without the concerted efforts of the international community to address the needs of people caught in crisis we will not achieve the SDGs for all, and the gap between this marginalised group and the rest of the world will grow." This study, examines country level progress against the SDGs and makes projections as to how much more effort will be needed to reach them by 2030.

continue: SDG progress: fragility, crisis and leaving no one behind (external link)

Darfuri migration from Sudan to Europe: from displacement to despair

21 Aug 2018

2018/09 – Overseas Development Institute (ODI); research paper; Author(s): Susanne Jaspars and Margie Buchanan-Smith Details

Significant numbers of Sudanese, many from Darfur, have made the journey from Sudan to Europe in search of safety and a better life. While there has been significant interest in Sudan as a transit country for migration from Africa to Europe, little attention has been paid to Sudan as a source of migrants and refugees. Yet the Sudanese were the fifth, sixth and seventh largest categories of migrants and refugees arriving in Italy in 2015, 2016 and 2017, respectively. This study documents for the first time the experiences of young Darfuris fleeing Sudan for Europe. It aims to deepen understanding of the trends, drivers and causes of migration and displacement from Darfur. The report also explores the impact of migration to Europe on families and communities left behind, and on the wider political economy of Darfur.

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Tackling the triggers of violence-induced displacement - The contribution of the African Peace and Security Architecture and African Governance Architecture

21 Aug 2018

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2018/09 – European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM); Discussion Paper 228; Author(s): Anna Knoll; Lidet Tadesse ShiferawDetails

Displacement induced by violence affects the African continent disproportionately.The African Union (AU) has developed two key continental instruments to potentially address this issue. The first is the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), for the prevention and management of conflicts. The second is the African Governance Architecture (AGA), that promotes democratic governance in the continent. The AU makes use of these two instruments to tackle governance, peace and security challenges, which are often at the heart of violence-induced displacement. The links between APSA and AGA activities and how these can reduce or alter the triggers of violence-induced displacement have not yet been explored in-depth. This paper tries to understand whether and how the interventions by the AU and the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) contribute to addressing the triggers of violence-induced displacement. It clarifies the concept of triggers of violence-induced displacement, looks at selected case studies and highlights factors that seem to contribute positively to reducing triggers of violence-induced displacement. Moreover it offers some suggestions on how the APSA and the AGA could better respond in the future.

continue: Tackling the triggers of violence-induced displacement - The contribution of the African Peace and Security Architecture and African Governance Architecture (external link)

Behavior in Reverse: Reasons for Return Migration

21 Aug 2018

2018/08 – Centre for Development Research (ZEF); Discussion Papers on Development Policy No. 26 5; Author(s): Oded Stark Details

Research shows numerous motives for migration, but fewer reasons for return migration. This paper aims to correct this imbalance. Twelve reasons for return migration are presented and briefly discussed. The reasons listed are derived from research on migration conducted in the course of the past three and a half decades. The purpose of the paper is to pull together the insights gained from that research so as to formulate a base for future inquiry, both analytical and empirical. In addition, just as research on motives for migration can help to establish the reasons for reutrn migration, research on the latter can help to deepen understaining of the former. Moreover, in many circumstances and for various reasons, countries that host migrants may want them to leave. In such cicumstances, entacting policies that align with motvies for return migration will be more efficient than devising measures that are independent of these motives.

continue: Behavior in Reverse: Reasons for Return Migration (external link)

How to Reduce Poverty and Address Climate Change? An Empirical Cross-Country Analysis and the Roles of Economic Growth and Inequality (copy 1)

21 Aug 2018

Read more: How to Reduce Poverty and Address Climate Change? An Empirical Cross-Country Analysis and the Roles of Economic Growth and Inequality (copy 1) (external link)

2018/06 – Global Development Institute (GDI); Working Paper 32; Author(s): Daniele Malerba - Details

How can countries eradicate poverty while also addressing climate change? Despite the necessity to deal with both issues simultaneously, no study has analysed the empirical relationship between the two aforementioned goals and the factors that drive these interlinkages. This paper addresses this gap in the literature, using data from 135 developed and developing countries. The research underlines the tension between policy perspectives at the national and global levels. Economic growth, despite the potential to reduce the national carbon intensity of poverty reduction for the numerous countries that lie below the estimated turning points, needs to confront global environmental boundaries. Given this tension, the paper concludes that, alongside developed countries drastically reducing their emissions, developing countries should follow alternative development paths. Among them, a stronger greening of economic growth or an increased use of cash transfers and inequality-reducing policies are discussed.

continue: How to Reduce Poverty and Address Climate Change? An Empirical Cross-Country Analysis and the Roles of Economic Growth and Inequality (copy 1) (external link)

‘Leaving No One Behind’ Through Enabling Climate-Resilient Economic Development in Dryland Regions

21 Aug 2018

2018/07 – Overseas Development Institute (ODI); briefing paper; Author(s): Guy Jobbins et al. - Details

‘Leave no one behind’ is a principle central to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This policy briefing, based on five years’ research by the PRISE project, puts forward the view that governments, development partners and investors must prioritise investments to tackle poverty and climate vulnerability in dryland areas to ensure that no one is left behind and achieve multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The briefing adds that public policies and investments by national governments and development partners which recognise the seasonality, mobility and informality of dryland economies as strengths, and create an enabling environment for private actors in these regions, hold real potential to spur progress towards sustainable achievement of the SDGs, leave no one behind and the global goals on climate adaptation.

continue: ‘Leaving No One Behind’ Through Enabling Climate-Resilient Economic Development in Dryland Regions (external link)

Towards Paris-Compatible Climate Governance Frameworks: An Overview of Findings From Recent Research Into 2050 Climate Laws and Strategies

21 Aug 2018

Read more: Towards Paris-Compatible Climate Governance Frameworks: An Overview of Findings From Recent Research Into 2050 Climate Laws and Strategies (external link)

2018/06 – Institut du développement durable et des relations internationales (IDDRI); Author(s): Andreas Rüdiger, et al. - Details

This report seeks to draw upon the composite lessons learned at domestic and subnational levels and aims to respond to three fundamental questions facing policymakers and stakeholders at national and subnational levels:
• Why do we need strong national climate governance frameworks and how do we get there?
• What are the key ingredients for an effective national climate governance framework?
• What are the linkages and resulting chal - lenges arising from the links between national and multinational governance frameworks?

continue: Towards Paris-Compatible Climate Governance Frameworks: An Overview of Findings From Recent Research Into 2050 Climate Laws and Strategies (external link)

Climate Change: A Threat to Child Food Security in the Indian Sundarbans

17 Jul 2018

2018/06 – Institute of Development Studies (IDS), Brighton; Future Health Systems Issue Brief 1; Author(s): Upasona Ghosh, Shibaji Bose - Details

The Sundarbans, the mangrove forest delta shared both by India and Bangladesh, is among the worst hit regions of climate change in the world. Even though food insecurities due to climate change are felt across the region, the distribution of vulnerabilities is largely uneven depending upon existing climatic and social intersections.Within the context of socio-cultural and political dynamics, and rapid globalization, efforts to respond to, mitigate, or adapt to climate change needs to address issues of equity and social justice, posing both challenges and opportunities.

continue: Climate Change: A Threat to Child Food Security in the Indian Sundarbans (external link)

Syrian Refugee Children in the Middle East and Europe - Integrating the Young and Exiled

17 Jul 2018

2018/07 – Department of Society and Globalisation, Roskilde University (RUC); Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern Society; Editor(s): Michelle Pace, Somdeep Sen - Details

The book is premised on the underlying conception of refugee children as not merely a vulnerable contingent of the displaced Syrian population, but one that possesses a certain agency for change and progress. In this vein, the various contributions aim to not just de-securitize the ‘conversation’ on migration that frequently centres on the presumed insecurity that refugees personify. They also de-securitize the figure and image of the refugee. Through the stories of the youngest and most vulnerable, they demonstrate that refugee children are not mere opaque figures on whom we project our insecurities. Instead, they embody potentials and opportunities for progress that we need to nurture, as young refugees find themselves compelled to both negotiate the practical realities of a life in exile, and situate themselves in changing and unfamiliar socio-cultural contexts. Drawing on extensive field research, this edited volume points in the direction of a new rights based framework which will safeguard the future of these children and their well-being.

continue: Syrian Refugee Children in the Middle East and Europe - Integrating the Young and Exiled (external link)

What Politics? Youth and Political Engagement in Africa

17 Jul 2018

2018/05 – Nordic Africa Institute (NAI); book; Author(s): Elina Oinas, et al. (Ed.) - Details

What Politics? Youth and Political Engagement in Africa examines the diverse experiences of being young in today’s Africa. It offers new perspectives to the roles and positions young people take to change their life conditions both within and beyond the formal political structures and institutions. The contributors represent several social science disciplines, and provide well-grounded qualitative analyses of young people’s everyday engagements by critically examining dominant discourses of youth, politics and ideology. Despite focusing on Africa, the book is a collective effort to better understand what it is like to be young today, and what the making of tomorrow’s yesterday means for them in personal and political terms.

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